The Mark: The Four Essential Green Arrow Storylines

Arrow won’t be back until mid-January, which means you have plenty of time for some good ol’ fashioned comic reading. So, we’re going to share the four essential Green Arrow comic book story lines to hold you over until Oliver Queen returns to your small screen.

4. Quiver

Quiver from writer Kevin Smith and artist Phil Hester tells the tale of the return of the original Green Arrow after being thought dead for a number of years. Many want to know just how he survived the plane crash thought to have killed him and just where he has been. Quite possibly one of the most convincing resurrection stories for a superhero.

3. Hard Travelling Heroes Vol. 2

Hard Travelling Heroes Vol.2 by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams, the team-up between Green Lantern and Green Arrow, also includes one of the most well known of Oliver Queen’s stories “Snowbirds Don’t Fly”. In this we see Roy Harper aka as Speedy, Green Arrow’s sidekick, become a junkie. While the story is somewhat of a cheese filled 70’s tale it definitely did tackle an issue not commonly touched in comics. What made these stories stand out was that rather than focus on action they dealt more with character, something uncommon with the comics of this era.

2. The Longbow Hunters

One of Oliver Queen’s more interesting stories, The Longbow Hunters by writer and artist Mike Grell, sees Oliver and girlfriend Black Canary move to Seattle. The series established Green Arrow as more of a vigilante than a superhero and was pretty damn violent. Grell really downplays the superhero aspect quite a bit and sees Oliver Queen realizing that in some ways he’s lost his way and moving away from his trick arrow and back to the longbow and arrows. Definitely one of the defining story lines for the character.

1. Year One

Arrow takes quite a bit from Year One by writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock. This story told an updated and thrilling re-imagining of Oliver Queen’s beginnings as Green Arrow that kept the essence of the original while updating it very strongly. If you’re a fan of Arrow, this is probably at the top of your “must read” list. Actually, even if you’re not a fan of the show you should read this one.