Green Arrow - Quiver
Apr. 8th, 2009 07:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieWhen I was in college, this buddy of mine's favourite comic book character by far was Etrigan the Demon. For the longest time, I didn't really know much about him, other than he was yellow, the other half of Jason Blood, and "fucking awesome" as I was so often told. I'd only seen bits and pieces of Batman: The Animated Series recently then, and wasn't subscribing to new comics quite yet, so, it wasn't until I picked up the trade of Green Arrow: Quiver that I got a good taste of what that wacky demon was all about.
It was also the first I'd heard of Ollie being dead, which is funny, because this was the story that brought him back to life.
The quirky tone of Kevin Smith's writing became what I wanted to get out of superhero comics, dry humour thrown in with action sequences and occasionally very self-aware moments in the story. A story that is alright, but the plot isn't actually what I ever really remember about this book, so I'm going to skip that bit of this possibly lengthly look at why I think this book is awesome.
And I'm going to start with Ollie's first scene in the story. The raggedy "I just dumpster-dived behind a costume store" look with unlaced Converse sneakers and the soda-can-or-bleach-bottle arrows. There really needs to be a superhero that's actually like this, just, an insane homeless dude that saves the day with a tenuous grip on reality and trash.
Alright, let's get him cleaned up and move on to the rest!
Ollie has lost ten years of his memory, which I suppose is a small side-effect when you think about the whole being dead thing, and I'll admit it made me giggle when he kept thinking modern stuff was crazy super-villain tech or something. It might be a little silly, but I think it's funny. Even if the idea that it would take him as long as he did... I think months..? to figure out it wasn't the 80's anymore.
So is Mia calling him on how glaringly obvious it is he's the Green Arrow.
That's a very good question. WTF was Black Manta doing bringing coke to Atlantis? It's not like they could smoke crack, either. I'm not really sure what drugs they could do underwater... acid? Trippy.
This scene I love, like others like it that manage to actually make these guys look like they're genuinely friends. Which many of them are, but it seems to be lost in the action or sniping at each other or whatever a lot of the time. When the sniping at each other emphasizes it, instead? That's pretty great.
(So's the hug.)
So, uh... what exactly is J'onn thinking of disposing of, there? I honestly haven't a clue what he's getting at. But more importantly, that little "head-thing" moment is so very cute. XD
I can only think this has got to be a Star Trek reference. You know, with Bones having issues with the "blasted machines" beaming him up?
There is nothing that is not awesome about this page.
Wally seems to revert to a teenager here and it's so very cute. The "mister" and "sir" and all that. Ollie giving him a noogie isn't helping with that at all, I'm sure.
"Cute as a button!" XD
Speaking of cute... Clark is so adorable! The looks of astonishment, how surprised he is that Ollie wants him to put him down... well, I guess if anyone is a hugger, it's Clark, and he always seems to pick the least-huggy candidates for the big ones. For comedy, I'm sure, and I don't have a problem with that in the slightest.
Now, skip ahead to Ollie actually realizing that it's the future and things are different... and Batman making a Batman-like entrance.
That whole exchange at the end remains one of my favourite chunks of dialogue from any comic book, ever. I knew a guy that had it memorized, actually, and rattling it off would make us all crack up, every. single. time.
Man, I miss the JLA days. Anyway.
Now that Bruce has really joined the story, the awesome becomes mostly him and Ollie hanging out. The "old friends, regardless of the snark" thing is here, too, and it is so win.
But I will pause for...
The awesome of Hal as the Spectre standing up to the Stranger. Not often that guy'll back down, I'll tell you what.
I'm throwing this in here because Flash: Rebirth has me so fucking disappointed. I'll have to get to that, but since I read it, I'm still too mad to write anything other than keyboard-mashing. Barry here actually makes reference to Wally using "Something he calls the Speed Force," which is not to say that Barry didn't, either, Max and Wally both used it to communicate with him, but Barry is dead. Having a pleasant afterlife. Why fuck this up, why?
Ugh. Moving on.
Quite possibly the most hilarious thing Etrigan has ever done (or, been made to by Boston Brand, really, but still). Just stopping in the middle of a fight to make out with Black Canary. Not that I can really blame him.
::gigglesnort::
Penis joke! ::points and laughs::
How many "sidekicks" does Bats have at this point in history? Three or four depending on your definition? XD
::teehee::
I will seriously never stop reading this book. Or, at least, skipping to the funny parts once in a while. Some of the plot is wicked dark, even Mia's introduction as a character, but it's decent and strong enough to carry the idea of a guy coming back from the dead in a plausible-for-comic-books way I can really appreciate. Especially recently.
It was also the first I'd heard of Ollie being dead, which is funny, because this was the story that brought him back to life.
The quirky tone of Kevin Smith's writing became what I wanted to get out of superhero comics, dry humour thrown in with action sequences and occasionally very self-aware moments in the story. A story that is alright, but the plot isn't actually what I ever really remember about this book, so I'm going to skip that bit of this possibly lengthly look at why I think this book is awesome.
And I'm going to start with Ollie's first scene in the story. The raggedy "I just dumpster-dived behind a costume store" look with unlaced Converse sneakers and the soda-can-or-bleach-bottle arrows. There really needs to be a superhero that's actually like this, just, an insane homeless dude that saves the day with a tenuous grip on reality and trash.
Alright, let's get him cleaned up and move on to the rest!
Ollie has lost ten years of his memory, which I suppose is a small side-effect when you think about the whole being dead thing, and I'll admit it made me giggle when he kept thinking modern stuff was crazy super-villain tech or something. It might be a little silly, but I think it's funny. Even if the idea that it would take him as long as he did... I think months..? to figure out it wasn't the 80's anymore.
So is Mia calling him on how glaringly obvious it is he's the Green Arrow.
That's a very good question. WTF was Black Manta doing bringing coke to Atlantis? It's not like they could smoke crack, either. I'm not really sure what drugs they could do underwater... acid? Trippy.
This scene I love, like others like it that manage to actually make these guys look like they're genuinely friends. Which many of them are, but it seems to be lost in the action or sniping at each other or whatever a lot of the time. When the sniping at each other emphasizes it, instead? That's pretty great.
(So's the hug.)
So, uh... what exactly is J'onn thinking of disposing of, there? I honestly haven't a clue what he's getting at. But more importantly, that little "head-thing" moment is so very cute. XD
I can only think this has got to be a Star Trek reference. You know, with Bones having issues with the "blasted machines" beaming him up?
There is nothing that is not awesome about this page.
Wally seems to revert to a teenager here and it's so very cute. The "mister" and "sir" and all that. Ollie giving him a noogie isn't helping with that at all, I'm sure.
"Cute as a button!" XD
Speaking of cute... Clark is so adorable! The looks of astonishment, how surprised he is that Ollie wants him to put him down... well, I guess if anyone is a hugger, it's Clark, and he always seems to pick the least-huggy candidates for the big ones. For comedy, I'm sure, and I don't have a problem with that in the slightest.
Now, skip ahead to Ollie actually realizing that it's the future and things are different... and Batman making a Batman-like entrance.
That whole exchange at the end remains one of my favourite chunks of dialogue from any comic book, ever. I knew a guy that had it memorized, actually, and rattling it off would make us all crack up, every. single. time.
Man, I miss the JLA days. Anyway.
Now that Bruce has really joined the story, the awesome becomes mostly him and Ollie hanging out. The "old friends, regardless of the snark" thing is here, too, and it is so win.
But I will pause for...
The awesome of Hal as the Spectre standing up to the Stranger. Not often that guy'll back down, I'll tell you what.
I'm throwing this in here because Flash: Rebirth has me so fucking disappointed. I'll have to get to that, but since I read it, I'm still too mad to write anything other than keyboard-mashing. Barry here actually makes reference to Wally using "Something he calls the Speed Force," which is not to say that Barry didn't, either, Max and Wally both used it to communicate with him, but Barry is dead. Having a pleasant afterlife. Why fuck this up, why?
Ugh. Moving on.
Quite possibly the most hilarious thing Etrigan has ever done (or, been made to by Boston Brand, really, but still). Just stopping in the middle of a fight to make out with Black Canary. Not that I can really blame him.
::gigglesnort::
Penis joke! ::points and laughs::
How many "sidekicks" does Bats have at this point in history? Three or four depending on your definition? XD
::teehee::
I will seriously never stop reading this book. Or, at least, skipping to the funny parts once in a while. Some of the plot is wicked dark, even Mia's introduction as a character, but it's decent and strong enough to carry the idea of a guy coming back from the dead in a plausible-for-comic-books way I can really appreciate. Especially recently.
no subject
on 2009-04-09 01:11 am (UTC)Monty Python FTW!
no subject
on 2009-04-10 04:14 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-09 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-10 04:18 am (UTC)I totally need to read more of Etrigan's books and stuff, I always enjoy them but never seek them out. wtf, self.
no subject
on 2009-04-09 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-10 04:14 am (UTC)At least, I think so. Usually.
no subject
on 2009-04-10 07:26 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-10 12:55 am (UTC)What happened to the snark? There was supposed to be earth-shattering snark!
I should really get this book for myself. (And remember to take the current GA/BC series off my pull list before it gets any more sucky.)
no subject
on 2009-04-10 04:21 am (UTC)There are so many things about what's going on in Green Arrow/Black Canary that make me sad. I hate the direction Conner has taken so very much. It's so... bad 90's plot or something.
no subject
on 2009-04-10 10:53 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-11 08:06 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-04-11 12:05 am (UTC)On the drug thing over 100 years ago they used to inject cocaine. If you want an example I know of there's Sherlock Holmes. Look him up or even read some of his stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There's also the Jeremy Brett version if you can get it on DVD. I don't know about how he did this. Nor if it was any different from the modern stuff. Obviously it was mixed in a solution of some kind.
I just realised Batman seems to have a history puching out team mates with one hit. Though I love how he went even further with the nudity. He never did that with Guy thankfully. Do you know if he's done it with anyone else? 'Cos if so would that make it a habit?
Angeloz
no subject
on 2009-04-11 08:15 am (UTC)I remember a few people being naked in the cave... I think Alfred was along with the Batlings at some point but I can't really remember why, fear toxin recovery or something. Mostly he seems to keep clothes on people when he abducts them into there, but I wouldn't put it past him to undress then re-dress them.
no subject
on 2009-04-11 10:29 am (UTC)As for the Batman thing I didn't mean it that way (i.e. nudity. Although I don't mind the topic). I was really wondering if he generally knocks people (allies) out a lot. Even without the nudity. Especially with one hit. Although it'd be interesting if he ever did it to Clark. 'Cos he might not react well to that. Although if he was being patched up voluntarily that might be different (i.e. semi-clothed rather than knocked out). If you can show it I'd love you a lot. ;-)
Angeloz
no subject
on 2009-04-11 10:35 am (UTC)Angeloz
no subject
on 2009-04-12 05:47 am (UTC)I think when Wally was under the influence of Starro he might have taken him down with one hit (after making sure conditions allowed for him to do such a thing) but it also might have been a couple hits. I'd have to look it up.
Um... I'm sure it's happened before, but the examples fail me. Might be a habit. XD
no subject
on 2009-04-15 12:37 am (UTC)Hehehe~ Noogie :D
Great review
on 2012-05-29 06:40 am (UTC)