Issue 38 of Green Arrow “Long Live the Queen”, which was released this March, concludes Benjamin Percy’s two-year run with “Green Arrow: Rebirth.” His series was able to return the character of Green Arrow to his social justice roots and make him a hero fighting against the establishment. This was a welcomed move as it made Green Arrow a character more relevant to the current socio-political turmoil the United States is in.

Throughout Percy’s run, Green Arrow fought against enemies who were taken straight out of the news. Green Arrow fought police brutality, a pipeline being erected onto Indigenous American soil, a conglomerate, the military-industrial complex, homelessness, privatization, and corruption in politics.

It’s not a comic that mentions real-world issues and then leaves them; it fights them. Percy’s Green Arrow run isn’t just another superhero comic. It’s a commentary on the United States today through a superhero.

What speaks to Percy’s strengths as a writer is that Green Arrow doesn’t necessarily defeat or solve these numerous challenges. He loses often and the consequences of his actions affect him and the society around him. However, rather than giving in after being defeated, he endures and Hutries harder. It’s refreshing to see lasting consequences in superhero comics when the medium often negates the past issues and story arcs.

Percy’s run was also somewhat of an oddity in the realm of superhero comics. Since “Green Arrow: Rebirth,” Percy had an odyssey take place. Green Arrow, in this run, was mostly fighting against a conglomerate known as the 9th Circle.

In other superhero comics, this enemy organization would have occupied between three and 12 issues and then the story would move on to something else. Percy, however, conducted a massive storyline that ran for exactly 38 issues. That’s an impressive feat in the world of superhero comics, Marvel or DC.

“The art of this series has alternated between primary artists, Otto Schmidt and Juan Ferreyra, but has also featured other artists

Schmidt’s art started the series and was distinctive in how the lines were clean, yet extremely defined and angular, allowing for a cartoonish (not in a derogatory sense) and grim sense into the world of Green Arrow. As time went on, Schmidt started to become inconsistent. His talent was there, but his presence heavily dwindled, making it necessary for other artists to step in. These fill-in artists were fine but weren’t comparable to Schmidt.

Ferreyra is easily my favorite artist due to his work on Green Arrow. If you don’t read comics, this upcoming statement may not mean much: Ferreyra gets arm hair right. That’s obviously not the main pull of his art. His art is just so detailed, yet clean and never feels like he’s overreaching. His detail for emotions in character faces, especially in the eyes, elevates Percy’s script. There are issues where Percy’s script is incredible, but Ferreyra isn’t there and I can’t help but think: “this would have been so much better with Ferreyra’s design.”

If you’re hoping to start Green Arrow now, I can’t recommend Percy’s run enough. Obviously, don’t start with the concluding issues. Get the paperback collections first.

For me, this Green Arrow run is the definitive Green Arrow run. It’s available at your local comic book store or on Amazon.com