The People’s Serial Killer — Reviewing ‘Absolute Green Arrow’ #3

More blood is spilled as the Green Arrow Killer remains at large, leaving Dinah Lance scrambling for answers and connections. More familiar names, faces, and places begin to enter the picture as Absolute Green Arrow #3 unveils more pieces of this wild puzzle.

Pornsak Pichetshote, Rafael Albuquerque, Marcelo Maiolo, and Jeff Powell keep the tension high, the blood flowing, and the mystery deepening with the third chapter of their limited series saga.

-Spoilers Follow-

Everything about the Absolute DC universe is quite gripping as it takes familiar concepts and twists them all around. This gives us versions of iconic characters that share similar DNA but are completely unique to what we think we know; like having a Green Arrow comic where the title character is an enigma and the real protagonist is Black Canary. This version can wipe the floor with anyone and everyone without any sort of canary scream or growing up alongside the Justice Society legends.

Pichetshote is really mining the realms of the Green Arrow and Black Canary mythos for this one. He weaves things together so seamlessly it feels like this has always been the way of things, giving us enough to feel like we’re close to figuring it all out before pulling the rug out and revealing there is another level. All of it presented in a way that never frustrates or overwhelms but tantalizes the senses as we crave more.

This issue is action-packed but very character and human focused in many respects. The Oliver Queen we see in flashbacks resembles the one that we’ve known for decades but is also sad, lonely, and involved with a lot of shady things. Roy Harper begins to cast some doubt on whether Ollie is actually dead or not, and we are left to wonder if he’s the masked killer or something far worse, especially with how the issue ends, and the introducing of an utterly horrifying version of Solomon Grundy.

Everything is so dense and hefty with how it’s presented, both in the writing aspect as well as the visuals that Albuquerque provides. He’s such a perfect pick for this series, really. All of the sequences have the right level of kinetic movement to them to come close to bursting right off the page. Characters are rich with emotional energy through their facial expressions and body movements. Each panel tells us more without having to say anything, telling the story precisely and pointedly.

There is always just the right touch of rougher textures in Albuquerque’s work to evoke the right tone for these style of stories. Nothing is light or hopeful about what is happening in this portion of the Absolute Universe. Visually and energy-wise, it feels like a perfect counter to Absolute Wonder Woman which is on the other side of the spectrum, with initial series Absolute Batman resting in the middle of this scale. One side is more hopeful, the middle a mix of both, and the Green Arrow side being as far from hopeful as could be.

Though that depends on how one feels about billionaires and their bevy of crimes against humanity.

Colors that evoke the same weight as the pencils are always the key to it all flowing well. We get that with this duo each month, as Maiolo delivers a palette which is very dense and leans towards the dark. Yet, it also can be quite light with a less rough touch at various points. Especially when it brings in lighter filtered colors for the flashbacks or cutaways found in the issue.

Rounding it all out is Powell’s bold lettering work. These comics have a lot of narration from Canary, and a medium amount of expositional dialogue from others. In this case there was more, because Roy Harper starts to spill the beans and we even get a podcaster beat in the middle. Powell pumps all the lettering full of emotion as it spills across the pages in the right flow state to blend with the other art.

There is a horror element that creeps into this series, especially as we uncover more about what these billionaires were up to. That is shown in the lettering, with the altered fonts and bubbles, such as the flat man that is dying begging to be helped to die, and then the halting slow loud terrifying vocal entrance of the aforementioned Grundy. I sure heard it how I’m supposed to in my head and felt a shiver in the moment, as one should.

Absolute Green Arrow #3 is now available from DC Comics.