Origins and Omens flashback, part 1.

Hey again all, X here with what I think should be a fun little post. You see, last night I posted that I had been reordering my comic books to take a break from my various school related responsibilities. As I was going through my DC books, I came across a bunch of those “Origins and Omens” stories from early 2009 that ran right before Blackest Night began. What was “Origins and Omens” you ask? Basically it was Scar(of Blackest Night fame)looking into the future via the Book of Black. So I figured, why not post the O&O pages from the books I have and see just how accurate those “predictions” were... It turns out that I have 17 scans, so I'll post 9 today and 8 tomorrow. I'll be doing this in alphabetical order, so we'll have A-J today. Alright, let's get this show on the road.


First up would be Action Comic #874...-Guardian did run into that group of Legionaries
-He did team up with Nightwing and Flamebird
-And the Science Police building did explode.
-I don't recall his “daughter” dying
-Nor do I remember him flying on the wing of a plane, although I don't think anybody could blame me for forgetting about that...


Next is Adventure Comics #0-Well that's an easy one... Superboy did indeed come back to life!


Birds of Prey #127-That really bloody scene was from the abysmal Oracle/Battle for the Cowl mini
-Babs did break away from the Birds/Black Canary temporarily
-I don't recall Babs having one final battle with that awesome possessed Calculator
-And the Batgirl costume thing... Maybe that alludes to Steph becoming Batgirl?


Booster Gold #17-Booster did battle with/against the Teen Titans from the past
-But to my knowledge, Booster still hasn't learned the identity of the Black Beetle...


Green Arrow & Black Canary #17-Hey hey, I think every single thing from those scenes happened! Although to be honest, most of the stories were awful, so yeah...


Green Lantern #38-John Stewart had to deal with his dead ex during Blackest Night
-Hal and Sinestro DID have to team-up together(pretty much every other issue it seems)
-Black Hand also swore fealty to the Black Lanterns/Scar.
-I don't recall Alan Scott being called in front of the Guardians, which is pretty funny since Geoff Johns WROTE this issue, meaning you'd think it definitely would have happened!


Green Lantern Corps #33-Jade did indeed come back to life
-Sodam Yat did battle Mongul on Daxam
-I thought those children who attacked the GLC were Black Lanterns, not Sinestro Corps members, although I suspect I'm forgetting a storyline... Possibly with Kryb...
-I also don't recall the scene with Kilowog and Ganthet, although it easily could have happened somewhere along the line


Justice League of America #30-That Starbreaker guy did attack
-And Icon did help them during the Starbreaker battle.
-As for the half naked guy... No idea!


Justice Society of America #24-Obsidian did turn into a shadow egg
-Magog did leave the team
-The team did split in half
-And Mr. Terrific was stabbed by Kid Karnevil
-I don't recall Alan fighting the guy with the roots
-Nor do I recall the other battle with that giant thing with the sword


So there we go, that takes care of the first 9 scans. Tomorrow I'll post the rest, which include Nightwing, Robin and Superman. Until then, X out.

Action Comics #886, Adventure Comics #7 & Green Arrow/Black Canary #29

Since I've gotten a lot of my Marvel comics out of the way lately, it's time to dig into the ever growing pile of DC's I have. Since I'm feeling particularly lazy tonight, I have no idea how many reviews I'll be doing before I call it a night. I guess I'll take it one comic at a time...

Action Comics #886: Writers: Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann. Artist: Pere Pèrez.

We open things up with Nightwing(Chris Kent)acting like one of Marvel's mutants by decrying the fact that no matter what he does, the public still hates and fears him. Flamebird(Thara Ak-Var)tries to cheer him up, but they wind up arguing about her being possessed by the Kryptonian god, Flamebird, while Chris is possessed by nothing. Hey, I'd be more then happy if an ancient Kryptonian god WASN'T taking me over, but to each his own I guess. Thara decides to give Chris a Kryptonian crystal to explain why she is possessed, while he isn't. Annnnnd, que flashback sequence! Chris gets a LONG lesson in Kryptonian mythology, and since I like you so much, I'm going to spare you the excruciatingly boring details. All you need to know is that the Kryptonian gods Nightwing and Flamebird have an enemy god called Vohc-The-Breaker, and that Vohc was responsible for imprisoning Nightwing in the Phantom Zone, because he's EVIL! After learning this, Chris does what any reasonable twenty-something would do, he sleeps with Thara... Sure, why not? Afterwards, Flamebird takes possession of Thara while she was sleeping and speaks to Jax-Ur, who is demanding payment for assisting Flamebird and Chris a few issues back. Flamebird reluctantly agrees to betray Thara and Chris the following day by sending them into a trap Jax-Ur had set for them. That is exactly what happens, and this issue(mercifully!)ends with us learning that apparently Jax-Ur is the host for Vohc-The-Breaker.

What the HELL was that?!? You know, I've defended this title since Greg took over. I liked the Chris Kent character since the AMAZING Last Son storyline, so I was more then willing to put my neck out and try to find the good in this series... Sure, it's been getting tougher to actually find good in this series with each passing month, but I still tried... That is until I finished reading this comic. What a frigging mess! A lesson in Kryptonian mythology? REALLY!?! The Nightwing/Flamebird myth was hokey and boring AND it went on for PAGES! Then there's the "shocking" revelation the Jax-Ur is apparently some evil Kryptonian god who has never been mentioned or shown before this issue. Um, so what? It's not like Greg and Eric have been building towards the Vohc reveal, they just sort of threw it in there, and as such, I could care less about it. After reading this, all I want is for Geoff Johns to write one issue of this series returning Chris to a seven year old kid, while getting rid of everything that's happened here recently...

Score: 2 out of 10.If you're a fan of Kryptonian mythology, then this is the comic book you've been waiting for!!!

Adventure Comics #7: Writer: Tony Bedard. Pencils: Travis Moore.

This issue gets started with Black Lantern Superboy fighting Wonder Girl. Superboy tries to fight off the influence of the black ring, but is unable, and he is forced to watch helplessly as his body tries to kill his girlfriend. During the battle, WG manages to wrap BL SB up with her lasso and shock him, which allows SB to regain control of his body for a second. SB takes that time to whistle to Krypto, who rushes over to protect WG from BL SB. BL SB makes quick work of Krypto by freezing the dog, something SB was never able to do, before returning his attention to WG. SB manages to take control of his body AGAIN, and he writes the word "fortress" into some rocks near WG, which causes her to head north to the Fortress of Solitude, with BL SB and Krypto in hot pursuit. The three arrive at the Fortress, and BL SB immediately attacks WG, while Krypto notices something peculiar buried under the floor of the Fortress. Krypto winds up digging up SB's body, which was buried under the Fortress after the events of Infinite Crisis. BL SB's Black Lantern ring becomes confused by the presence of two Superboys and finally decides to abandon SB for his corpse. Before the ring can latch onto his dead body, SB uses his freeze breath to freeze the ring in its tracks, while WG throws it into space, where the two hope it will remain frozen forever. This issue ends with SB re-burying his corpse, before returning to the battle against Nekron with WG and Krypto by his side.

Hmm, I've seen a few reviews that gave very high praise to this comic, and after reading it for myself, I have to disagree!(sorry JT!) As a matter of fact, I didn't like this comic at all! It was bad enough that Wonder Woman was able to shake free of her black ring, but Superboy? No way! If SB can maintain some form of control over his body while he's a BL, then why can't Superman or Kid Flash? Sure Tony tried to sell that SB had extensive mental training to resist being mind controlled(which is doubtful, since SB quit the Titans after being mind controlled by Lex Luthor, and then "died" soon thereafter), but you can't expect me to believe that SB's mind is better conditioned to avoid telepathic assaults then Supes, who's been a hero forever, or a speedster like Kid Flash... I will say that I really liked that Tony used SB's dead body in this issue, because I was wondering what became of it, but even that part seemed somewhat off to me. I've seen Black Lantern rings free themselves from many different types of prisons, they've even been shown to be capable of puncturing Green Lantern constructs, but this issue ends when SB's black ring is unable to escape some ice? The damn things travel through the universe without freezing, but they can't escape frozen spit?!? And on top of that, why didn't a black ring attach itself to SB's corpse right from the start? If Nekron is the all-knowing embodiment of death, how come he didn't know a very powerful corpse was buried under the Fortress of Solitude? I don't know, maybe I was looking too far into things here, but some of the events in this comic just didn't add up for me.

Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.So because Superboy has had telepathic coaching from Raven, he's able to counter his black ring... Uh-huh...

Green Lantern/Black Canary #29: Writer: Andrew Kreisberg. Pencils: Mike Norton.

We kick this issue off with Green Arrow learning that his cop friend, Lt. Hilton, was stabbed in the back of the head by Cupid, but is inexplicably still alive, even with the knife handle jutting out of his head... Well, that's just weird. The doctor explains that Hilton is awake, and coherent, but that he may be slightly off-kilter and brain-damaged... Well, I would say so! GA tries to talk to Hilton, but unsurprisingly, Hilton doesn't feel like talking, so GA leaves the hospital and meets up with Black Canary and Speedy. The trio head down to police headquarters, and GA begins to look into any strange crimes that may be the handy work of Cupid, when he comes across reports of a stolen eighteen wheel truck. Speaking of Cupid, she has loaded the truck full of "love potion" chemicals, which she plans on dumping into the Star City drinking water. Oh, and Hilton(with the knife STILL planted firmly in his head)gets up and leaves the hospital... Cupid makes it to the waters where she plans on dumping her chemicals, but she is interrupted by her former army buddies. They try to kill her, but GA and company arrive on the scene and make the save. GA winds up in the army helicopter, while Cupid ends up battling BC(after Speedy was knocked into the waters below)in the GA copter. GA's copter explodes, while BC and Cupid's helicopter crashes into a nearby dam. GA emerges from the wreckage of the army helicopter just in time to see Cupid hanging onto the edge of the dam, with BC hanging on to her leg. Before Cupid and BC fall into the waters below, GA manages to shoot Cupid through the hand, pinning her to the wall, as well as curing her insanity... Umm, what? The now sane Cupid helps BC climb onto the dam, saving both women. A little later, GA and BC question Cupid, and learn that she is back in control, and with that, they leave her to the authorities. Lt. Hilton, who was quietly watching from a distance, shoots a man in the head and steals his car, driving away, all with a knife handle sticking out of the back of his head! This issue ends with GA and BC being summoned by Hal Jordan to meet him up at the JLA Watchtower, setting the stage for the Cry for Justice mini-series.

Well, that's it. This was the last issue of Andrew Kreisberg's GA run. Before I get into my thoughts on this issue, let's take a look back at Andrew's GA work. First he introduced us to Cupid. Then Cupid became obsessed with GA. From there, Cupid began killing GA's enemies. Cupid then gets arrested, breaks free, is revealed to be a member of a top secret black-ops project, does evil things, then is cured of her insanity... And that's pretty much Andrew's run in a nutshell! See the problem? If used properly, I think Cupid could have been a welcome addition to GA's rogues gallery, unfortunately, this series became more about Cupid then it was about GA and BC, which completely turned me off of the Cupid character. All right, with that out of the way, I can get back to the comic at hand. Surprisingly, this issue wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Sure, there were a few REALLY bad parts, such as Cupid getting shot through the hand and regaining her sanity... I have NO idea how the hell THAT works out! However, this comic did something that I've been waiting MONTHS to see happen, it FINALLY gave us a conclusive ending to the whole Cupid storyline. Sure, I probably would have preferred to see her die, preferably at the hands of Lt. Hilton, but at least this comic ended with Cupid's tale over, because if this comic would have ended with Cupid once again sneaking away or outsmarting everyone, I think I would have thrown this comic book across the room! As for the next issue... I'm not sure what to expect. I guess it will pick up after the events of Cry for Justice, but I'm not positive. All I know is if Cupid shows up next issue, I'll riot!

Score: 7 out of 10.Wait, Green Arrow doesn't kill? He must have forgotten his series from the 1980's, because all he seems to do in those comics is kill people!

Green Arrow/Black Canary #28, Titans #21 & X-Factor: Nation X #1

I've got three reviews to type out tonight, two DC's and a Marvel. Going in, I expect next to nothing from the two DC books, and I'm cautiously optimistic about the Marvel. In case you somehow missed the title of this post(which would be REALLY strange...)I'll be checking out Green Arrow/Black Canary #28, Titans #21 and the X-Factor Nation X one shot.

Green Arrow/Black Canary #28: Writer: Andrew Kreisberg. Art: Mike Norton, Bill Sienkiewicz, Renato Guedes and Josè Wilson Magalhaes.

We begin this issue with the Star City police department heading to the scene of the Green Arrow, Black Canary, Cupid, strange military guys fight. One cop comments that it sounds like World War 3, but in the DCU, shouldn't he have said World War 4? Anyway, back on the rooftop, GA and Dark Arrow(Everyman)battle, while Speedy takes on Cupid and BC takes on the army guys. The fight continues for a while until Cupid manages to activate a Quantum arrow from Speedy's quiver, which cause a large explosion and sends everybody tumbling from the rooftop, where the battle had been raging, into the building. BC and GA climb out of the rubble and Speedy gets to play damsel in distress, with Cupid holding a knife to Speedy's throat. Cupid demands BC dig Everyman out of the rubble, which she does, quietly stealing one of Everyman's arrows in the process. Everyman goes to Cupid's side, and while GA distracts Cupid, BC draws back GA's bowstring and sends an arrow at Cupid. Dark Arrow steps in the way of the arrow and takes it in the shoulder, and Speedy gets away from Cupid. One of the army guys revives and throws a grenade at Cupid and Everyman, but she uses the explosion to get herself and Everyman away. Cupid and Everyman get outside and attack the cops who were there, including GA's buddy, Lt. Hilton. Back inside, we get a Cupid origin story, where we learn that she received an experimental drug while she was a black ops army officer which made her obsessive, enhanced her strength and speed, and made her forget her past. The army guy who told GA and company the story conveniently dies after he relays the story to them, and this issue ends with Team Arrow walking outside to find the dead cops, as well as Lt. Hilton laying face down with Cupid's knife jutting out of his back.

What can I really say? I guess I can respect the fact that Andrew is at least trying to explain Cupid's actions, fighting ability, etc, but it's like every issue we discover yet another far-fetched thing about Cupid's past. Last issue we find out she was a black ops soldier. This issue she's a crazed super-soldier. What's next, we discover she's the long lost love child of an alternate version of Superman and Wonder Woman? Eh, that's going to have to do it for my anti-Cupid rant this month, I still have a few other comics to get through.

Score: 5 out of 10.Hey look, it's Cupid!!!

Titans #21: Writer: J. T. Krul. Pencils: Angel Unzueta and Chris Batista.

This issue focuses on what pretty much amounts to the Titans nowadays, Cyborg, Donna Troy and Starfire. Cyborg is trying to find people who can fill the depleted ranks of the Titans, but after the Titans East fiasco, he doesn't want any rookies. Donna is taking Red Arrow's injuries at the hands of Prometheus in Justice League: Cry for Justice #5 harder then anybody else, and has been spending time by the side of the fallen archer. Starfire has been trying to figure out why she turned down Vixen's offer to join the Justice League. To that end, she heads to Gotham City to talk with the man who knows her best, the former Nightwing, and current Batman, Dick Grayson. The two talk and it seems that Starfire is afraid to leave the Titans and move on to bigger and better things, because the Titans are where she feels the most secure. After talking to Dick, Starfire heads back to the Titans headquarters, where Cyborg is still sitting in front of a computer screen. Cyborg tries to convince Starfire to join the JLA, but Starfire continues to find reasons not to join. While the two are talking, Cyborg believes his old Titans East team members are in trouble, and he rushes out of the room to help them, leaving Starfire completely perplexed. This issue ends with Phobia sneaking up behind Starfire and forcing her to face her greatest fear, being left alone.

I liked this comic. It didn't blow me away or anything, but it was pretty solid, and all of the characters acted properly, which always makes me happy. With it being common knowledge that Donna, Cyborg and Starfire will be joining the JLA whenever Cry for Justice ends(DC has already printed the teaser art!), I'm really perplexed as to who will be left to take part in this series... I've heard everybody from one-armed Roy to Deathstroke, but after reading this issue, we seem to be no closer to having a new Titans team then before. After reading J. T.'s recent Teen Titans issues, I'm definitely hoping the new team features Deathstroke, Jericho and Ravager. If that is the case, it should be pretty interesting to see how the team goes from Cyborg to Deathstroke...

Score: 7 out of 10.See, it's like I've always said, NEVER piss off an Amazon!

X-Factor: Nation X #1: Writer: Peter David. Pencils: Valentine De Landro.

This issue begins with an elderly woman writing about the events occurring in Warsaw, Poland in 1943. A Nazi soldier walks over to the woman and demands that she gets onboard a train that was ferrying people out of town. The woman refuses to follow the soldier, so the soldier goes to grab the woman's book, which causes her to stab the soldier in the neck with her pen, killing him and draining his blood into her pen. The woman then vanishes. OOOOOK then... In the present, Cyclops welcomes Jamie Madrox and X-Factor onto the island home of the X-Men, the absurdly named Utopia. Cyclops tells X-Factor to make themselves at home(heh-heh)while he tries to convince Jamie and Layla Miller why X-Factor should permanently move to Utopia. While the various members of X-Factor are meeting up with former friends and teammates(which leads to several awesome scenes the old school X-Men fan in me absolutely loved!), Jamie and Cyclops debate the merits of having pretty much every single remaining mutant living in the same place. While Jamie, Cyclops and Layla talk, Prof. X and Darwin run into the elderly woman from 1943 Warsaw. It seems she is still writing in her book about the way humanity is always segregating somebody, in this case, mutants. Darwin figures the woman is there plotting against the mutants, so he grabs her book to discover her plans, which leads to the woman growing to a massive size and demanding the return of her book. The various mutants on the island spot the giant woman and begin to head over. Prof. X tells Darwin to return the book to the woman, in the hopes that doing that would end the problem, but Northstar arrives on the scene and whisks Darwin away, accidentally dropping him, and the woman's book into the ocean. The mutants attack, but are unable to do any real damage to the woman(Crone of the Others as she calls herself). Ultimately, Namor retrieves Darwin and the woman's book from the drink, and tosses the book to the woman, who proceeds to shrink back to her regular size. After informing Cyclops that Utopia would never work, she vanishes, as mysteriously as she appeared. In the end, all of the members of X-Factor decide to leave Cyclops and his Utopia behind, with Jamie wishing for the best but expecting the worst.

You know, when you read a comic written by Peter David, you know you'll always get at least something enjoyable out of it. While I didn't really care for the main story with Crone, I did enjoy the way Peter had the members of X-Factor interacting with their old friends and teammates. The nods to the old(and vastly superior to the current)X-Force, as well as the parts with Darwin and the Professor left a smile on my face, which is all I really ask for from a comic. While this issue wasn't anywhere near as awesome as the regular X-Factor series has been, it was a perfectly acceptable comic book.

Score: 7 out of 10.I gave this comic an extra 1/2 on its score due to Jamie calling Utopia, "floating evil island".

Green Arrow/Cupid #27... I mean Green Arrow/Black Canary #27!

Writer: Andrew Kreisberg. Pencils: Mike Norton. Second Feature Artists: Renato Guedes & Josè Wilson Magalhaes.

What Happened: This issue opens up with Cupid and Everyman saving and then assaulting a couple in a Star City Park. Green Arrow, Black Canary and Speedy respond to the scene a little later and Ollie reveals that he has mini cameras planted in all of his arrows... Uh-huh... Ollie and company manage to track Cupid and Everyman down to an abandoned apartment building thanks to his mini cameras. After breaking into Cupid's room, the heroes discover a TV set with a message from Cupid and Everyman. Cupid basically tells Ollie she's traded up and that she doesn't need him anymore. With that the building explodes and Cupid and Everyman make-out on a nearby rooftop. While making out, Cupid and Everyman are confronted by a bunch of army types. The army guys announce that Cupid was actually one of them once... Seriously? Is this really happening?!? Cue the flashback scene where we discover that Cupid was indeed a member of this black ops type team, except that she had a heart of gold... Ugh... After that flashback sequence, Cupid accuses the army guys of making the story up, and this issue ends with Ollie, Dinah and Mia confronting Cupid, Everyman and the army guys.

What I Thought: So now it seems that Cupid used to be a part of a black ops army unit... You know what, why the hell not? While were at it, how about we just kill off every other character in the DCU and rename it the CupidCU? God help me, I'm SICK and tired of Cupid!!! She's been the focal point of this series for at least 3 storylines and possibly as many as 10 issues! I don't care about Cupid, I don't care about her past or her flashback sequences, and I've got to say, I'm getting very close to not caring about this series anymore...

Score: 3 out of 10.Yeah, that's right, we get a Cupid flashback sequence in this issue. Take that X-Man75!!!

A Quick Look at Green Arrow/Black Canary #26

Writer: Andrew Kreisberg. Art: Mike Norton and Bill Sienkiewicz.

What Happened: This issue opens up with Ollie having a dream that he's meeting with his younger self, back when he was stranded on the island that turned him from a boozing playboy into Green Arrow. Young Ollie tells old Ollie that he should go back to Dinah and make up with her, but old Ollie is too busy wallowing in self-pity to listen to his younger self. After a few pages, and some fisticuffs, old Ollie realizes that his younger counterpart is right, and he wakes up, determined to find Dinah and beg her forgiveness. Upon arriving at his and Dinah's home, Ollie discovers ANOTHER Ollie standing in the doorway with Dinah and Mia. Ollie launches an attack on Ollie #2, which cause Dinah to believe that Ollie isn't Ollie, but that Ollie #2 is the real Ollie... That was officially the most CONFUSING line I have EVER typed out! Somewhere my English professor is crying... Anyway, to make a long(and confusing!)story short, Ollie convinces Dinah that he is the real Oliver Queen, and Dinah realizes that Ollie #2 is Everyman, who took Ollie's place during Ollie and Dinah's wedding. Everyman runs away, still thinking that he is the real Oliver Queen, and is chased down by Ollie and Dinah. Before Ollie and Dinah can apprehend Everyman, he falls through a window on top of a warehouse, which causes Ollie and Dinah to lose track of him. Everyman winds up getting captured by an unseen assailant(probably Cupid...)while Dinah and Ollie return home to make up with each other.

What I Thought: Hey, you know what? I liked this comic. It was heads and shoulders better then the last few issues of this series has been, so that's definitely a good thing. It was a bit confusing at times(there were THREE different Ollie's here!), but all in all, I can't really complain too much. Plus Cupid didn't show up! That fact adds an extra 1/2 to the score for this issue!

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.Leave it to Ollie to attack his younger self in a dream...

A Quick Look at Green Arrow/Black Canary #25

Writer: Andrew Kreisberg. Pencils: Mike Norton.

What Happened: Ollie wakes up naked in an alley in Star City with no knowledge of how he got there or what had happened to him the past several hours. Some friendly bums give him some clothing and he decides to make his way back home. Cupid dresses some guy up as Green Arrow and ties him to a bed, intending to sleep with him, but she ends up shooting him in the head instead. Ollie spots some guys robbing a grocery store and he decides to stop them, but winds up nearly getting knocked down by one of the crooks. Before the crook can shoot Ollie, several green arrows hit the crooks clothing, pinning him to the wall. Ollie catches a glimpse of an archer dressed in green on a rooftop and he decides to duck into the sewer instead of facing the green clad archer. Ollie emerges from the sewer in front of his home, and he rings the bell, which brings Speedy and Black Canary to the door. Before Ollie can enter the door, a green arrow comes hurtling towards him, but luckily Speedy shoots it out of the air with an arrow of her own. The three heroes look around and Green Arrow(?!)leaps off a nearby building, preparing to attack Ollie. Next up was the Black Canary Second Feature which instead featured Speedy telling Lian Harper a bedtime story about BC... Um, yeah...

What I thought: Well this was a train wreck! This was NOT one of Andrew's better efforts. The main story was just bizarre(so is Green Arrow trying to kill Ollie, or help him?)and don't even get me started on the Black Canary Second Feature, which didn't actually feature Black Canary at all!!! And of course we had our obligatory Cupid portion of the comic, because the series title is Green Arrow/Black Canary/Cupid now... This whole comic was just very weird... Maybe next issue things will get better, but I'm not holding my breath on that one!

Score: 5 out of 10.You know what the funniest thing was? The next page had absolutely NOTHING to do with this scene!

Green Arrow and Black Canary #24

Green Arrow and Black Canary #24 Writer- Andrew Kreisberg Penciller- Mike Norton

What Happened: This issue opens with Black Canary spiriting Cupid away from prison in an attempt to keep her safe from the insane Big Game, who wants to kill Cupid. Cupid and BC run from the cops, talk and fight the cops. Big Game eventually catches up to the women and claims to have killed Green Arrow back at the prison. BC and Big Game wind up battling in the streets of Star City while Cupid uses the distraction to escape. BC and Game are pretty well matched, with neither one of them managing to gain the upper hand, that is until the timely arrival of Speedy(!)who ties Game up with some rope arrows, ending his threat. BC and Speedy both try to get in touch with GA, and Ollie eventually answers them, stating that he is a bit bruised, but definitely not dead. From there we head back to Ollie's home, where we learn Mia and Dodger broke up, which is why she returned to Star City. After catching up with Ollie and Dinah, Mia decides to hit the hay, but is woken up by the sounds of arguing. Ollie decides that there is something wrong with him and his relationship with Dinah, so he packs a bag and leaves, ending this issue.

What I thought: UGH... What the hell was this??? This comic was pretty terrible, from cover to cover. The dialogue was awful, the story was nonsensical(why was Dinah running from the cops with Cupid? Why not stay at the prison with Ollie and take down Game together?)and the ending was ridiculous. The only good to come out of this issue was the return of Speedy, but not even she could save this comic. I honestly can't stand Cupid. Unfortunately for me however, Andrew really seems to like her, which means we'll be seeing more of her going forward in this series. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Andrew changed the name of this series to Green Arrow and Cupid, or better yet, Cupid and Green Arrow... Of course Black Canary couldn't defeat Big Game one on one, but that really doesn't surprise me anymore. Obviously Andrew can't stand Dinah, so far his entire run on this book has shown Dinah as either a screw-up or a damsel in distress... She once fought Deathstroke the frigging Terminator to a standstill in an issue of the "Birds of Prey"!!! Dinah should have mopped the floor with Big Game, but naturally she winds up getting stabbed in the leg and saved by Speedy... Sigh... So now Ollie has decided to leave Dinah... Who didn't see that one coming? Andrew has been setting up a relationship between Ollie and Cupid from practically his first issue on this title, and if/when that relationship occurs, this rant will seem like child's play compared to what I'll wind up saying then...

Score: 3 1/2 out of 10.I sure can't blame Ollie for leaving... If I was a character in this comic I'd want out too!

A Quick Look at Green Arrow/Black Canary #23

This month's installment of GA/BC is written by Andrew Kreisberg with Mike Norton and Bill Sienkiewicz doing the artwork. This is one of DC's Second Feature comics, and the second story stars Black Canary and is written by Andrew with Mike and Joe Rubinstein taking care of the art.

-We begin with GA and the son of the original Big Game prowling the rooftops of Star City. Ollie is out looking for something to do since his marriage to Dinah is on the rocks, and Big Game is trying to track down his father's murderer, Cupid.

-Big Game has been killing everybody who has had the slightest contact with Cupid, from a guy she met at a gym to the guy who moved into her apartment after she left it. Ollie comes across one of the bodies and realizes that the blade marks are identical to the knife the original Big Game used.

-Ollie somehow manages to deduct that the murderer is looking to kill Cupid in retribution for Big Game's murder, so he heads down to prison to protect her. By this time, Big Game has broken into the prison and arrived at Cupid's room. This story ends with Black Canary arriving on the scene and Ollie telling her to take Cupid somewhere safe so he can take on Big Game.

-The second feature dealt with Wildcat trying to get Dinah out of the funk she's been in since she learned that she was responsible for the creation of the villainous Discord. The two have a discussion atop a building in Star City and by the end of the talk Dinah feels much better. This story ends with Dinah heading to Cupid's prison at the request of Green Arrow.

This comic really didn't do anything for me. The story in the first feature actually managed to annoy me at times! Nothing really made sense... How Ollie came to the conclusion that a new Big Game was in town and that the new villain would be heading to Cupid's prison is beyond me. Supposedly Ollie knew it was a new Big Game because of some knife wounds inflicted on a mutilated body. And on top of that, Ollie instantly knows this new Big Game would be heading right to Cupid's prison. Ollie then blows a hole in the wall of the prison psychiatrist's office and enters the prison a split second before Big Game arrives to avenge the death of his father... There are so many things wrong there! First off, how did Ollie know Cupid would be in the shrink's office and not her prison cell? Secondly, why the hell did he have to blow the wall up to enter the prison? Couldn't he have just, oh I don't know, walked in through the front gate?!? Then to top it all off, Big Game breaks into the prison and kills a whole slew of guards using only a shotgun and a big knife! Come on now, I'm not expecting a Shakespearean masterpiece here, but the story can at least make some sense, can't it? For a score, I'll give this issue a 5 out of 10. I had been enjoying the past couple of issues of this series, but this one was really pretty bad.Yeah baby, it's the greatest trick arrow of all-time, the boxing glove arrow!

Green Arrow and Black Canary #22

This issue provides us with the conclusion of the "Peace and Quiet" storyline. As this story has unfolded I've found myself getting more and more into it. This comic is written by Andrew Kreisberg. Oh, and this is one of those "Second Feature" books DC has been touting. So, who is in the second feature you ask? It's none other than Green Arrow... Yep, that's right, the co-star of this comic is the Second Feature. Jeez, here I was hoping they'd use the Second Feature to spotlight Connor Hawke or Speedy, but no, DC decides to feature one of the title characters... Lame.

-The first feature in this comic dealt primarily with Black Canary and her origin. It also dealt with the origin of the villain responsible for stealing the hearing from Star City, Discord. The origin really wasn't much more than a look at Dinah's first meeting with Wildcat. Dinah discovered her Canary Cry, her mother called Ted, Ted tried to convince Dinah to become a hero, Dinah's mom didn't want her following in her footsteps, etc. Nothing really Earth-shattering.

-Discord came from money and decided to become a musician, against the wishes of his father. Things worked out for Discord(he became a member of the Star City Orchestra)until Dinah accidentally destroyed his hearing with an ill-timed Canary Cry. After losing his hearing, Discord created a device that gave him a degree of electronic hearing, however this "hearing" lacked any tone. With his music career destroyed, Discord did what any logical person would do, he decided to take revenge on the world and the person he blamed for his loss of hearing, Black Canary.

-After the explosion that ended the last issue, Discord and Dinah are knocked off the roof of the building they were fighting on, but Dinah manages to save the both of them from becoming street pizza.

-After landing, Discord tries to kill Dinah, but she defeats him with ease, knocking him out and leaving him for the cops. Dinah's feature ends with her realizing that it was due to her he lost his hearing and apparently his mind.

-Ollie's feature dealt with his relationship with his crazy stalker, Cupid. Now that sound has returned to Star City, Ollie decides to arrest Cupid, but needless to say she isn't exactly willing to go to prison.

-While Ollie is trying to arrest Cupid, they hear a cry of murderer and go to investigate. The two enter an apartment and find a woman bleeding all over the floor with a butcher knife jutting out of her chest. Ollie realizes there's nothing that can be done to help the woman(she's lost too much blood), so Cupid comforts the dying woman. The woman's boyfriend(who was in the next room)tells the two archers that his girlfriend was freaking out due to the loss of sound in Star City, so he had decided to stab her. Boy, what a nice guy...

-Cupid attacks the guy and gets ready to remove his brain Ancient Egyptian style and Ollie stands back and does nothing to stop her. Before Cupid can do any real damage to the murderer, the cops arrive and taser Cupid, knocking her out. The cops ask Ollie why he was standing back doing nothing, and he tells them(unconvincingly)that he was about to step in.

-Later, Ollie returns home and Dinah tells him she heard about what happened between Ollie, Cupid and the murderer. Dinah reads Ollie the riot act and tells him that he seriously needs to take a break from being Green Arrow because lately he's been making all the wrong moves... Yeah, that coming from the woman who caused Discord to lose his hearing and go crazy! This issue ends with Dinah taking Ollie's mask and throwing it on the floor and leaving him standing alone in thought.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this story. When Andrew took this series over, I gave him a load of grief, but it seems he's starting to hit his stride in this book. I could have done without the Black Canary origin stuff(it didn't really add anything to the story)but everything else was quite good. Discord's origin was well-done, even though the way he lost his hearing does still bug me a little bit. I still find it difficult to believe Dinah would use her Canary Cry in such a haphazard manner, but what's done is done.

I especially liked the Second Feature with Ollie and Cupid, mainly because of the way it left whether Ollie was going to step in and help the murderer up in the air. Although he claims he was going to step in and stop Cupid from killing the murderer, I'm not too sure. Remember, back in the 80's, Ollie tended to flat out kill bad guys with little remorse. Hell, in some of those older Green Arrow comics, Ollie acted like a blond Punisher! With Dinah realizing what she has caused to happen regarding Discord and Ollie teetering ever closer to the edge of sanity, the next few issues of this series should be pretty good. For a score, I'll give this book an 8 1/2 out of 10. Hopefully Andrew can keep up his recent streak of good issues.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #21

I've been pretty vocal concerning my displeasure over the way Black Canary has been mis-written in this series as of late. Since taking over as the regular writer of this title, Andrew Kreisberg has really played up Dinah as the constant damsel in distress. Anybody familiar with the recently canned "Birds of Prey" comic knows Dinah is FAR from a damsel in distress, and is actually one of the better fighters in all of the DCU. Hopefully, this issue will see Dinah return to her old ass-kicking ways as opposed to her recent descent into incompetency.

-Before I go any further, some background is probably necessary. A bunch of issues back, incompetent Dinah used her Canary Cry on some thug and wound up messing up the hearing of some innocent bystander. Said bystander(now not as innocent)has gotten a hold of some really fancy technology and has managed to take all the sound away from Star City. In layman's terms, nobody in Star City can hear anything. Upon losing the ability to hear, the citizens of Star City have decided it was the perfect time to riot... Yeah sure, that's exactly what I'd do if I lost the ability to hear!

-With that rather lengthy intro out of the way, on with the story. Ass-kicking Dinah(not incompetent Dinah)is running around the streets of Star City, dealing with would be muggers and rapists who are now permeating the streets. While Dinah is dealing with the rioting citizens, Ollie is trying to deal with his crazed stalker, Cupid, who is following him around like a lost puppy dog.

-Dinah heads to a University and finds some professors who have figured out why the city has lost its sound(boy, that sound dumb!). She receives a device from the professors that should allow her to locate the source of the disturbance.

-After a flashback sequence showing Dinah as a teenager dealing with the initial onset of her powers, Dinah manages to track down the source of the mayhem to a rooftop overlooking the city. On the rooftop is some guy with a fancy sound gun attached to his arm. Dinah lunges at the man but he fires a huge blast of sound at her feet, destroying the entire top of the building, and ending this issue.

Hey, you know what? This was my favorite issue of GA/BC since Andrew took over the writing duties! This issue actually focused on Dinah and showed her to be more than Green Arrow's bumbling wife. A few issues ago, Dinah could barely deal with one street thug, but in this issue she was able to take down 6 bozos with ease. The Dinah in this comic is the one who I became a fan of during the "Birds of Prey". Thank you for bringing her back Mr. Kreisberg!

I'm still not sure where Andrew is going with the flashbacks to Dinah's adolescence or what exactly the boy she injured with her Canary Cry means to this story, but at least the main storyline is really picking up steam. I still don't like Cupid and the fact that Ollie is allowing her to run around with him is starting to bother me. She was responsible for several murders over the last few issues, so you'd think Ollie would at least make an attempt to apprehend her... But of course Cupid IS a woman, and Ollie IS Ollie, so I guess that explains his actions there.

In this issue, Cupid thinks to herself that after six of seven archery lessons she's getting pretty good with the bow. That made me smile, because I know firsthand just how difficult it is to learn archery. Last summer I brought myself a bow and arrow, read a few books and web articles on archery and after deciding I knew what was what, I went out, set up a few targets and proceeded to play Hawkeye/Green Arrow. Instead of getting better with each shot, I inexplicably became worse and worse, developing several huge welts and bruises on my arms from the snapping of the bowstring, as well as a grotesquely swollen thumb after I somehow managed to shoot an arrow into the thumb that was holding the bow... I still can't fathom how I managed that... Needless to say, my bow hasn't seen the light of day this summer!

Anyway, back to this comic book. For a score, I'll go with an 8 1/2 out of 10, which is by far the best score I've given any comic in this series for quite some time. Hopefully Andrew can keep up the good work over the next couple of issues.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #20

It's time for another issue of Green Arrow and Black Canary written by Andrew Kreisberg. I really don't have high hopes for this comic, so I'll just head straight into the review.

-This issue begins with Dinah and Ollie deciding to go to a marriage councilor, since Dinah feels they aren't communicating properly with each other. The two argue nonstop before the councilor takes control and begins to ask questions about Ollie and Dinah's parents. Ollie states he has no problems with his folks, but Dinah clams up and decides she wants to leave, which pisses Ollie off, since it was Dinah's idea to go in the first place.

-Dinah has a flashback concerning the first time she used her Canary Cry and injured some guy in high school... I really don't know why the flashback was included, but it was.

-After the flashback sequence, Ollie and Dinah resume arguing in the councilors office. Suddenly, in the middle of the argument, Ollie, Dinah and the councilor lose the ability to hear. After looking out the window, the two heroes realize that apparently all of Star City is suffering from sudden deafness. The sudden deafness causes the citizens of Star City to riot, so Ollie and Dinah go outside in an attempt to halt the violence.

-After splitting up, Ollie runs into Cupid who wants to help Ollie, and Dinah narrowly avoids getting hit by an out of control truck. This issue ends with the guy Dinah accidentally made deaf with her Canary Cry a few issues back standing triumphantly on a rooftop watching the carnage below while quoting Shakespeare.

Well, that was different... I guess the people of Star City will riot at the drop of a hat. If I suddenly went deaf, I kind of doubt my first reaction would be to riot... I have to say that I really don't have all that much to say about this comic book. It was OK. Forgettable but OK. For the record, this issue was pretty similar to an issue of Solo Avengers, where Hawkeye and Mockingbird went to see a marriage councilor with similar results(well, without the sudden deafness). For a score I'll give this comic a 7 out of 10. This is one of those rare occasions where I really don't have strong feelings for or against a comic book...

Green Arrow and Black Canary #19

Well, if memory serves me right, I really enjoyed the last issue of this series, so hopefully Andrew Kreisberg can make it two good issues in a row.

-We begin with Ollie freeing Merlyn from the trap his crazy stalker, Cupid had placed Merlyn in. Cupid then proceeds to blow up a portion of the museum Ollie and Merlyn were having their showdown in, which knocks Ollie out.

-Ollie wakes up handcuffed to some train tracks with Cupid telling him that she intends on letting the train come by and kill them both so they can be together forever. When Ollie demands the key to the cuffs, Cupid explains that she swallowed it. Well, that's a problem!

-Black Canary arrives on the scene and fights Cupid to a stalemate. Canary realizes that the train will be there soon, so she rushes over to Ollie and tells Cupid that she is going to die with Ollie as a big romantic statement, the same way Cupid wanted to. Oh, she's using reverse psychology!

-Cupid regurgitates the key to Ollie's handcuffs, since she doesn't want Canary there to ruin her romantic death scene with Ollie. Cupid frees Ollie before the train comes and rushes back into the museum.

-Ollie and Canary follow Cupid and find her holding an arrow to Merlyn's neck. Cupid whines a bit about her "romantic" evening being ruined before she slashes Merlyn's throat and makes her getaway while Ollie and Canary work to save Merlyn.

-As the issue ends we find out that Ollie managed to save Merlyn's life although the doctor's are unsure of just how bad the damage to Merlyn is. Dinah bitches to Ollie about Cupid lusting after him and we see the guy who suffered hearing damage thanks to Dinah irresponsibly using her Canary Cry a few issues back watching a television in a store window... OK then...

Well, I'll say right off the bat I wasn't very fond of this issue. Why oh why does Andrew write Dinah as such a loser??? That drives me absolutely frigging crazy! Whatever happened to the Dinah who was able to stand toe to toe with Deathstroke the Terminator from the Birds of Prey comics? I was always under the impression that Dinah was one of the better hand to hand fighters in the DCU... I guess I was WAY off. In this issue Dinah can't even defeat Cupid in hand to hand combat. Cupid, who to my knowledge has no real fighting expertise! WTF?!? Dinah should have beat Cupid with one hand tied behind her back without even breaking a sweat!

Besides that there is also the issue of Ollie repeatedly stating that he isn't a murderer... Now, my sister is a HUGE Green Arrow fan, and she has many of the Green Arrow comics from the late 1980's to the early 1990's. I even picked up a bunch of those comics for her last Christmas. Anyway, those GA comics carried the mature audience banner and had Ollie basically killing whoever the hell pissed him off that day. I haven't read those issues yet(I have flipped through a few of them), but my sister has told me that Ollie would kill criminals with arrows, automatic weapons, basically anything he could use as a weapon. So yes, Ollie IS a murderer. Not that I have a major problem with that(he was killing rapists and various other scumbags), it's just annoying that Ollie and Dinah were acting like those past events never occured.

Finally, why the hell is Dinah pissed at Ollie about Cupid hitting on him? It's not like Ollie asked for Cupid's attention or was leading her on or anything like that, I mean Cupid was going to kill Ollie with a train! That doesn't exactly sound like a sane woman! Dinah blaming Ollie for Cupid's bad behavior was just another aspect of this comic I really didn't like. For a score I'll give this issue a 6 out of 10. Honestly, with the exception of the characters acting in ways they shouldn't, this wasn't a terrible comic book. Personally though, I can't ignore the weak way Dinah is being written... That really annoys me.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #18

Overall- Break out the party hats and streamers! You know why? This was the first issue of this series that I've enjoyed since Judd Winick left and Andrew Kreisberg took over the writing duties! This issue was MUCH better than the last 3 issues by a wide margin. Now don't get me wrong, this issue was far from perfect, but it did provide a glimmer of hope that maybe Andrew Kreisberg knows what he's doing here.

Here's the review. We start with Ollie shooting arrows at Count Vertigo in an attempt to intimidate Vertigo into revealing where Merlyn vanished to after his jail break. Vertigo acts like a smart-ass, since he doesn't fear Ollie will really hurt him. Ollie proceeds to shoot an arrow through Vertigo's leg before winging Vertigo right between the legs, which brings out an angry Black Canary. With the threat of an unwanted sex change, Vertigo drops the act and begins screaming that he doesn't know where Merlyn is, which Ollie believes. Ollie and Dinah argue about Ollie becoming obsessed over Merlyn's escape and Ollie says he doesn't get obsessed over things like Batman does. At that very moment, a Green Arrow signal illuminates the night sky... HA!!

Ollie and Dinah head to the police station where Ollie gives the top cop an untraceable phone and tells him to just call if he needs to get in touch. The cop takes Ollie and Dinah to the morgue and shows them 4 dead enemies of Ollie laying on slabs. Needless to say, the cop thinks it's mighty suspicious that Ollie's enemies are winding up dead, but stops just short of accusing Ollie of perpetrating the killings. While there, they get word that the crime lord Brick's headquarters had just been hit.

The cops and Ollie and Dinah arrive at Brick's penthouse and find him smashed in half from a giant wrecking ball. Since Ollie was with the cops at the time, that clears him, but it still leaves the question, who is killing off Ollie's enemies and why. The answer of course is the crazy stalker woman who still has Merlyn tied up and heavily drugged at her layer. The crazy stalker woman(she really needs a name!)has decided that since Ollie once saved her life a few issues ago, she would return the favor by killing off his enemies for him. She then has Merlyn make a barely coherent, drugged up video challenging Ollie to a duel to the death at the Natural Museum of History, which she sends to the cops.

The cops forward the tape to Ollie, who after admitting to Dinah that deep down he's glad someone is killing his foes, decides to go to the museum to face Merlyn. Dinah is dubious about the whole situation and tells Ollie that Merlyn was never one to rant and rave like that and that he seemed drugged or something. Sensing a trap, Dinah scouts the museum for potential access points, while Ollie just wants to walk in the front door and face down Merlyn. After some arguing, Ollie agrees to follow Dinah, and promptly shocks her unconscious so he can do things his way. Ollie enters the museum alone and finds Merlyn standing there with his an arrow notched and ready to fly, still ranting and raving like a madman and apparently tied in place by nearly invisible ropes. Ollie aims an arrow of his own at Merlyn, apologizes to Dinah and lets it fly, ending this issue and leaving us wondering, did he or didn't he?

Like I said, this issue was way more satisfying than Andrew's early work on this series, as it looks like he's starting to give each character his own voice. Ollie's admission that he was secretly glad that his enemies were dying and Dinah's disappointed reaction were VERY well written and drawn. I can't imagine that Ollie is going to kill Merlyn with the arrow he let fly at the conclusion of this issue, but then again, I'm not quite sure. Andrew is doing a nice job showing that Ollie is conflicted about the death's of his enemies and that he might just kill Merlyn, especially after knocking Dinah out.

Like I said, this comic was good, but there were several gaping flaws here and there. The main one was Brick's death. The guy is supposed to be a major player in the Star City crime scene, no? Are you going to tell me that he didn't notice a wrecking ball had mysteriously planted itself right adjacent to his office? Aren't crime lord's supposed to be a little more paranoid than that? Besides that, the fact that this crazy stalker woman is taking out Ollie's enemies with such apparent ease is also bothering me a bit... I mean, how is she so good that she managed to kill 5 villains and capture Merlyn to boot, with seemingly minimal difficulty? Are Ollie's enemies that pathetic that an untrained crazy woman can kill them that easily? Besides those minor gripes, I did like this comic book. For a score, I'm going to give this comic an 8 out of 10. For the first time in a while, I'm actually looking forward to the next issue of this series. Good job Andrew!

Green Arrow and Black Canary #17

Overall- Story time! And since this issue didn't exactly thrill me, the story is going to be a bit short. The crazy woman who has been stalking Ollie busts Merlyn out of lockup by sending a truck careening into the police station Merlyn was being held at. After arriving at Merlyn's cell, she drugs him and takes him away. From there, she proceeds to get a hair cut and dyes her hair red... I'm not sure what the significance of that is but OK, why not? Ollie and Dinah show up at the police station and do what they can to put out the fires, keep the criminals from escaping and basically reestablishing order.

Ollie gets pissed when he discovers that Merlyn has escaped and dedicates the rest of the day to roughing up punks on the street as he searches for information on Merlyn's whereabouts. Dinah has to prevent Ollie from going too far with one of the punks and Ollie proceeds to get pissed at her and storms off. We end this issue with Merlyn waking up to discover the woman who rescued him from the prison has tied him to a chair. She then shows Merlyn some files with the names Count Vertigo and Slingshot before telling Merlyn that she was collecting gifts for Green Arrow.

The "Origins and Omens" portion of this comic showed us a glimpse of Dinah as a teenager unleashing her Canary Cry on a friend of her's which renders him deaf for the rest of his life... Well, OK, I'm not sure what the hell that was all about. The few future glimpses Scar shows us aren't very interesting, with the exception of Ollie unmasked, in his Green Arrow attire, in handcuffs.

Boy, I'm really missing Judd Winick here... I'm sorry, but Andrew Kreisberg has yet to grab my attention with any of the issues he's written for this series thus far. Granted, he's still relatively new to GA/BC, but it's getting to the point where I'm starting to dread reading this comic every month. This stalker woman storyline is just not doing anything for me. This whole issue was actually kind of ridiculous as a matter of fact. I get that this IS a comic book, but come on, how the hell does this stalker woman escape the burning prison while carrying a drugged Merlyn?

Of course, Dinah was her regular idiotic self here, referring to Green Arrow as Ollie while Green Arrow was beating up some street trash, as well as the "O&O" story, where she destroys some kid's hearing. I take it that Andrew really, REALLY hates Dinah... Since he's been writing this comic, Dinah has acted like a total amateur. You'd never know that the Black Canary in this book and the Black Canary from the Birds of Prey/JLA are the same person. I've never seen Dinah written as poorly as she is written here. It sure looks like Andrew wants to turn this comic into a solo book featuring only Green Arrow, and honestly, I'd rather he just writes Dinah out of this series as opposed to treating her like some kind of moron.

For a score, I'll give this comic a 5 out of 10. I really miss the way Judd would include so many other members of the Arrow family in GA/BC when he was the writer. I miss Speedy and Connor, and what ever happened to Ollie's son with Shado? Wasn't he aged towards the end of Judd's time on this series? Maybe I'm the only one who remembers that...

Quick thoughts on Green Arrow & Black Canary #16

Overall- I said it last issue, and I'm going to say it again this issue, I really think the title of this comic should be changed to simply "Green Arrow", because in the two issues written by Andrew Kreisberg, Black Canary has become little more than a constant damsel in distress, and I think Dinah deserves MUCH better than that.

Although Dinah has a bona fide superpower, as well as being the better hand to hand fighter, she is constantly being saved by Ollie... That just doesn't sit well with me... If Andrew wants to do a "Green Arrow saves damsels in distress" comic book, then please get Dinah the hell out of there! She is definitely not the distressed damsel type!

Besides the main storyline, which sees Merlyn cross arrows with Ollie, Andrew seems to be setting up some kind of bizarre groupie/stalker woman who is obsessed with Green Arrow. I'm sure that when Dinah finds out, she'll fly into a senseless jealous rage, because it seems that Andrew has no intentions of writing Dinah as the strong, independent woman we see over in the Justice League comic. For a score, even though the story wasn't bad, I'll give this book a 6 out of 10, mainly due to the gross mistreatment of Dinah's character. Come on Andrew, Dinah is one of the strongest female characters in the DCU, write her that way!

Green Arrow and Black Canary #15

Overall- So, this was the first issue of this series written by its new writer, Andrew Kreisberg. I can't say I was filled with optimism after reading his first foray into this series.

Most of this issue was a flashback looking into the life of Oliver Queen, Green Arrow. He was a rich playboy, then he was stranded on a desert island, he decided to become a super-hero, met Dinah, cheated on her, reunited with her, and then married her. There, in a nutshell that was what encompassed most of this comic.

We also find out that Connor and Mia are leaving Ollie and Dinah. Connor is going to "find himself", and Mia is leaving to be with Dodger in London. After seeing off Mia and Connor, Ollie and Dinah go out on patrol. Dinah winds up getting herself caught by some loser, who puts a knife to her throat. Ollie shoots an arrow at said loser's face, which Dinah snatches out of the air and proceeds to stab the loser in the leg. Ollie tries to take down the goon, but he overpowers Ollie and tosses him aside. Dinah has enough, and unleashes her Canary Cry, which immediately incapacitates the goon. However, we end the issue by seeing a man laying in his destroyed apartment, with his ears bleeding, apparently due to Dinah's Canary Cry.

Um, what the hell was that? First of all, how does Dinah, who has been established as one of the better fighters in he DCU get herself caught by this goon with a knife? If Kreisberg is going to use this title to turn Dinah into a damsel in distress, then he might as well change the title back to just "Green Arrow". Besides the stupidity with Dinah(she's the chairperson of the JLA, shouldn't she be aware of collateral damage?), I was pretty upset that Connor and especially Mia left. I really hope this turn of events is temporary. Connor's character is one begging to be further developed, and Mia is Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick! As Ollie's sidekick, shouldn't Mia of all people be sticking around? Yeah, this issue annoyed me for alot of different reasons. For a score, I'll go with a 5 out of 10. I really hope Andrew Kreisberg knows what he's doing here, because so far I am way underwhelmed by his work...

Green Arrow and Black Canary #14

Overall- After the events of last issue, Ollie and Dinah take Conner to see Dr. Midnite and Batman, to see just what is up with Conner. Midnite is able to prove that Conner really is Conner, and not a clone sent by Sivana, but apparently, Conner now feels no pain and has an accelerated healing factor... Boy, mad scientists work in unusual ways.

Ollie takes Conner back home and while the two speak, Conner reveals that he still doesn't really remember much of his life. He remembers glimpses of things, but not the whole picture. Ollie decides that maybe some archery will help jog Conner's memory. Ollie gives Conner a bow and tells him that even with memory loss, shooting the bow should come naturally, since it involves muscle memory. Well, Conner shoots several arrows, and manages to miss the target every single time. Ollie is shocked and while talking to Dinah later seems at his wits end about how to help Conner. While Ollie and Dinah talk, Mia rushes in and says that she can't find Conner anywhere.

It seems that Conner decided to take to the streets, and barges in on a roomful of drug dealers, while completely unarmed. Conner attacks the dealers, and shows that he still remembers the fighting techniques that make him one of the most formidable fighters in the DCU. Conner winds up getting shot, but completely shrugs it off, thanks to his new healing factor. As Conner prepares to take down the last dealer, a familiar green clad figure climbs in through the window and pins the dealer to the wall with an arrow. Ollie asks Conner what he was doing, and Conner said that he had to know if he was still able to fight since he obviously couldn't shoot the bow anymore. Ollie tells Conner that no matter what life held for Conner, Ollie would always be there for him.

Later back at the Ollie's house, we see Conner standing alone in his bedroom, staring down at his old Green Arrow costume, while holding his mask, contemplating just what his next step should be. Meanwhile, Ollie and Dinah share an intimate moment back in their bedroom... Well it's about time for that! With all the insanity in their lives, it's easy to forget that Ollie and Dinah are still pretty much newlyweds!

This was the last issue of this series written by Judd Winick. I can honestly say that I am going to miss Judd's steady hand in this comic book. Judd is a great writer, and I hope whoever takes up the writing duties for this book can keep up Judd's great work. For a score, I'll go with a 8 1/2 out of 10. With a new writer coming aboard next issue, I'll be very interested to see what direction Ollie, Dinah, Mia, Conner and the rest of the characters in this book go.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #13

Overall- I have liked this comic from issue #1 and although I will admit the last issue really, really came out of left field(Dr. Sivana???Wha-huh???), I've enjoyed the series as a whole.

This issue was really no different. I liked it. I wasn't in love with it, but I liked it. The date with Speedy and Dodger was OK, even though I don't know how realistic Dodger's reaction was when Mia told him she was HIV positive. His first reaction is to make out with her? That was a wee bit odd...

Speaking of odd, Conner finally seems to be up and about, but remembers very little about his past. Not only that, but when a butcher knife accidentally stabs him through the foot(don't you just hate when that happens?), he pulls the knife out, experiencing no pain. On top of that, the wound closed up immediately after the removal of the knife. Needless to say, Ollie and Dinah figured that he should probably get checked out by some professionals. Yeah, I'd have to agree with them on that one!

I like Conner, I always did. In his own way, he's like the anti-comic book archer. By that, I mean if you look at the characters of Roy Harper, Oliver Queen and Clint Barton, the big three in comic book archery, they all are representative of the same personality type. Brash, attention seeking, womanizing, loud-mouths. Conner is like the polar opposite of the conventional archer prototype. He's more low key, thoughtful and not anything like the other three when it comes to the opposite sex(except for that weird thing with Shado...).

Anyway, I'd like to see Conner return to his former regular self. I don't think we need "Super-Conner" running around with a healing factor and other powers. That is if this is the real Conner and not a clone... I HATE clones... Anyway, on that note, I'd give this issue a 6 1/2 out of 10.