It has been many moons since the last time I did a blog. It's not that I haven't had time, I just don't have a lot to say and I only have 10 followers so it's not like anyone's waiting for me to do anything. In the 4 months since I last did a post I have continued my journey through each volume of Green Arrow and as of today I have finished my journey. I started this trek through his books with issue 85 of Brave and the Bold, his first appearance in the costume we all know and love. It doesn't fit anywhere in the timeline but I read it for a specific reason: Green Arrow up to that point had been just a Batman clone who used bows. It was in this issue that, though out of nowhere, we see an angry, liberal and redesigned GA come into the fold influencing changes to the character in every book he guest-starred in. From there I read the oh-so famous, oh-so amazing Green Lantern/Green Arrow run in which we see the street level GA begin schooling a holier-than-thou GL about what it is to be a hero. This series touched on topics from racism to drug addiction and led to changes to both heroes that resonated up until the New 52. After seeing the 70's GA I then read the 4-part mini-series from the 80's which was GA`s first official self-title book. It was a great read but nothing significant that I can remember other than this leading to the 3-part series that would change my life, The Longbow Hunters. From writer/artist Mike Grell we see a "back to basics" Ollie who gets caught up in something bigger than him which leads to the brutal beating of Dinah "Black Canary" Lance. This is a very important mini because it was so well received, and also so well done, that it launched the series into Green Arrow`s first volume of books. Grell gave us 80 issues of a realistic Green Arrow on the streets of Seattle, not Star City, that to this day is considered the definitive run of the character. No more trick arrows, no more hits to wound. GA donned a hood and an even more Robin Hood-esque uniform and became a hunting, terror on the streets of Seattle. Once Grell was done the series continued on switching creative teams before settling on writer Chuck Dixon who gave us the death of Oliver Queen but using seeds planted by Grell gave us his son Connor Hawke. Despite it being a new Green Arrow it was so well done and so well transitioned that you actually still loved him just like Ollie. Sadly the series ended at issue 137 and Connor joined the ranks of the JLA. That was in 98 or 99 I believe. From there we jump to 2001 when Kevin Smith launched the next series by resurrecting Oliver Queen and sending him on a quest of rediscovery. It's a great run that led to 75 issues which in my opinion were all fantastic. Judd Winick handled writing duties for most of the run and did an amazing job of it and with issue 75 launched the next series, Green Arrow and Black Canary. The newly wedded couple experience a lot of ups and downs in a short-lived, but still wonderful, 32 issue run that ended when Green Arrow acted out at the end of the Cry for Justice mini. Yet again the last book was a launchpad for his final series which lasted a short 15 issues written by J.T. Krul. The series was great at first but the more it tied into Brightest Day the worst it got. After 15 issues the New 52 happened and that is where I ended my journey. I've read most of the new series and I refuse to read any more unless something drastic happens. You may love it and that's fine, read what you like, but it isn't for me.

In this journey I have seen Ollie at his lowest and his highest. I have seen him drunk, lying in an alley in his own filth and I have seen him standing high in the light of the Sun, side-by-side with the family he came to love more than anything in the world. I've seen him cry at the injustices of the world and laugh with heroes he calls friends. It's amazing to see these stories unfold in the pages of a comic book, yet feel like it all happened. To think what they've done to the character now, the fact his family doesn't exist/never happened. To think he hasn't endured the trials he once did, it breaks my heart. Still, this was definitely a journey worth taking. I've laughed, I've cried and I've chatted with friends for hours over events and it shows what comics can be and should be. I think any fan should give this a try. It took money, more than a poor man should have spent, but I would do it again if in a heartbeat if I had to. Try and buy what you can, see what your heroes have been over the years. It'll be quite an experience.