Friday, April 24, 2015

Review- GREEN ARROW VOL. 2: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS


GREEN ARROW VOL. 2: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS (DC, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Green Arrow #7-12 (cover dates August- Winter, 1988)

Writers: Mike Grell and Sharon Wright
Artists: Ed Hannigan, Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin, Paris Cullins, Eduardo Barreto, Randy Duburke, Arne Starr, and Gary Martin

Continuing with the mature readers angle, Volume 2 of Mike Grell's Green Arrow works extremely well for what it is. Over the top violence, sexual situations, and adversaries rooted in the real world are what's on tap in this book. Lots of action here with CIA operations and sled dog races in Alaska. Grell lost me with the ninja crap in #9, though. Martial arts enjoyed a brief renaissance in the '80s, but the whole honor/samurai shtick is lame and boring. It reminds me of that episode of South Park...it has a dragon right on the blade. While the writing and artwork are solid enough I won't be back for volume 3.
Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This book weighs about as much as a pack of cigarettes due to the cheap paper that DC passes off on folks. The paper is so off-putting that it helped me decide against continuing to buy this line of books.
Linework and Color restoration: It looks good, but I didn't bother comparing it to scans of the original issues.
Paper stock: DC's Charmin special toilet paper stock. It looks and feels cheap and will brown with age. My first printing of Batman Chronicles Vol. 1 from a decade ago is browning on the top, and it has been stored in a climate controlled environment in an acid free box, away from sunlight and dust. My old Swamp Thing trades from that era are also browning. What a joke.
Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.
Cardstock cover notes: Thick waxlike lamination.
 

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