Green Arrow, Vol. 1: The Midas Touch

Oliver Queen is the head of a multimillion-dollar technology corporation who secretly moonlights as a street-level crime fighter aided by a few trusted allies and an array of gadgets. Sound familiar? As part of its New 52 relaunch last year, DC Comics introduces a younger, grittier Green Arrow that ends up feeling more like “Batman-lite” than the Robin Hood–inspired derring-do whose weapon of choice was an arrow with a boxing glove at the end of it. In the first story, writer Krul showcases a more contemporary approach to the character, yet his attempts to update Green Arrow for the 21st century—like giving him a “Q-Pad” and Internet famous supervillains powered by designer drugs—come off contrived or only partially explored. The second story, written by Giffen, pits the Emerald Archer against a gun-wielding robotic ninja and her lovelorn brute made of decomposing waste, with little reasoning behind the fight other than the hero protecting his painfully obvious alter ego. The new Green Arrow does little to distinguish itself from all the other masked vigilantes despite the presence of veteran artists Dan Jurgens and George Pérez, whose work is merely satisfactory. (June)