Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist-Back up/Cover: Andrea Sorrentino – Denys Cowan / Andrea Sorrentino
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo
ZERO YEAR: THE PRODIGAL
The Outsiders War starts next month but for now we have a Zero Year tie in. Oliver Queen returns to Star City after being dead for years. There is no time for him to settle in since his mom is in danger in Gotham. Upon his arrival he runs into Gotham’s dark knight, The Batman!
The Ups: Lemire has turn this series around in an instant. If you are a fan of the T.V. show Arrow then this book will not disappoint. Lemire uses the CW Arrow show(which I enjoy) as the foundation of this series but improves it with changes to the characters dynamic and the exclusion of the CW glamour. This may have been an issue about Oliver’s first Green Arrow appearance but I felt it was mostly a Diggle origin especially with the Diggle back up at the end of the issue and there is nothing wrong with that. I’ll focus on Oliver first, his character is a lot different from his present day character. He is a more harden character here which could be attributed to his mother being in danger. Lemire writes a funny interaction between Batman and Oliver. They take their disagreement out on a criminal. I felt bad for him but I could not stop laughing. Lemire introduces us to Diggle past relationship with the Queen’s family. Diggle’s character has a strong presence that just say ex-military which is on point. Sorrentino’s art is just literally mind blowing. The big expressive panels and the panels within panels are just on another level. Maiolo’s colors gives the art a dark and crazy tone that explode off the pages.
The Downs: The back up art by Denys Cowan incorporates a lot of cross hatching that gives the art a lot of unnecessary lines. The art is a bit dark at times and hard to see facial expression. Cowan would benefit more by using more lighting and less lines.
Overall: It is great to see that being a Zero Year tie in, it was not all about Batman. In fact, he had a minimal role that allows for the exploration of Diggle as a supporting Green Arrow character. Lemire is still delivering great issues after issues. The art team of Sorrentino and Miaolo is spectacular. If you ignored this series before, now is the time to join! Start with issue #17
Grade 4 of 5
ComicsRefueled 