A fun, interesting surprise...
Flashpoint has taken us all over and given us alternate looks at DC characters. Now it's Green Arrow's turn. This Flashpoint one-shot follows Oliver Queen, a big time corporate head and weapons manufacturer. He's purchased his own island for research and weapons testing as well as his own ex-military team who hunts down super villains and steals their weapons or devices to combine and sell to the highest bidder.
Writer Pornsak Pichetshote's story opens with a brief flashback but abruptly transitions to current day as Oliver's island is under attack. It's pretty much full action for the rest of the issue but laced with an interesting twist. Also Oliver's arrogance runs head-first into the reality of his weakness and this never gets lost in the action. It's a well written story that doesn't necessarily feel fresh but with more going on under the surface than you may think.
Marco Castiello pencils the first five pages and Ig Guara does the rest. Castiello's work is good but the art really picks up when Guara takes over. He really handles the action sequences and character designs well. We're given a considerable amount of information during the action scenes and Guara's art really helps to relay the story.
I had no idea what to expect from this issue. My biggest disappointment is that this is only a one-shot. With the exception of the bumpy transition from flashback to now, the writing is really good. The art starts out decent but really ends strong. This is a really fun read but the fact it's a one-shot wastes a lot of great potential for future stories.
