Green Arrow #26

By Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino

Green Arrow #26 begins the new storyline, The Outsiders War, and takes a deeper look at the weapon clans and, more importantly, Oliver’s past. Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have been killing it on this series lately and although issue 26 is a bit of a slow burn, it sets the pieces up for the remainder of the story.

Lemire finally begins to peel back the mystery of Ollie’s time on the island. Much of it is fairly standard fair; you see the explosion of the oil rig that was last seen in the zero issue, and then Ollie’s early days on the island. The big moments take place in the present day, where Ollie and Shado return to the island to look for the Arrow Totem before The Outsiders get to it.

One thing that was lacking in Green Arrow issues in the past was a lack of supporting cast. This is an area that Lemire has rectified completely with Naomi and Fyff. Seeing them and Ollie interacting at the beginning of the issue helps to pull Green Arrow away from his superheroing and just talk to some friends.

It’s no surprise that Sorrentino can pull off many different locales. From the streets of Seattle to the mountains of Vlatava, Sorrentino has created new and interesting places for Green Arrow to inhabit and his work with the island and the tomb of the Arrow Totem is great. He also finds fun ways to show the flashbacks and Oliver’s early growth on the island.

Issue #26 of Green Arrow isn’t filled to the brim with action, rather it moves its characters into the places they need to be in for the rest of the story. If you always wanted to know the origin of the New 52 Green Arrow, then it all starts here folks.