Green Arrow & Black Canary #6

After some heart wrenching issues, GA/BC gets back to the worldwide action and intrigue. This issue read like a "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" sequel with Green "Brad Pitt" Arrow and Black "Angelina Jolie" Canary going undercover and blowing stuff up. Cliff Chiang's art is truly the high point of this series. He is the fulcrum on which GA/BC turns. I read a lot on the boards about Judd Winick's writing and most of it is not good. I haven't read a lot of Winick so I don't know what all the Winick story tricks are. However, I think that this read while fun and entertaining was a bit off the mark on tone. With Green Arrow going after whoever incapacitated and kidnapped his son, you would think that the grim Longbow Hunter might resurface. However, here we get the Brett Ratner version of GA - that is not a compliment. I like popcorn media just as much as the next guy, but with the grim setup over the last couple of issues, I think the light hearted tone is missplaced.

Green Arrow & Black Canary #4

For all the Judd Winick haters out there, read "Green Arrow and Black Canary" issue #4. Winick knocks this one out of the park. He has a complete grasp of Green Arrow, Black Canary, their relationship, the JLA members, all of it. Everything happening in this issue feels genuine and real. Winick pours on the emotions and Ollie's true nature is shown. The characterization of the JLA members is excellent - even the ones that just show up to show support. Cliff Chiang's art is outstanding, capturing all of the characters well and showing quite a range of emotion in their faces.

I've read a lot of Winick's work as he happens to work on a lot of the characters that I like. This issue may be the best issue that he has ever written. At least it is the best issue of his that I've read ever.

Green Arrow & Black Canary #3

While I'm enjoying the new "Green Arrow & Black Canary" monthly, this issue highlighted some of the problems stemming from the atrocious ending to the "Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special". While Winick attempts to tidy things up with a nice little bow, a lot of what happened and the implications are left unsaid. Tie that with the New Gods/Amazon Attacks tie-in and you are on the verge of a bad issue. However, Winick does a fine job of getting the interactions between the Green Arrow family members right. While the motivations of the bad guys are suspect, Green Arrow and family are handled nicely. Winick presents a very strong Black Canary and a fun Green Arrow. Clif Chiang's art is top notch. I really like his Black Canary. She comes across as strong, powerful, and sexy without looking slutty. His take on her costume is truly excellent. He draws a nice Green Arrow in costume as well.

So, aside from the convoluted Everyman/Granny Goodness explanation, this book has a bit of momentum going forward. With the last splash page, one of the Green Arrow family might not make it to far in the series. Here's hoping that if this character does die it is to serve a very good story and not just a sales stunt.

Green Arrow & Black Canary #2

So, I read other comic blogs and comic forums and there is a lot of Judd Winick hate out there. It seems that most people hate his writing. Well, I've done some catching up on my Winick written comics and while he isn't the greatest writer out there, I don't see anything criminal in his writing style. I didn't care for his "Outsiders" run and the "Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special" final few pages were not that great. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed both of the first issues of the new "Green Arrow & Black Canary" monthly series. If you are looking for a strong woman superhero then look no further than Winick's Black Canary. She is intelligent, confident, and a skilled fighter.

I like Cliff Chiang's Black Canary as well. I would like Chiang to put more effort into drawing Mia, though, as I found his interpretation of her to be rather bland. I did enjoy all the various methods that Chiang used to cover up Ollie's naughty parts.

I see "Green Arrow & Black Canary" as analogous to "Superman/Batman". In "Superman/Batman" readers can see stories based on all Superman and Batman supporting characters (Supergirl, Robin, Nightwing, Powergirl, etc.) as well as the main heros. In "Green Arrow & Black Canary" I would expect to see all of the supporting characters in their "universe". This is why it is good to see Winick using Mia and Connor.

Give this book a try and you will have a good time. Action, comedy, and intrigue abound.

Green Arrow & Black Canary #1

The "Green Arrow and Black Canary Wedding Special" left a sour taste in my mouth as once again DC went to the death well by killing off Green Arrow. I wasn't happy with the situation and how it occurred either. I am a sucker though and went out and bought "Green Arrow & Black Canary" #1 to see where this was leading. I must say that I enjoyed this book. The first few page flashback was nicely done. Cliff Chiang's style in this flashback is fairly close to Darwyn Cooke's version of Green Arrow. The inking and coloring also matched Cooke's look as well. For the present day art, Chiang really captures the intensity of Black Canary. Chiang does an excellent job from page to page and really shines here.

Writer Judd Winick's story is interesting. He shows us how Black Canary grieves and that is painful for the bad guys out there. He reintroduces the Green Arrow family along with their connection to the rest of the DCU. I especially liked Green Latern's chat with Black Canary. Finally the mystery of what happened to Green Arrow is solved and we are on to the rescue next issue. Now, I really liked this issue, but how does this all fit into the marriage of the two main characters. Was the switch early? Why did they Amazons do it? Who? What? Why? How?....Questions, Questions, Questions. Here's hoping that Winick can answer these as I'm on board now.