What would a good starting point be for someone new to the GL character? Readers are spoiled for choice when it comes to Batman; Year one, Dark knight returns, Long halloween… Is there similar, seminal Green Arrow titles?
Sorry for just c&p my old post, but the question remains the same. I’m especially interested in all that talk between Oliver and Bruce in DKR, about Olivers grudge against Superman.
DKR is an out-of-canon future, and one that’s not exactly possible as things currently stand. There really isn’t a grudge between Superman and Oliver.
The closest there they came to it was when Green Arrow had his arm trapped in some sort of bomb and Superman would have had to amputate to save Oliver. He didn’t (per Ollie’s request), and Oliver died.
He got better. Your best friend being the earthly incarnation of the Wrath of God heps with things like that.
Someone will be by shortly to fill in details and give issue numbers, I’m sure.
I’ve never read it, but I’ve heard there’s a good GA story called ‘The Longbow Hunters’ or some such. Since you seem to want to get in on Green Lantern as well, you might seek out some of the issues or collections of issues when the pair of them rode around the US in GL’s truck.
The TPB Quiver got me hooked.
In fact, the first four TPBs from the new series are well worth the reads.
Personally, I hated “Quiver,” but it was a much-ballyhooed fan favorite, since it was written by Kevin “Unprofessional” Smith, he of the dick and fart jokes. It explains a lot about Green Arrow’s past and how he comes back to life. Mike Grell’s “Longbow Hunters” is a darker GA story from the ‘80s that people seem to like, and Denny O’Neill and Neal Adams’ “Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Traveling Heroes” is known as one of the classics, and one of the first times superheroes addressed relevant social issues.
I’ve only ever read Mike Grell’s Green Arrow. He took Oliver out of the superhero world and into his own world. The early part of the series started in the “For Mature Readers Only” era. He has no trick arrows, he’s getting older, he deals with rapists, child molesters and drug dealers. Really he’s not a superhero but rather just a vigilante hero. The only outside character to make an appearance is Travis Morgan, the Warlord, Grell’s first famous comic book character and the reason I read this series. Around about issue 80 Grell was gone, some new guys came in and made it a superhero book again.
So I get the feeling that Grell’s GA is more of a sidequest kinda thing. Not the main story and probably not the place you want to start. I still really enjoyed it though.
Best place to start -
You can’t go wrong with the classics.
Longbow Hunters is excellent.
Then I’d read the Adams and O’Neil stuff.
Something closer to Batman: Year One would be ‘Green Arrow: The Wonder Year’ series.