Arrow Shots: The Goatee

Thanks to Arrow actor, Stephen Amell, a little bit of Season 7 news leaked out at the Motor City Comic Con...that, for the first time in the TV series, Oliver Queen will be sporting the goatee!

The Origin

Green Arrow first appeared with the goatee as part of his new look for Brave and the Bold #85 (August-September, 1969) in a story by Bob Haney and Neal Adams, and the look continued as Green Arrow first met the new Black Canary as she joined the JLA in Justice League of America #75 (November, 1969).

With Green Lantern and the Longbow Hunters

Green Arrow continued that look while teaming up with Green Lantern (more on that here) for the 1970s, and even for quite a time after, in Action Comics, World's Finest Comics and Detective Comics, before ditching it for his urban hunter outfit, which started with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1 (August, 1987).

New 52

Green Arrow kept that look or variations of it, or returned to Neal Adams style costume, but it wasn't until the advent of the New 52 that the goatee disappeared, sporting a new look much closer to that of the Arrow TV show.....but, was this the earliest time Ollie ditched the goatee?

Exception

Green Lantern #94 and #95 of 1977 by Denny O'Neil and Mike Grell feature Green Arrow losing his goatee to hide his identity to get into a secret base...but, not unlike the current Green Arrow in comics, it grows back.

Now, how about that hat?  (Stephen Amell says no....).

Arrow Shots: Covering 5 Years

"My name is Oliver Queen.  For five years, I've opened the CW Arrow show that featured a split story, dealing with the present, and flashbacks usually to five years ago, detailing my hell on an island (and so much more).  Ending my fifth season, I have to be more than that, and get ready for a season with instead of in two stories, as one continuous show featuring Green Arrow...."

So, here's a look back at the comic book history (in tandem with the TV show), focusing on Green Arrow #5 issues!

Green Arrow #5 1988

The first Green Arrow #5 game with a cover date of June, 1988 (by Mike Grell, Ed Hannigan, Dick Giordano and Frank McLaughlin), was part of the Green Arrow series that spun out of the Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters mini-series by Mike Grell, establishing Green Arrow as an urban hunter of criminals, taking him away from the rest of the DC Universe (except Black Canary....).


This series lasted from February, 1988 to November, 1998, and for a time was suggested for mature readers, due to its graphic, realistic storytelling techniques; introducing Shado; and much later in this series, they established the split story technique, with Oliver teaching Connor Hawke archery at a monastery in issues written by Chuck Dixon.

Green Arrow Annual #5

Green Arrow wasn't completely isolated from the DC Universe during his urban hunter phase, even before coming back to the DCU in full force in Green Arrow #81 (December, 1993), having worked with Hal Jordan (but only as Hal, not Green Lantern), the Question, the Warlord, and the Question again (as well as Batman and Black Canary) in his Annuals.  Green Arrow Annual #5 of 1992 by Sarah Byam, Trevor Von Eeden and Frank Springer (with a cover by Mike Grell), had the lunar villain Eclipso possess Black Canary, with Batman and Green Arrow trying to save her (and Black Canary's story continuing into the Eclipso: The Darkness Within annual crossover event of that year).

Green Arrow had seven Annuals from 1988 to 1995, with the last focusing on Ollie's origin on the island, in a story by Chuck Dixon, Rick Burchett, Chris Renaud, Eduardo Barreto and Gerry Fernandez.

Green Arrow #5 2001

The next Green Arrow #5 is from August, 2001 by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester and Ande Parks, dealing with a storyline, "Quiver", with Ollie returning to life (as he had died during the first regular series run of Green Arrow, to be replaced for a time by Connor Hawke).  This specific issue with a cover by Matt Wagner dealt Batman investigating the resurrected Ollie, Etrigan the Demon looking for the undead Green Arrow, a little of how Ollie got back to life with Hal Jordan (and his then complicated history beyond Green Lantern as Parallax and the Spectre), with Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance) and Arsenal (Roy Harper) just looking to reunite with Oliver Queen.

This series lasted from April, 2001 to August, 2007, and carried on the idea of Green Arrow fighting Deathstroke the Terminator (Slade Wilson), that had started in a couple of issues of Ollie's over 130 issue run.

Green Arrow/Black Canary #5

Green Arrow shared cover billing with Black Canary starting in 2007, including with Green Arrow/Black Canary #5 (April, 2008 by Judd Winick and Andre Coelho, with two covers, one by Cliff Chang, the other by Amanda Conner), as the two finally settled their differences and got married. 

This series lasted for 29 issues from December, 2007 to April, 2010 (with a few solo Green Arrow issues after the pair split and some machinations of Prometheus).  This series also had Green Arrow and Black Canary face Ra's Al Ghul, and introduced the female archer villain, Cupid, who even attacked archer Merlyn (in issues written by Andrew Kreisberg, who Arrow fans should recognize from the CW show's credits).

Green Arrow #5 2010

Dealing with events of the Darkest Night and Brightest Day company wide crossovers, Green Arrow #5 (December 2010 by J. T. Krul, Diogenes Neves and Vincente Cifuentes) had Ollie dealing with a Black Lantern resurrected version of his father, Robert Queen, as well as a Star City devastated by a disaster under two covers by Mauro Cascioli and Gary Frank.

This series lasted for 15 issues from August, 2010 to October, 2011, at which point, the entire DC Universe was hit by Flashpoint, changing the characters histories....

Green Arrow #5 New 52

In the DC Universe of the New 52, it was a still rich Oliver Queen fighting as Green Arrow in Green Arrow #5 (March, 2012, by Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens and Ray McCarthy, and a cover by Jason Fabok), with a Green Arrow who was a little more like the Arrow of the CW Show, working with a tech support crew, but not really having a relationship with Black Canary.


This series lasted 54 issues from November, 2011 to July, 2016, with the introduction of the archer Komodo, as well as a reintroduction of Count Vertigo, as well as eventually having Felicity Smoak and John Diggle be his support team.   This series also sent Ollie back to the island to rediscover himself (though that needed work even beyond what Ollie found....).

Green Arrow #5 Rebirth

Currently, Green Arrow has a series, spinning out of the DC Universe: Rebirth, with Green Arrow #5 (October, 2016 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra, with covers by Juan Ferreyra and Neal Adams), dealing with Ollie and Diggle going to rescue Black Canary from the hell she was trapped in!

The Rebirth of Green Arrow series started with August, 2016, and runs to this day, restoring Green Arrow and Black Canary's love for each other, as well as bringing back some of Ollie's extensive history....proving no man (or comic series) is an island, and that we all depend on others to help us with our mission through life, a lesson Oliver Queen had to learn on his 5 years on the CW Arrow show (even as that show expanded to include Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl and will continue to go on into a sixth season and more).

DC on CW Comics for Supergirl, Flash, Arrow and Legends fans

DC Comics is slowly taking over the CW, with four shows based on DC comic books soon to be airing from Monday through Thursday on the CW network....Supergirl, Flash, Arrow and the Legends of Tomorrow!

These shows feature characters from the comics, and are well liked by many fans, as well as professionals who work on the comics, and on the TV series as well.

Here's a look at where to find some of the origins of these characters, and how to connect with fans of the shows and comics!

Supergirl

Supergirl started her career in Action Comics #252 (May, 1959) with "The Supergirl From Krypton" by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, where Supergirl lands on Earth after being sent from Argo City by her parents, Zor-El and Alura, and is met by her cousin Superman.  Supergirl's life continued as a back-up in Action Comics, and the Supergirl: The Silver Age Omnibus Volume 1 from 2016 with a cover by Darwyn Cooke features the Supergirl back-ups from Action Comics #252 to Action Comics #307 (December, 1963), with the stories having her meet new friends like Tommy Tomorrow, Krypto the Super-Dog, Superman's ex-girlfriend mermaid Lori Lemaris, the Legion of Super-Heroes (including Brainiac 5, a descendant of Superman foe, Brainiac and even future Legion member, Mon-El), and Batman and Robin, fights Superman foes like Mr. Mxyzptlk, Lex Luthor, Phantom Zoners General Zod, Jax-Ur and Kru-El,  as well as introducing Dick Malverne, Streaky the Super-Cat, Jerro the Mer-Boy, adoptive parents Fred and Edna Danvers, Luthor's sister Lena, Comet the Super-Horse, and even Supergirl's  own foes, Kandorian scientist and Supergirl look-a-like, Lesla Lar and Zora, also known as the Black Flame, and the revelation of Supergirl to the world!  Though they did miss a few stories of Supergirl from Superman issues of the time (but those were reprinted in Action Comics Giants).

Make new friends and keep up with the Supergirl TV show at Supergirl Discussing the TV Show, a facebook group for fans of the TV show, and even the comics!  The show airs Mondays on the CW, and stars Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, dealing with being an upcoming hero after revealing herself to the world.   

Flash

Flash began his run in Showcase #4 (September-October, 1956) with the "Mystery Of The Human Thunderbolt" by Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert, with police scientist Barry Allen getting hit by a bolt of lightning while standing in front of a wall of chemicals, turning into the fastest man alive...the Flash!  Flash's run continued into Showcase #8, #13 and #14, then into a magazine of his own, Flash, starting with #105 (February-March, 1959), and Barry has been running ever since.  The Flash: The Silver Age Volume One of 2016 contains the stories from Showcase #4, #8, #13, #14, and Flash #105 to #116 (November, 1960), featuring the first appearances of the Flash and Iris West, along with villains like the Turtle, Mazdan, Mr. Element and Dr. Alchemy, Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Pied Piper, Gorilla Grodd, Weather Wizard, and the Trickster, as well as Kid Flash Wally West and Ralph Dibny the Elongated Man!

Run around with fans of the Flash TV show at The Flash/Flash Facts Discussing the TV Show, a facebook group for fans of the CW drama, as well as the comic books that inspired them.  The show airs Tuesdays on the CW, with Grant Gustin as the Flash, Central City's super-speeding super-hero, who keeps the citizens of that city safe from the ever growing cast of super-villains and other dimensional menaces that threaten that city, as well as the world, the universe and the multiverse!

Arrow

Green Arrow had the earliest start of all, in More Fun Comics #73 (November, 1941) by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, but it is his short run by France Herron and Jack Kirby from the 1950s that we are looking at now, as that is the start of the Silver Age for Green Arrow, and introduces the Green Arrow origin where he was stranded on an island and learned the skills that would make him Green Arrow as related in Adventure Comics #256 (January, 1959) in "The Green Arrow's First Case".  This was a bit of a change from Green Arrow's original origin, that had Speedy (Roy Harper) their for the origin, and it was in a mesa in the middle of the desert...but, things change over a few decades, and Green Arrow, though he proclaims to be a loner, has picked up quite a few friends over the years....like Black Canary, Arsenal, Speedy, and more (and being the first to join the Justice League after it formed).  True, in this collection of Green Arrow by Jack Kirby from 2002, you'll only see Green Arrow and Speedy, but there's a few interesting stories here from Adventure Comics #250 to #256 and World's Finest Comics #96 to #99, including the "Green Arrows of the World", with Oliver and Roy mentoring other archers trying to good elsewhere (an ideal reflected on the show....that of Ollie training others, that is).

Oliver Queen's journey from a lost soul on the island to Star City super-hero is the focus of the Arrow TV show, and fans of that show can be found at the Arrow Cave/Arrow Discussing the TV Show, the facebook group dedicated to the Arrow show, as well as to the comic books that inspired the series.  Arrow airs Wednesdays on the CW, with Stephen Amell as the Arrow (then Green Arrow), the rich kid who learned archery when stranded, and returned to the world to make a difference at his home city.

Legends of Tomorrow

The Legends of Tomorrow aren't really a team in the comics....it's just a loose collection of heroes fighting together.  A great source for their beginnings is the Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes from 1976, which collects the Golden Age and Silver Age origins of the Atom and Hawkman (both of whom were Legends), as well as Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, as well as one origin for Captain Marvel and Plastic Man.  Due to the age of this book, you might need to time travel like Rip Hunter (the leader of the Legends of Tomorrow, though his first appearance is reprinted elsewhere), so perhaps another book is a good choice for fans of this show on a budget.

For a more recent collection, the Secret Origins Hardcover of 2012 is the way to go, reprinting the "Birth Of The Atom" by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson from Showcase #34 (September-October, 1961), with scientist Ray Palmer using white dwarf star matter to shrink to save his girlfriend, Jean Loring.  This collection also features the origins of the Superman/Batman team, Adam Strange, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), the Challengers of the Unknown, Wonder Woman (a different Silver Age origin than the book above), Martian Manhunter, Flash (Barry Allen), the Justice League of America, Aquaman, Robin (Dick Grayson), Superman (also a different Silver Age origin than the one above), the Robin-Jimmy Olsen team, Kid Flash, Eclipso, Hawkman (Katar Hol, the Silver Age Thanagarian) and his wife Hawkgirl, Dr. Fate, the Enchantress, Animal Man, Congorilla, the western El Diablo, Bizarro, and the Spectre....not bad?  Even if you don't know all these characters, this would be the place to get familiar with them!  DC would also be wise to collect Golden Age origins or first appearances in a book, especially with the Justice Society of America coming to Legends of Tomorrow for season 2, as well as a collection of some of the more modern heroes, like Rip Hunter, Firestorm and Vixen, and even a few villains like Heat Wave and Captain Cold!

Keep up with the past, present and future of the CW show, Legends of Tomorrow, featuring the Atom (Brandon Routh), Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill), Firestorm (Victor Garber and Franz Drameh), Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell) and the White Canary (Caity Lotz) with the facebook group of DC's Legends of Tomorrow discussing the TV Show , that will let you in on who's who, as well as give you a chance to make your own legends with the friends you'll make there!

I hope to see you all on the message boards, and, as always, hope this helps anyone who watches the shows and wants to discover the wonders of comics!

DC Heroes That Should Be On CW's Arrow

With its second season ending, the CW's Arrow has done a great job of introducing TV fans to the heroes of the DC Universe, with appearances by Black Canary, Bronze Tiger, Amanda Waller (and the whole Suicide Squad), even returns for Deathstroke and the Huntress (who on the series fall into the villain category, but were heroes in the comics....) and a teaser for Barry Allen (who, with a burst of lightning, will be the Flash...).

Still, a few more heroes could always appear (as could villains, after all, Count Vertigo and the Clock King were major Green Arrow villains, who ended up as members of the Suicide Squad in the comics, but not yet on the show).

Here are a few (along with their relationship to "Team Arrow" and other fun facts) and why each of these comic book heroes would work well on the CW's Starling City!

The Answer Is...

The Question.  Crusading TV reporter Vic Sage decided it wasn't enough to report on crime, but with the help of Professor Rodor and an artificial skin he invented, came up with his crimefighting alter-ego, the Question, just a faceless man on the street, fighting crime as hard as he could..since the days of being a back up feature in Blue Beetle #1 (June, 1967 by Steve Ditko, for five issues, as well as having a solo one-shot with Mysterious Suspense).  If the trenchcoated hero looks familiar, his look and motive was the basis for Rorschach of the Watchmen though DC thought they had more potential with the Charlton characters....

When DC Comics acquired the Charlton characters, the Question ended up with his own title, and got trained by Richard Dragon (a martial artist, who had been friends with Ben Turner, aka the Bronze Tiger), and then ran into Green Arrow (and Black Canary) more than a few times (most notably in both Question Annuals, as well as in the first 3 Green Arrow Annuals).

The Question had also worked quite a bit with the next candidate....

A Gem Hidden In Plan Sight

Blue Beetle.  Ted Kord was a student of Dan Garrett's (the first, gem-powered Blue Beetle), who was killed on an island owned by Ted's uncle, Jarvis Kord, who was using the island to make an army of androids to take over the Earth.

Ted assumed the mantle of the Blue Beetle, but had been unable to get the mystic scarab that powered the original, so, instead used technology (including his BB-gun and flying ship, the Bug) since Captain Atom #83 (November, 1963, by Steve Ditko).

DC Comics used the Blue Beetle heavily in their Crisis on Infinite Earths series, and was the first Charlton character to get his own book (and to join the Justice League, where he worked with Black Canary).  Blue Beetle also worked with the Huntress, and even later, with the Birds of Prey.

The Arrow series has even mentioned Ted Kord himself, as well as his company, Kord Industries, so why not have the man swing into action himself?

Flowers Are Pretty

Black Orchid.  Pre-Crisis, the Black Orchid had no origin, she was just a woman who fought crime with her strength, speed, invulnerability and disguise ability.  As of Adventure Comics #428 (July-August, 1973 by Sheldon Mayer and Tony DeZuniga), Black Orchid would infiltrate a criminal's operation (pretending to be a maid, secretary, waitress, etc) and get the information needed to bring them down.  One of the great mysteries of the Black Orchid run was her origin, because, even though the cover promised it was an origin issue, her origin was never given during the early years (Neil Gaiman did it later when reviving the character for a mini-series....)

The Black Orchid did this in Adventure Comics #428-430, and some back-ups in Phantom Stranger from #31-41, and Blue Devil Annual #1 (as well as the Crisis on Infinite Earths) before joining the Suicide Squad with their original issue #2.  She even worked with Speedy (Roy Harper, himself a government agent, before he got his Arsenal identity) for a few issues, so while all the super-powers she has might be more than the usual for the Arrow series, her basic operations might work well in the Arrow world.

Blood Red

Crimson Avenger.  Lee Travis was the publisher of a newspaper, and a weary World War I veteran who was wandering the world trying to find a purpose...and found one in the far-East temple of Nanda Parbat (where he was granted a vision of a noble man with a red cape who would die saving us all from doomsday...this addition to Crimson Avenger's history was from John Ostrander).  This gave him the clarity to become the Crimson Avenger (starting with Detective Comics #20, October, 1938, by Jim Chambers...making him a hero that existed before Batman!  Crimson Avenger's first cover wasn't even until Detective Comics #22).

The Crimson Avenger was a pulp style hero (think of the Shadow, or Green Hornet....as the Crimson Avenger also had an oriental sidekick named Wing and a gas gun that made a crimson cloud, all ideas that were popular for heroes of the 1930s before the mystery men really started to appear...he even dealt with invading aliens...almost...thanks to Orson Welles and a story by Roy Thomas as another addition to his secret origin).  Later, Lee Travis (and Wing) adopted a more traditional super-hero look, and even joined Green Arrow and Speedy as members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory (with Wing as the unofficial eighth member)...thus, seems seeing Crimson Avenger work with the Arrow would be a natural!

Cowboys and Indians

Vigilante.  Greg Saunders was known as a country singer, the Prairie Troubadour, who lost his sheriff father to a gang of bandits and adopted the Western themed Vigilante identity to bring them in (starting with Action Comics #42, November, 1941, by Mort Weisinger and Mort Meskin, and first cover, non-team was on Action Comics #52) and continued to be a hero for quite some time!

The Vigilante was a old fashion cowboy type fighting modern criminals with his six-shooter, lasso and horse (well, actually a pretty nifty motorcycle) and sidekicks Billy Gunn and Stuff the Chinatown Kid.  The Vigilante also joined Green Arrow and Speedy (as well as the Crimson Avenger, the Shining Knight, the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripsey) in the Seven Soldiers of Victory!

DC even had established the Vigilante as a separate hero, who teamed up with the JLA.

Punishing the Criminals

Vigilante.  Adrian Chase was a lawyer who worked with Robin of the Teen Titans in bringing down crime families in New York...and he was too good at his job, provoking the mob to kill his family in New Teen Titans Annual #2 (1983, by Marv Wolfman and George Perez; you might remember the law firm of Wolfman and Perez on Arrow) where Adrian then became the Vigilante.

The Vigilante hunted down criminals with skills acquired with many weapons and a regenerative power over his 50 issues and 2 Annuals, as well getting assistance from a team of professionals (like J.J. Davis, who was his computer and weapons expert).  In his earlier issues (written by Marv Wolfman), Adrian struggled with the idea of killing criminals, and battled heroes (like Nightwing, who would later call Bludhaven home...a city mentioned on Arrow), and later, became obsessed when the Peacemaker killed officer Dave Winston (who had taken over the identity of the Vigilante for a time), and felt he had to bring this unbalanced hero to justice (in stories written by Paul Kupperberg, and covers by Mike Grell...the artist who also worked on Green Arrow on and off for decades, and provided the sketch of the Hood on the Arrow series).  The Vigilante also became more unbalanced himself, and this series lead to the foundation of Checkmate (an organization that Roy Harper worked for in his Arsenal identity).

All these characters have ties to Green Arrow (some only slightly), but any would work well in the world set up on Arrow...and would suggest other characters to bring in as well!