Review: Green Arrow Vol. 2- Island of Scars

Quick Summary

Pros: The different stories provide fans with a varied reading experience. Oliver and Dinah’s relationship is even better than before. The action here is nonstop without going overboard. The art looks amazing.

Cons: Readers who only care about Oliver and don’t care for Emiko will be disappointed with this collection’s start.

Overall: While the last volume introduced everyone to Oliver Queen’s world, this collection is where you really get to know it. Nonstop action and well written character development pervade this book. This, coupled with the art, makes for an incredibly enjoyable reading experience. If you liked this series so far then make sure you read this comic.

Story

Though Green Arrow Vol. 2: Island of Scars is only one book, it is divided up into three unique and distant sections. The first is an Emiko story designed to show off her as a character, the second is a more relaxed island adventure designed to highlight Oliver and Dinah’s relationship, and the last is a high speed adventure taking place entirely on a train. This amalgam of different story settings and styles works perfectly and makes the book feel like a fun interlude between a larger plotline spanning between Vol. 1 and Vol. 3. However, being an interlude in no way makes this feel auxiliary or trivial as the story here is just as bombastic and quality as the rest of the series.

(spoilers start here)

The first two issues of this collection follow two separate Emiko stories connected by a common theme. One is in the past and sees her betray Oliver; the other is in the present and sees her betraying her mother. However, both stories eventually have her save the day, albeit at great personal cost.

These Emiko stories are both good in that they show off how great she can be as a character and deepen her relationships with those around her. This is a girl who is trying to do the right thing when a good portion of her life is telling her to do the wrong thing. Not only does she rise about it though, she also allows her mother to rise as well. People who don’t care for Emiko might not like this part of the story but those who do will love it as it really takes the time to do her character right.

The middle portion of the story deals with the rest of Team Arrow being castaways on a seemingly deserted island. For Oliver and Dinah this means romantic walks on the beach, for Diggle it means being imprisoned by a psychopath. These two issues are mostly decompression and character building for Oliver and Dinah but still manage to fit in plenty of action and thrills at the story’s conclusion.

The end of the story continues right where the middle left off, however the tone changes significantly. Now the story is a James Bond style adventure set on a speeding train hundreds of miles beneath the Pacific Ocean. Team Arrow manages to infiltrate the train, only to find that they are too late to stop a terrorist from sabotaging it.

Aside from being one of the coolest places to set a comic, this final story is a successes in its own right. It is another tone shift for the book, this time focusing on pure thrill and action. The constant threat of the ocean closing in on the heroes is enough to keep readers on the edge of their seats on its own. Throwing in fight sequences, an assassination, and high speed motorcycle theatrics is just the icing on the cake.

Despite all of this, I would argue that the true genius of this book is the structure of the book itself. Green Arrow Vol. 1 and Vol. 3 are clearly going to follow Oliver’s life in reaction to Broderick’s betrayal. However, having Vol. 2 be completely divorced from this plotline and instead be focused on character development is a great decision. It allows Team Arrow to get to know each other and develop more as characters. This in turn will allow their actions and reactions to events to have more meaning and substance. I am personally very excited to read the next book and am hoping that this series structure pays off.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Three separate artists provide the work for the six issues of this collection. Typically this is a recipe for disaster as conflicting and shifting styles often make for a jarring reading experience. However, in Island of Scars it ends up being one of the book’s biggest successes. The book is beautiful and the story is broken up in such a way that the shifts in art all make sense. Each artist has the opportunity to draw the issues that best demonstrate their individual style, leading to one fantastic looking book.

The book starts with two issues from Stephen Byrne in a story mostly revolving around Emiko Queen. The overall tone of this story is rather dark and redemption focused, so Byrne’s choice of detailed linework and darker colors makes perfect sense. Add on the fact that Bryne’s art looks good in general and you end up with a fantastic final product.

The next story mostly focuses on Oliver and Dinah relaxing on a tropical paradise. It is here that Otto Schmidt’s lighthearted style and bright colors take over. It makes the island truly feel like a paradise, while still maintaining an air of menace when necessary. It is honestly the perfect art style to tell this part of the story.

The book’s final chapter tells a high speed, action packed, underwater thrill ride, at which point Juan Ferreyra steps up to bat. We already talked about how Ferreyra’s style suits the action genre perfectly in our review of Vol. 1 but it is worth mentioning again. He ends the book well and his style, combined with the writing, will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

Continuity

Green Arrow Vol. 2: Island of Scars flows directly out of the events of Green Arrow Vol. 1: The Death and Life of Oliver Queen (Review).

The story here continues in Green Arrow Vol. 3: Emerald Outlaw (Review)

This volume also references stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below.

• Black Canary’s band is mentioned. Her music career is featured heavily in Black Canary Vol. 1: Kicking and Screaming (Review).
• A vague reference is made to Black Canary’s involvement with the Birds of Prey. Their adventures start in Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Who is Oracle? (Review).