In this review of Green Arrow #22, Oliver plays the rich playboy while turning over the latest Freshwater Killer to the police.
Green Arrow #22
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Montos
Main Cover: Taurin Clarke
Variant Cover: A.L. Kaplan
Page Count: 28 pages
Release Date: March 26, 2025
This review contains spoilers
We get another flashback to start Green Arrow #22, this time showing the introductory commercial for the Freshwater development. We also get a time jump from the last issue. Kenny, the youngster diagnosed with epilepsy in the last issue, is now a grown man and his mother has passed. He addresses a group of Freshwater survivors, saying he has a plan to help even the score.
Next, and to be honest, I’m not sure where these flashbacks line up with the main story time-wise, Ollie is passing along the Freshwater assailant who attacked him last issue . He learns that Det. Benitez has gone to explore the Freshwater site looking for answers. He decides to take the Bat…er…Arrow Cycle out for a spin to check on her.
Benitez and Arrow (the dog, not the hero), looking around Freshwater, come across an entire group of Freshwater Killers. Arrow (the dog) attacks but is injured and Benitez is subdued and captured.
Green Arrow arrives and comes across the injured Arrow (the dog) Green Arrow (the hero) makes sure that Arrow (the…oh, never mind) is safe and secure and goes off to find Benitez. Green Arrow #22 ends as Oliver reaches high ground and sees what he needs to see but what is it and what does it mean?
Analysis
Too much wasted space! I’m all for the slow burn but, in my opinion, this story should already be over. I think we’ve all gotten the idea about the flashbacks so continuing to focus on them at this point is just contributing to the pacing problem; not to mention the time jumps are confusing from issue to issue. If there is a point or climax to them, it’s time to reveal it. When you only have 20 pages to work with, spending four of them showing Green Arrow getting and riding his bike to freshwater is, not to put too fine a point on it, boring. Couple that with two pages of Arrow on Arrow action, four pages of flashbacks and three more of Ollie climbing a pole and…I think you get the point. I continue to believe in the quality of the story but it’s time for Chris Rosa to exert some editorial authority and, PLEASE, get this dude moving along.
Alright, enough negativity, I’ll get off my soapbox and get to the things that are excellent. The art in Green Arrow #22 continues to be wonderful. The characters do have some clever and funny dialogue, especially when Ollie is playing the rich playboy. I’m also a fan of how they worked the credits into the artwork at the end; it’s a small thing but I always thought that effect was pretty cool.
Final Thoughts
Please get this story going. The elements are there for an excellent story but it is starting to get self-indulgent and has already gone on too long. There is so much wasted space in Green Arrow #22. There is setting a mood and then there is maybe not knowing how to finish a story, this is getting perilously close to looking like the latter.
