Green Arrow Fans!

[EMCE Hammer]

I agree with the sentiments for the most part as well. I have a hard time believing anyone will ever utter, "It should be like it was when Dan Didio was in charge."

I also wish someone would work with him on the run-on sentences. I'd pass out if I had to read the sentence below aloud without stopping:

"In that one moment the entire series was ruined for me because I realized that there was absolutely no point to this series other than to make these characters miserable and take them, especially Oliver Queen, to the depths of despair and push him (and them) to the limit and then eventually bring them back to the light and if this was the first time I had seen that or if this was a rare storytelling tool in today's marketplace I probably would have had a different reaction but it wasn't the first time and it is far from rare."

[Earth 2 Chris]

Great review here, and I agree with the critic's sentiments 100%.

Superman Homepage - Mild Mannered Reviews (2010)

Chris

[Earth 2 Chris]

Oh, I'm disgusted with the general direction of Marvel too. If I was more of a Marvel guy, I'd be even more upset about the handling of those characters. Spidey and Iron Man have been particularly dumped on in the last 10 years or so. Spider-Man was all about rising above the crap flung at him. Now he caves and makes a deal with Satan. Whatever.

Chris

[BlackKnight]

What do you cal Marvel then ?

[Earth 2 Chris]

I gleamed the reason from other sources (and this thread). I can understand the character's motivation to kill (especially since he has in the past, at least in some continuities). My gripe is the fact that DC is constantly going to that well of despair, and staying at the bottom. I'm not against the characters facing tragedy, but when they never rise above them, it seems kind of pointless in heroic fiction.

But again, that's just me.

Chris

[BlackKnight]

There's a HardCore Reason Why Green Arrow Kill's in this Book . ..., I can't say I blame the Man either, given the Circumstance involved. And it's more than Roy getting Mamed . And Yes ..., I do believe that Roy's whole World just got flipped upside down. I dunno if he would even want to be a Hero now..., if he comes outta it.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I just read this book last night ..., And I am not quite sure, as to why everyone's Panties are in a Ruffle. It had perhaps maybe Mature content in the book, with a very serious Story ..., however it was no where near as Graphic as Half the Books that have come outta Marvel in the last yr or so. I dunno, it's just a book ..., and given the circumstances involved ...., Green Arrown didn't do what any other person wouldn't have done, providing they could do that in the 1st place.

I haven't read it, so I can't comment on the handling of the situations. But the overall story arc seems designed to drag both Roy and Ollie through the mud, and as I said before, the "rising" part never seems to come.

On the flip side of this, Green Arrow has had a contradictory history of killing in his comics history. He accidentally killed a person in a story in the 70s and went to a monestary for a bit, walking away from his violent ways for a time. Then during Mike Grell's run he was known to kill when he felt necessary. He also used conventional shafts and spilled a lot of blood. Then he was forced to "kill" Hal Jordan/Parallax in Zero Hour, and acted as if he'd violated his code once again.

So all this "Hunt for Green Arrow" business really doesn't make a lot of sense, unless Ollie just starts smoking jay-walkers or something.

Chris

[BlackKnight]

I just read this book last night ..., And I am not quite sure, as to why everyone's Panties are in a Ruffle. It had perhaps maybe Mature content in the book, with a very serious Story ..., however it was no where near as Graphic as Half the Books that have come outta Marvel in the last yr or so. I dunno, it's just a book ..., and given the circumstances involved ...., Green Arrown didn't do what any other person wouldn't have done, providing they could do that in the 1st place.

[Nostalgiabuff]

DC needs a management shakeup....with the exception of Darkest Night, all the recent big crossovers have been left seriously wanting..IMO. I enjoyed 52 but then came Countdown and Final Crisis which were both confusing as hell and did not really go anywhere. then the Batman RIP which was extremely hard to follow, and again, did not really go any where. Add that to the fact that you know Bruce Wayne would never really stay dead and it takes away the excitement of the story. those kind of event storylines only work if the story is done exceptionally well.....ie the Death of Superman. a great read, i still reread that one every now and then.

I lost all interest in Comics around 95...then tried to get back into them in the early 2000's but couldn't. I tried again with 52 and although I am still picking up a few books(other than balckest night) I still find the stories lacking for the most part. I do like the Batwoman storyline , so far. Also Red Robin has been entertaining, so far, but that is about it

[samurainoir]

How many of those titles are there? I have to admit I only know of Avengers and Super Hero Squad.

4-6 on any given month. Plus don't forget Mini-Marvels, Franklin Richards, Pet Avengers and Power Pack has been revived recently in various miniseries teaming them up with the Big Guns.

[EMCE Hammer]

How many of those titles are there? I have to admit I only know of Avengers and Super Hero Squad.

[johnnystorm]

Everyone always neglects to acknowledge the fact that Marvel has been quietly publishing their Marvel Adventures brand comic books and "Manga-sized" digest paperbacks for years now.

Oh and Spidergirl has come back once again from beyond the grave to appease the mythical 12 year olds who I believe would rather be reading Naruto.

Yes, the discussions do become very DC-centric. Those Marvel books are pretty good, I've read the Avengers ones in digest form. And I also read Spider-Girl & the A-Next books like American Dream.

[david_b]

Bring back the fun aspect and they might get the next generation of readers they so desperately need.

BEST Answer I've heard yet..!!

Sorry, even reading other blogs about the current Titans stories and how to re-energize their appeal (for example..), most of it's all a lot of gore. I'll personally stick with vintage stories.

david_b

[The Toyroom]

I'm not sure I understand exactly what "cheese fest" is being referred to in regards to the Silver Age.....True, the really EARLY Silver Age gave us all of those Sci-Fi Batman stories and wacky villains (who I profess to have a great love for) but that's not what it's all about....There's a LOT of gold in those so-called "cheesy" stories that is still be mined today....You just might not realize it. The difference is in the execution. And that's where a lot of today's stuff falls flat IMO...it goes for the throat in order to get a quick response from the reader, a gut reaction...Say what you want about the Silver Age but the stories and characters had heart and soul. Sure there was death and destruction but it was an occasional thing....a rarity. See Doom Patrol #121 for how the death of heroes should be handled.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Comic sales today are abysmal to what they were in the 80s, and those were abysmal compared to comic sales of the 60s, during the "cheese fest" you mention.

Admittedly, there are some Silver Age (and lots of Golden Age) stories I have a hard time reading. The expositional dialog is really hard to swallow. Gardner Fox is particularly guilty of this. But I can appreciate the well-thought out and dense plots that these guys managed to cram into 8 to 17 pages.

I'm not saying comics shouldn't have matured. I agree BTAS/STAS/JLU offer the best of both worlds; engaging stories adults and children can enjoy on several levels. The tone of these series is more reminiscent of the comics of the 70s and early 80s that managed to strike a balance between the plot-oriented 60s and the modern characterization of the time. Unfortunately, most comic writers can't seem to strike that balance now.

I have no problem with death and seriousness in comics. Drama is needed to move stories along. It's the constant barrage of carnage, death and the general wallowing in such themes that make most modern comics by DC and Marvel unenjoyable by me.

Storylines like The Dark Phoenix Saga and The Judas Contract were deadly serious and characters evolved and died. But the creators were smart enough to realize that they were actually special events, not to be repeated every 6 months.

Oh and that Silver Age event that Mark Waid spear-headed was a lot of fun.

Chris