Mike Grell’s Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters (1987)
1980s
The 1980s finally saw Green Arrow get his own mini-series in 1983, an excellent (if hard to find) 4-issue outing by Mike W. Barr and with amazing art by Trevor Von Eeden. Yet with GREEN ARROW: THE LONGBOW HUNTERS, writer/artist Mike Grell redefined the character as an urban hunter who lived in the real world of Seattle, one devoid of other costumed heroes with real world consequences. Now in his 40s, and living with long-time love Black Canary, it spawned the first ongoing series for the character, a rival/lover in Shado and the inspiration for the aestheics of the television show Arrow.
Recommended Reading: Any edition of THE LONGBOW HUNTERS that you can get your hands on is money well spent. The 3-issue prestige format book is a self-contained story with glorious art. Of the trade’s from Grell’s ongoing series GREEN ARROW: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS is an essential sequel, as is GREEN ARROW: BLACK ARROW. The rest of Grell’s run is slowly being reprinted.
A young Connor Hawke is Green Arrow in JLA #8 (1997)
1990s
Green Arrow was at the crossroads during this era, with Chuck Dixon the writer in charge when DC killed off Oliver Queen and replaced him with his son, Connor Hawke. It was no surprise for a company that had killed/broken/replaced Superman, Batman and Green Lantern at various points throughout the decade. Hawke was the antithesis of his dad: innocent in the ways of the world, spiritual with an Eastern flair, sexually ambiguous and only at the start of his career. His mixed Asian, African, and European heritage (something that hasn’t always been remembered by artists in later appearances) further sets him apart from the quintessential “angry white male” that Ollie became prior to this.
Recommended Reading: Disappointingly, much of this run is now out of print or was never collected in trades to begin with. The only exception is the currently unavailable GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW: EMERALD ALLIES, an attempt at recapturing the 1970s with new versions of the heroes. Here’s hoping this run will follow the Grell reprints, especially the fatal “Where Angels Fear to Tread” arc.
