More Fun Comics #73 (1941)
1940s
When Green Arrow was introduced in 1941, he didn’t even warrant an origin story. That came a few years later in 1943’s More Fun Comics #89, and is totally different to the one we know now. Growing up alongside Native Americans, Oliver Queen learned to appreciate the lifestyle of the people and gained some proficiency with a bow. When museum curator and archaeologist Queen has his collection ransacked, he heads off on an adventure that teams him up with a kid named Speedy. One of the key features introduced in this decade was the trick arrow, with the first identifiable one being the relatively humble bolo (or bolas) arrow in 1942’s ‘Doom over Gayland’ (More Fun Comics #77). The infamous Boxing Glove Arrow made its first punch against the Storm King in 1947. Our favourite is the Annual Sports Day Arrow (which “Skywrites Sports Greeting Once a Year”). Green Arrow and Speedy were also a members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory during this time, seen in the pages of Leading Comics.
Recommended Reading: While many of the Green Arrow stories from the 1940s remain sadly unavailable to modern readers in any collected edition, GREEN ARROW: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS (2016) contains reprints of “Case of the Namesake Murders” from More Fun Comics #73 (1941), “Blueprint for Crime/Death Valley” from Leading Comics #1 (1941) and the origin story “Birth of the Battling Bowmen” out of More Fun Comics #89 (1943).
Green Arrow rides Xeen Arrow in Jack Kirby’s Adventure Comics #253 (1958)
1950s
Green Arrow transfered to Adventure Comics and survived the post-war cull by simply going under the radar. This era allowed Jack Kirby to go a little nuts in the ambitious two-part story ‘The Mystery of the Giant Arrows’/’The Prisoner of Dimension Zero’ that sees Green Arrow clinging onto the shoulder of his giant doppelgänger named Xeen Arrow, who is in turn fighting an interdimensional foe. It wasn’t until 1959, towards the end of Kirby’s brief run, that we got the Silver Age retelling of his origin story: wealthy playboy Oliver Queen is stranded on an island, crafting his first green camouflage suit and net arrows. Give or take a few modern tweaks, that’s the story DC still uses today.
Recommended Reading: The best representation of this era comes from THE JACK KIRBY OMNIBUS VOL. 1: STARRING GREEN ARROW, which is also out of print but still readily available in many stores. The origin story is reprinted in numerous collections, including the aforementioned “75 Years” omnibus.
