Remember the first time that Oliver Queen met Dinah Lance? Well, now that moment arrives again in Green Arrow: Rebirth #1.
Although it's not technically a reboot, DC Comics' big Rebirth event is resetting the DC universe, bringing characters back to their basics and undoing some of the damage done by the New 52. Today marks the release of several new stories, including Green Arrow's own rebirth.
In Green Arrow: Rebirth #1, Oliver Queen goes back to explaining who he is: the rich boy turned vigilante trying to save Seattle from the dark underbelly that threatens it. But what's most important in this issue is that it brings in Black Canary, and because this is a reset, this is the first time that she and Green Arrow meet.
This move freshens up the characters and introduces them to an entirely new audience, something writer Benjamin Percy does beautifully, giving the two an instant connection that even they cannot explain. It takes Green Arrow no time to unmask and show his true identity to Dinah, and it takes her no time to start judging him as the rich boy she sees, complete with snarky comments about how he would never understand what life growing up on the streets is really like. But the two still have a link that they cannot deny.
In #1, there's a dark presence living under Seattle, in that part of the city once destroyed by fire and built over (and something that's actually a part of the real Seattle's history). That presence is kidnapping homeless people and putting them on the black market. Can Arrow and Black Canary save those people?
Again, Percy does a great job in bringing Green Arrow to new readers, while still handling the character well so that Green Arrow fans don't get bored with the specifics. The dynamic between Oliver and Dinah is great, and one could only wish that Black Canary got as much respect on the Arrow television series.
The art is also well done, often seeming like beautifully colored sketches that highlight the darkness and shadows that live beneath the city. Artist Otto Schmidt does a good job of showing the lines on people's faces, as well as using those to indicate emotion, while cover artist Juan E. Ferreyra gives readers a simple cover for a story that's simply about bringing Green Arrow back to the masses.
Green Arrow: Rebirth #1 does a good job of setting up the new Rebirth universe of Seattle, and quickly gets its first story set in motion as Oliver and Dinah team up to take on a new evil threatening the city.
Story
★★★★★
Art
★★★★☆
Overall
★★★★☆
