One Person’s Serial Killer Is Another Person’s Urban Hero — Reviewing ‘Absolute Green Arrow’ #6

The Green Arrow is dead, long live the Green Arrow. As one mystery is buried, the last one stands revealed.

Everything comes full circle in Absolute Green Arrow #6 as the legacy and life of Oliver Queen is in question. New mysteries abound as fates are sealed in the final chapter of this first arc from Pornsak Pichetshote, Rafael Albuquerque, Marcelo Maiolo, and Jeff Powell.

-SPOILERS FOLLOW-

There were only a handful of suspects that could have been the second, and now final, Green Arrow when one fully thought about the situation. There could have been some resurrective body horror with Oliver Queen, who I honestly thought was going to be revealed as Solomon Grundy originally. Mia Dearden and Roy Harper were still sort of on the table. Turns out it was the seemingly far-too-quickly dispatched Connor Hawke all along.

In the end, this final chapter of the first story arc was a satisfactory close. It felt a bit like Pichetshote had to rush through things to get to the conclusion, as this issue likely plotted and potentially written before they got word on the series expansion.

Connor makes his case to Dinah Lance, who counters back that his vengeance fueled path is a disservice to his father’s legacy. Even though Oliver was a complicated flawed man, something she was very personally aware of. It’s giving season one of Arrow vibes with Connor having a list of rich people he believes should be punished, aka killed.

There are dense hard vibes in all the beats, especially present in the work that Albuquerque pulls off month after month. It perfectly showcases the aesthetic tone of the series within every panel, no matter the focus. Those panels make sure we’re staying in the thick of the action at all times, never too far away from what is happening.

Together with the mostly darker-leaning colors that Maiolo provides, the series has the balanced street-level and horror vibes it should. This color palette wiggles itself into the middle position where some colors are bright and others are heavier dark while containing a more natural neutral washed out feeling all the way through.

This isn’t a true superhero book after all, and it never feels that way.

Exposition is everywhere in this issue. Naturally, since there is a ton of lore, secrets, and information to toss around like candy from a broken piñata. Powell divvies it up with precise intent so that none of the words bombard or overwhelm the reader. The lettering also sprinkes in the right emotional energy at the right time for maximum effect. Additionally, giving Connor and Dinah such different — and perfectly color coded — caption boxes is a damn fine touch … both visually and just from an organizational stand point when reading.

That is in tune with the overall aesthetic given to the flashback scenes in this issue and all the rest. Washing them out with a yellowed tone, to denote the past, while giving Oliver and now Connor green speech bubbles. They barely pop out from the overall yellow theme, but it’s enough to make it work.

I’m curious how this series will move forward now that Connor is revealed and having a moment at the end flirting with more heroic intentions. Hopefully, the book doesn’t lose the edge that makes it more unique in the line as it moves into the next six issues. I trust the team no matter what, and cannot wait to see what is next.

Especially with that intriguing epilogue.

Absolute Green Arrow #6 is now available from DC Comics.