After a somewhat erratic in quality journey into India, Johns, Robinson and the rest have brought us back to the city of St. Roch for a good old fashioned team-up, and the result is a stronger story that reminds me why I loved the first issue of this book so much. Morales and Bair deliver a stunning art job, perhaps even better than their work on the first issue, and Johns and Robinson have taken advantage of the rejuvenated Green Arrow to strike up the familiar (and fun) rivalry between him and the title character. Throw in an interesting adversary with ties to Robinson's beloved Starman and more of a peek into the intriguing city of St. Roch, and you've got a second arc that starts off strong.
Part of me does wonder if the casual reader will get the same thrill out of this book as those who have read some of the other stories that inform it. Readers who have read the last year or two of Starman will be pretty happy with the nemesis this issue (and they'll get clued in faster than casual readers), and readers who have been checking out Green Arrow will get the flipside of a conversation about romance that took place in those pages. However, even though the book reads better for those who have read those other two stories, I think that Johns and Robinson do a good job of making the book stand alone, and it certainly remains accessible.
What I have been loving since the beginning of the book, and what the creators get back to in this issue, is the relationship between Carter and Kendra, and the examination of both of them separately and as a non-couple. The politics of romance are tricky enough without reincarnation, previous marriage and super-heroic complications, so there's plenty of fodder for stories in there. Throwing in Green Arrow, who had his own problems with reincarnation and old flames and butting in from Hawkman, makes the story all the more interesting, and the pages of argument between Hawkman and Green Arrow were some of my favorite in the book.
In these pages, Hawkman continues to be a fairly savage character, and I like that interpretation. Rags Morales and Michael Bair are more than up to the task of portraying the grace of flight along with the brutality of the fighting tactics and weapons that the Hawks use. The fight sequence between Hawkman and Green Arrow is simply beautiful to look at, and the double-page spread which ends their argument is jaw-dropping. I'm also loving the detail they are putting into the New Orleans-inspired St. Roch, whether it's the splash of the "Lundi Gras" parade, the close-knit buildings that we see during the rooftop chase or the interior shots of the Stonechat Museum.
While I'm all for globe-hopping adventure, I'm glad that the creative team has decided to bring the story back down to St. Roch for a couple issues at least, establishing this fascinating setting and telling a smaller mystery story before jumping back into the unknown. The focus on characterization alongside the action grabbed my attention back even as it had been wandering, and the gorgeous artwork kept it throughout. Though my enthusiasm had been waning, I'm officially back on the Hawkman ride at this point.
