I'll be honest, I wasn't all that excited to see Judd Winick taking over Green Arrow, as his run on Green Lantern, while certainly successful, hasn't really done much for me. However, his first issue of Green Arrow is intriguing, certainly stronger than the Green Lantern/Green Arrow crossover would indicate, as he introduces a new supporting character who will play a role in his Outsiders cast, plays around with Ollie's dichotomous role as flaming liberal and traditionally conservative rich guy and introduces a new mystery villain with an interesting visual by Hester and Parks. I'm not entirely convinced of the justness of Ollie's cause in the plot, but the characterization is terrific, and there's an exchange here between Green Arrow and his guest stars that any fan of the DC Universe should make a point of reading, because it's just that much fun.
These days, it seems that Oliver Queen's role makes him the anti-corporate guy, and Winick is playing around with that for his first story. On the other hand, Oliver Queen's a millionaire who used to own a company, so it seems a little hypocritical for him to be shouting "down with the man" quite so loud. Winick doesn't get completely into that dichotomy here, painting Ollie pretty much as the noble hero rather than the flawed guy that Smith presented him as (at least so far), but he does show a way in which Ollie can use his money to "fight the power," and it's a hilariously fun sequence that shows that the most dangerous idealists are probably the ones with a lot of money and an attitude that prevents them being bought off.
The central conflict here is that a corporation is trying to tear down about 15 city blocks and build an economy-boosting center with hotels, restaurants, etc., at the cost of the residents currently living in the area. To be honest, I was hoping for a little more consideration of the corporate viewpoint, as boosting the local economy does seem like a reasonable thing, even if their real goal is just to line their pockets, but Winick goes the "evil fatcat" role instead, although there is certainly room for a reversal or moderation in future issues. At any rate, it's pretty easy to forgive the simplistic corporation = bad thing because the people opposing them are so likable (and because, let's face it, most corporations are evil. Heh.)
I'm not just talking about Ollie here, by the way. Winick makes use of one of the great DC second or third tier characters in this issue, playing up his new role (which has largely been ignored by the people who created that role) and then introducing us to a related character, who is just as much fun and makes an intelligent supporting character for Ollie. I'm dancing around the spoilers here trying not to give away the identities, but let me just say that this charming young woman and the way Winick writes her has made me much more anxious to read Outsiders, where someone with similar connections will be playing a big role. In addition, while I enjoyed the two big supporting characters this issue, Winick has a real handle on Ollie. The focus isn't so much on his self-centered nature as it was during the arcs of Smith and Meltzer, but his charm, sense of humor and hilariously antagonistic nature is definitely there on the page, and Winick serves up some great characterization and dialogue.
I had forgotten that Hester and Parks were sticking around on Green Arrow for Winick's run, and I'm so glad that they did. In addition to this giving an art continuity to the book, these guys are just really, really good. Their take on the shadowy, borderline run down Star City makes it the perfect place for "hero of the people" Green Arrow, and they don't let down when it comes to the more outrageous and fantastic elements either, whether it's the super-powers of the guest star or the freakish appearance of the villain at the end.
