The Absolute Universe hasn’t missed yet. Sure, some titles are weaker than others—looking at you Absolute Flash and Absolute Green Lantern—but even these books are better than most. Writer Pornsak Pichetshote and artist Rafael Albuquerque continue this winning streak with Absolute Green Arrow, giving us a brutal revenge story.
Title: Absolute Green Arrow #1
Creatives: Pornsak Pichetshote (Writer), Rafael Albuquerque (Artist), Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist), Jeff Powell (Letterer)
Characters: Green Arrow, Dinah Lance, Oliver Queen
Villain: Hector Hammond, Jubal Slade, Reese Tyler
Format: 6-Issue Miniseries
Our Rating: 9/10 Stars
Who Is the Absolute Green Arrow?
Don’t expect Oliver Queen to be donning the hood. We saw his unfortunate death in the pages of Absolute Evil, making the new Green Arrow someone altogether different. This archer is less superhero and more horror movie slasher. Albuquerque captures their threat by showing the mutilated body of Oliver’s former business partner, Jubal Slade, in a disturbing scene. Severed appendages blanket the floor while twin arrows are lodged firmly into his eyes. Colorist Marcelo Maiolo reinforces the darkness, wrapping the panel with forbidding black shadows that contrast against the deep red blood and neon green arrows.
Dinah Lance Takes Center Stage
Green Arrow isn’t the star of this book though. It’s Dinah Lance, former cop and MMA star, who’s now a bodyguard for the elite. She’s unhappy with her career, but it helps pay the bills for her ailing father. It’s hard not to sympathize with her. Many people work jobs they hate to make ends meet. Her tragedy is that she has no other choice.
It’s not long before Dinah is tapped to protect some of the city’s more villainous billionaires. Slade’s death has them rattled, and they want to find out who’s responsible. Dinah first encounters this new vigilante on page twenty-four when she and her team move to investigate Oliver’s safe house. Albuquerque and Maiolo render the Green Arrow like the Grim Reaper with a bow and arrow. Orange fire surrounds them while sinister red eyes shine through their hood. Moving like a demon, they cut through their opponents, severing Hector Hammond’s hand before Dinah intervenes. This is an obstacle she never could have seen coming.
Pichetshote’s Social Commentary and Albuquerque’s Stunning Art
Pichetshote uses Dinah’s position to comment on wealth and its influence on people. She cites studies positing that wealthy people empathize less, or how simply sitting near a screensaver showing dollar bills causes antisocial behavior. Pichetshote is condemning a modern society that values money above all else, and shows how those skewed values shape all our lives. Dinah confesses she feels numb to her therapist, echoing the sentiment of many people today.
Albuquerque brilliantly portrays how modern discourse is tied to social media, rendering four panels like smartphones with clips of different influencers talking about Slade’s murder. Letterer Jeff Powell adds jagged edges to their speech bubbles, making it look like compressed audio that would come out of your phone. Later Albuquerque shows the morbid effects of Green Arrow’s poison, covering the victim’s faces with boils, while their eyes turn red and blood runs freely from their noses. You can’t tear your eyes away.
Verdict: Should you buy Absolute Green Arrow #1?
Absolute Green Arrow is a confident debut that makes a damning point. Pichetshote’s tale of revenge against wealthy elites reflects our modern times, while Albuquerque’s reimagining of the title character as a brutal killer is enhanced by Maiolo’s demonic colors. Dinah’s numbness makes her an instantly relatable protagonist. By the end of the book, you still don’t know who to root for.
‘Absolute Green Arrow’ #1 Review: Pichetshote’s Green Arrow Is More Horror Than Hero
Absolute Green Arrow is a confident debut that makes a damning point. Pichetshote’s tale of revenge against wealthy elites reflects our modern times, while Albuquerque’s reimagining of the title character as a brutal killer is enhanced by Maiolo’s demonic colors. Dinah’s numbness to the modern world makes her an instantly relatable protagonist. By the end of the book you still don’t know who to root for.
