Comic Review: Green Arrow #42

Green Arrow #42

DC Comics

Writer: Mairghread Scott

Artist: Matthew Clark

This short, two-issue story arc exemplifies why, of all the heroes in the DC multiverse, The Green Arrow is one of my favorites. After the Justice League asks Oliver to guard a prisoner transport for Parasite, things predictably went awry. After absorbing another inmates powers, Parasite escapes into the sewers. Green Arrow, has no choice but to follow. This issue picks up in the immediate aftermath of the last one.

Even with broken ribs and other injuries that would put an ordinary person out of commission for a while, Oliver Queen fights a powered up Parasite, with multiple prisoners worth of powers and energy. In the middle of firing arrows and delivering quips, we see a nerve struck within parasite that really hits home the narrative of this arc, and why it’s titled “Better Than.”

Parasite, faced with going back to his cell, starts to freak out with a panic attack. He’s still fighting GA, but we learn a bit of history at the same time. Joshua Allen was just a normal person until an accident turned him into Parasite. The whole thing really made me sympathize with Parasite, and Green Arrow felt the same, but regardless, Parasite killed people and needed to go back to prison.

With one final burst of his own energy, Parasite burns Green Arrow’s hands to a crisp. We then see Parasite return to the prison, intent on killing the Warden, only to be stopped at the last minute by Ollie. Angry at the Warden for the lack of care Parasite receives in his custody, and seeing his cell, Oliver has a final talk with the Warden.

Being blamed for treating the criminals like animals, The Warden Fires back, explaining that despite the heroes taking super criminals off the street, The Warden and Prison Guards are the ones who have to keep them there. Green Arrow’s response “These men only stay if we treat them that way. Otherwise, they really are monsters… And so are we.”

All around, while not the most original plot, the storytelling in this issue is fantastic. Yes, the heroes put criminals away. Yes, prisons are part of the reason that supervillains keep returning to crime. Yes, it’s not always a black and white issue of good or bad. You can make some very strong parallels to some of our world’s problems the whole way, and that’s part of what makes Green Arrow interesting.

My least favorite part of this issue is the art. It looks good in some places, but it lacks in others. Parasite at certain points looks at certain points like a pink blob. Green Arrow looks good aiming a bow. But for most of the issue, it’s just a small, green silhouette of what would be a cool pose. It’s not the worst art in a comic. At some points, Parasite does look like a monster. Green Arrow does have some detailed action poses. It’s just a little inconsistent throughout.

This issue is a nice interlude before the new regular writers take over, and I very much did enjoy it. It was a strong ending to the story Mairghread Scott wanted to tell. The art by Matthew Clark, for the most part, looked good. If someone asked me what a good, modern, starting point for Green Arrow is, I’d very much recommend this.