GREEN ARROW #15
"The Sound of Violence, Part Three: Modulation"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Kevin Smith
Pencils: Phil Hester
Inks: Ande Parks
Colors: James Sinclair
Letters: Sean Konot
Editor: Bob Schreck
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
This is Kevin Smith's last issue of Green Arrow, and the writer is going out on a high note. This may very well be his best issue on the book yet, and it's thanks to the intensity and disturbing nature of the story's antagonist. In Onomatopeia, Smith has crafted an opposite number for the title character, and there's never really been a character before that's worthy of the role. And as always, Hester and Parks impress with their art.
Connor Hawke, the son that Oliver Queen is only just getting to know, lies on an operating table, a bullet in his head. There's a surgeon ready to go to work on him, but there's also a masked madman intent on killing him in the room. He and the original Green Arrow face off as Connor's life hangs in the balance, and while the hero may have a tactical advantage, Onomatopeia's dedication to the craft of killing may prove to be too much for the archer to handle.
Hester and Parks's dark collaboration suits the dark tone of the script nicely. Hester's angular style reinforces Onomatopeia's almost alien nature well, and the action in the latter part of the book reinforces the climactic and raw tone of the two battling figures. The colors reinforce that darker atmosphere as well. The villain's bloodstains are subtle ones, but they're omnipresent as well.
And now, Oliver Queen has his very own Joker. Onomatopeia's inhuman intensity here is thoroughly chilling. Is he just so insane that nothing can stop him in his tracks, or is there something more to him? I suspect it's the former -- makes him creepier -- and I also suspect that we'll get to see more of him in the future (but not the near future, thanks to Smith's exclusive contract with Marvel). I certainly hope so, because Smith has crafted a truly unique villain here.
I'll be honest... Smith's epilogue is more than a little corny, but it also comes off as appropriate. Family has been a central theme of this series, and Smith's sums it up well here. Mia's over-the-top, flirty attitude is an interesting element; it's as though she's a reminder of the man Oliver Queen used to be, before he settled into this new fatherly role. Though I'm interested in what the new writer, novelist Brad Meltzer, has in store beginning with the next issue, I will miss Smith's work with the character. I hope he eventually follows through on his plan to write a new The Brave and the Bold series.
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