#Ablaze Comics Reviews

[dispatchdcu]

Traveling To Mars #11 Review

Traveling To Mars #11 Review #travelingtomars #markrussell #ablaze #ablazecomics #comics #comicbooks #news #mcu #art #info #NCBD #comicbooknews #previews #reviews

Writer: Mark Russell Artist: Roberto Meli Colorist: Chiara Di Francia Letterer: Mattia Gentili Cover Artists: Roberto Meli; Gabriele Bagnoli; Ciro Cangialosi; Brent McKee Publisher: Ablaze Price: $3.99 Release Date: April 3, 2024 Roy arrived on Mars with his robot companions. While Leopold and Albert’s lives will continue, Roy’s oxygen is nearly gone. He received his final message from the Easy…

[shadowwingtronix]

"Yesterday's" Comic> Space Pirate Captain Harlock FCBD 2021

BW's "Yesterday's" Comic> Space Pirate Captain Harlock FCBD 2021

“This was not the right chair for my wood deck.” Free Comic Book Day: Space Pirate Captain Harlock Ablaze Publishing (2021) STORY: Leiji Matsumoto & Jérôme Alquié ARTIST: Jérôme Alquié LETTERER: Dezi Sienty EDITOR: Kevin Ketner Continue reading “Yesterday’s” Comic> Space Pirate Captain Harlock FCBD 2021

[englishmansdcc]

THE AGENT #1 Review - Definitely worth checking this one out (Gabella, Dagnino, Morote, Vibrant Studios) ABLAZE

Writer: Mathieu GabellaArtist: Fernando DagninoColorist: Carlos MoroteLetterer: Vibrant Studios Thanks to ABLAZE for the review copy! A new fantasy espionage thriller from ABLAZE written by Mathieu Gabella (Assassin’s Creed) with art by Fernando Dagnino (Superman, Suicide Squad). A whirlwind chase through a Paris subway tunnel leads to the spiritual awakening of a female narcotics lieutenant…

[honeythispodcast]

hey so uhhhhh. do you like D&D, audrey hepburn, and fangoria? have you ever felt..... curious? just wondering bc this week we're diving into the Extensive collection of MCR's music videos and exploring the power of feminine characters and the narratives the videos shape about masculinity. we've got sexy crisp and clean new audio, so tune in NOW to hear us review each video and dig into the lore behind its making. ep up on spotify & apple podcasts etc. etc.

topics include: getting high off spray paint, Frank's terrible glue dreads, being horror babies, beating up traditional masculinity, the music video as an archive, uniforms, Huge Cock Military Might Hollywood Budget, Mikey's tragic death in World War II, accidentally g-noting yourself, women's traditional role in music videos, jacking off the mic, Liza-ing Absolute Minelli, what a Mama music video could look like, bridges, Bob Bryar set ablaze, comic book pacing, piss flagging, making Glenn Beck angry, and substance.

[longsufferingcritic]

I have to laugh at Netflix Avatar having firebenders set people ablaze for no real reason other than showing off how supposedly dark and edgy the reboot is. The showrunners clearly wanted the audience to hear, "A kids cartoon would never do this! But we're a totally mature show so we can and we did! Aren't you excited, Game of Thrones fans?"

It's funny partly because the actual plot and characterization changes are markedly less mature than the original -- I'll refrain from ranting about exactly how/why here, since other reviews have covered it pretty exhaustively -- so the sudden over-the-top violence just comes off as cheap shock value.

But also because Wings of Fire, a middle-grade book series targeted at ages 10-12, has a character that specializes in setting others on fire. She is shown "on screen" killing a prisoner this way in the very first book, plus its graphic novel adaptation.

Now of course there are a few caveats: the characters are dragons rather than humans, and standards of violence are generally much looser in fantasy novels and comics/GNs than in film or television anyway. It would be harder to get away with this in an animated children's show like AtLA, true.

But still. My point is, when Sozin killed that random earthbender in the first episode, all it made me feel was deeply unimpressed. If you want to be 3edgy5me I'm afraid you'll have to get more creative, and if you want to be truly mature you'll need to express that in the actual narrative, not just rely on graphic violence.

Because contrary to popular belief, family-unfriendly content is not the only thing that defines "adult fiction"; more important is whether the themes and messages are catered to people with more life experience and emotional maturity than a child. Netflix Avatar's narrative is not mature in that way, not even remotely, not even compared to the TV-Y7 work it was based on -- which is one of the best-written children's works of all time, by the way, so despite being for children it doesn't avoid nuance/subtlety or condescend to its audience like the supposedly adult-oriented reboot does.

Setting people on fire, while a neat CGI party trick, does not compensate for that critical storytelling failure. Especially not when a teenage talking dragon from an actual children's work already did it better.

[skeleton-richard]

OMG THEY’RE PUBLISHING AN ENGLISH VERSION OF NEO FAUST!!!! I HAVE WANTED THIS SINCE I HEARD ABOUT IT!!

[nfcomics]

     Tripwire no.59 kicks off its first print quarterly this May with an Indiana Jones cover and feature looking back and forward at everyone’s favourite fictional archaeologist, previewing the latest film Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny. Also in this issue is 40 years of Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi, How comic artists utilize Wacom and Cintiq tablets to bring their work to life, company focus on Ablaze, the return of Tripwire’s graphic novel review column On The Shelf, career interview with writer Tom King (Human Target, Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow), Tripwire’s greatest comic artists of all time part one, from the archive: our exclusive chat with Stan Lee and Stripwire featuring Kent Menace and more.                        (W) Various (A) Various            Retail: $9.50 US

[newstfionline]

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Global water crisis leaves half of world food production at risk in next 25 years (Guardian) More than half the world’s food production will be at risk of failure within the next 25 years as a rapidly accelerating water crisis grips the planet, unless urgent action is taken to conserve water resources and end the destruction of the ecosystems on which our fresh water depends, experts have warned in a landmark review. Half the world’s population already faces water scarcity, and that number is set to rise as the climate crisis worsens, according to a report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water published on Thursday. Demand for fresh water will outstrip supply by 40% by the end of the decade, because the world’s water systems are being put under “unprecedented stress”, the report found.

Israel complicates election’s final stretch, an issue Democrats hoped would fade (Washington Post) President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hoped the ongoing violence in the Middle East might simmer below the surface in the final weeks of the presidential race, but fresh Israeli military offensives are making that virtually impossible. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set the Gaza Strip ablaze with a renewed bombing campaign and launched a ground invasion into Lebanon alongside aerial strikes in Beirut aimed at annihilating the militant group Hezbollah. He is expected to order an imminent attack on Iran’s military facilities in response to its missile strike on Israel this month. The rapid escalation has tied the Biden administration in knots, resulting in the United States first calling for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon only to reverse that policy nine days later and openly endorse Israel’s ground offensive. The whiplash has caused confusion and consternation among Washington’s European and Arab allies who are pushing for the United States to restrain its closest ally in the Middle East. But administration officials remain loath to pick a public fight at such a tenuous moment politically. “They clearly want to avoid any public confrontation with Netanyahu over Lebanon or Gaza that could result in blowback from Israel’s supporters before the election,” said Frank Lowenstein, a Biden ally and former Middle East negotiator in the Obama administration. “At the same time, they are sensitive to losing critical Arab American votes in key swing states if their rhetoric leans too far in Israel’s direction,” he added.

Both Parties Are Getting Men Wrong (Politico) With the election just a few weeks away, the contest for the votes of men is heating up. Young women’s support is effectively locked up for the Democrats, but young men still seem up for grabs. There is a real political opportunity right now for a party to craft an agenda that speaks to men—and addresses their real problems. Contrary to progressive belief, young men are not turning into a generation of misogynists. Support for gender equality continues to rise, including among men under 30. The problem seems more to be that many men simply don’t see much recognition of their issues, or even of their identity, on the political left. If the Democrats are the “women’s party,” as one party strategist claimed, it might not be surprising that men are looking in another direction. The official party platform lists the groups it is proud to serve; women are listed but men are not. There is a new Gender Policy Council in the White House, but it has not addressed a single issue facing boys or men. When problems are neglected, they metastasize into grievances. And grievances can be weaponized in service of reactionary goals. The solution, then, is almost comically simple: Don’t neglect the problems. The mistake being made on both sides is to see gender equality as a zero-sum game; that to do more for boys and men means doing less on behalf of girls and women. But working on behalf of women doesn’t require politicians to turn their backs on men.

U.S. Charges Indian Official in New York Assassination Plot (NYT) Federal prosecutors have charged a man they identified as an Indian intelligence officer with trying to orchestrate from abroad an assassination on U.S. soil—part of an escalating response from the United States and Canada to what those governments see as brazenly illegal conduct by a longtime partner. An indictment unsealed in Manhattan on Thursday said that the man, Vikash Yadav, “directed the assassination plot from India” that targeted a New York-based critic of the Indian government, a Sikh lawyer and political activist who has urged the Punjab region of India to secede. Authorities say Mr. Yadav recruited an associate to find a U.S.-based criminal to arrange the murder of the Sikh activist. Last year, U.S. prosecutors charged the man accused of being Mr. Yadav’s henchman, Nikhil Gupta, and said Mr. Gupta had acted under instructions from an unidentified employee of the Indian government. Now, prosecutors have charged Mr. Yadav with orchestrating the plot.

Former Mexican official sentenced to 38 years in U.S. prison for taking bribes (Washington Post) A former top public security official in Mexico on Wednesday was sentenced to more than 38 years in U.S. federal prison for accepting millions of dollars in bribes to allow Sinaloa cartel narcotics traffickers to operate with impunity under his watch. Genaro García Luna, 56, was convicted on Feb. 21, 2023, of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and other related counts after a five week trial in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. In addition to being sentenced to prison, he was fined $2 million. García Luna’s case has riveted Mexico, which has suffered about a half-million homicides since President Felipe Calderón declared a “war on drugs” in 2006, unleashing bloody fighting between security forces and crime groups. García Luna served as minister of public security in 2006 to 2012 under Calderón and was responsible for creating a new federal police force. He was a key U.S. partner on a multibillion-dollar plan known as the Merida Initiative, aimed at dismantling the cartels.

Power Outage Plunges All of Cuba Into Darkness (NYT) Cuba’s power grid failed and the entire nation plunged into darkness Friday, less than a day after the government stressed the need to paralyze the economy to save electricity in the face of major gasoline shortages and large-scale, regular outages. The electricity went out nationwide Friday morning after a failure at a thermoelectric power plant in Matanzas, east of Havana, Cuba’s Energy Ministry said on X. The announcement came less than a day after the prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, held a late-night television address with state officials to discuss the ongoing electricity crisis, which experts said was the worst the nation—long accustomed to food and electricity shortages—had ever experienced. For weeks, the country has lacked the fuel to run the power grid, which has left large parts of the nation without electricity for up to 12 hours at a time. To ease the strain on the electrical network, officials announced on Thursday night that all schools would be closed until Monday and cultural and nonessential activities such as nightclubs would shutter.

Russia flaunts its nuclear weapons to keep the West from ramping up support for Ukraine (AP) This year has seen President Vladimir Putin repeatedly brandish the nuclear sword, reminding everyone that Russia has the world’s largest atomic arsenal to try to deter the West from ramping up support for Ukraine. He ordered his military to hold drills involving battlefield nuclear weapons with ally Belarus. He announced Russia will start producing ground-based intermediate range missiles that were outlawed by a now-defunct U.S.-Soviet treaty in 1987. And last month, he lowered the threshold for unleashing his arsenal by revising the country’s nuclear doctrine. Putin is relying on those thousands of warheads and hundreds of missiles as an enormous doomsday machine to offset NATO’s massive edge in conventional weapons to discourage what he sees as threats to Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Japan tourism boom (Nikkei Asia) Spending by foreign visitors has already reached 5.86 trillion yen ($39.1 billion) in Japan in the first nine months of the year as the country experiences a massive tourism boom. That’s already smashing the record of 5.31 trillion yen spent in all of 2023, with still three months to go. The average spend per visitor in the July-to-September period came in at 223,000 yen, which was up 40 percent year over year. The number of visitors in the first nine months came in at 26.88 million, also beating the 2023 full-year tally handily. The government projects that this year they might finish at 35 million visitors.

For Charles’s first visit as king, Australians are royally unimpressed (Washington Post) When King Charles III arrives in Australia on Friday, he’ll receive rock star treatment—just not in the way he might have hoped. Instead of drawing the massive crowds that often awaited his mother, Charles’s first trip here as monarch is likely to be a mellower affair. The king will meet with Australia’s prime minister, review its naval fleet and greet supporters outside the Opera House. But many state leaders are staying home. And perhaps the liveliest reception will be from members of Australia’s republican movement, who are selling sarcastic “Monarchy: The Farewell Oz Tour” T-shirts, as if the royals were an aging band on the brink of retirement.

The war trudges on (Foreign Policy) Hamas confirmed the killing of leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces in a televised eulogy on Friday and vowed to continue its war against Israel. Sinwar’s death “will only increase the strength and resolve of Hamas and our resistance,” said Sinwar’s longtime deputy, Khalil al-Hayya, who has been living in exile in Qatar. Hayya reiterated that Hamas will not end its war against Israel until both sides agree to a truce deal in Gaza that includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave and the release of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu also vowed to continue the war effort. Sinwar’s killing is a “great opportunity to stop the axis of evil,” he said, referring to Iran and its proxies, which include Hamas in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli military announced on Friday that it would add an additional brigade of reservists to fight along the Israel-Lebanon border, and it said that its forces had killed Muhammad Hassin Ramal, Hezbollah’s commander of the Tayibe area in southern Lebanon. “We had hoped, really throughout this, that getting rid of Sinwar would be the turning point where the wars would end,” a senior diplomat working in Lebanon told Reuters. “It appears we were once again mistaken.”

More than 40% of people in Gaza to face ‘catastrophic’ levels of hunger (NBC News) Some 41% of people in Gaza will face “catastrophic” levels of hunger in the coming months, a global authority on food security warned Thursday. The report emerged as Israel came under increasing pressure, including from its most important ally, the United States, to allow in more essential humanitarian aid. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which sets a scale used by the United Nations and governments to assess hunger, said that there will be a persistent risk of famine in Gaza this winter unless more humanitarian aid reaches the Palestinian enclave. The release also said that nine in 10 Gazans—roughly two million people—face “acute food insecurity” in the months ahead. and came as Reuters reported that the Israeli government has stopped processing requests from traders to import food to Gaza.

US long-range B-2 stealth bombers target underground bunkers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels (AP) The U.S. military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels early Thursday, a major escalation in the American response to the rebels’ attacks on Mideast shipping lanes that appeared to be a warning to Iran as well. While it wasn’t immediately clear how much damage the strikes caused, the attack appeared to be the first use of the B-2 in combat in years and the first time the flying wing targeted sites in Yemen. In announcing the strikes against the Houthis, who have been attacking ships for months in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a point to offer a warning likely heard in Tehran as well. “This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified,” Austin said.

[graphicpolicy]

Weekly Preview! 2 graphic novels and more to come!

Weekly Preview! 2 graphic novels and more to come! See what's coming to GPTV! #comics #comicbooks #graphicnovel

There are a lot of comics coming out every week to be covered. Check out some of what we’ll be reviewing and this is only the beginning! This week’s reviews include: Eerie Tales From the School of Screams (First Second) The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold Your Childhood (First Second) Not shown: Animal Castle Vol. 2 #3 (Ablaze) Astrobots #3 (Massive/Whatnot) Kaiju No. 8 Vol. 7…

[urbaneturtle]

No Context Comics - A Look at 3 Books I Don't Read from the week of 11/30

This week's look at 3 books I don't read includes The Boogyman from Ablaze, James Bond 007 from Dynamite, and Killadelphia from Image. #comics #NoContextComics

Welcome to another No Context Comics!  No commentary or preamble from me this week. Enjoy the reviews. The Boogyman #3  Ablaze. Mathieu Salvia, Artist. Djet, Artist. Nathan Kempf, Letters. Kevin Ketner, Editor. Respect to the creators here on opening up on several wordless pages of action in a row. It would be easy for that to not work but Djet’s manga-influenced action is fluid and balletic.…

[tailiacprod]

“Elle(s) Vol. 1: The New Girl” Early Review

[dispatchdcu]

Traveling To Mars #10 Review

Traveling To Mars #10 Review #travelingtomars #markrussell #ablaze #ablazecomics #comics #comicbooks #news #mcu #art #info #NCBD #comicbooknews #previews #reviews

Writer: Mark Russell Artist: Roberto Meli Colorist: Chiara Di Francia Letterer: Mattia Gentili Cover Artists: Roberto Meli; Romina Moranelli; Fernando Proietti; Brent McKee Publisher: Ablaze Price: $3.99 Release Date: February 7, 2023 Vera’s reports of natural gas deposits on Mars bolstered a society teetering on the brink of collapse. The Easy Beef Corporation funded a mission to send a human to…

[b3crew]

REVIEW | "Space Pirate Captain Harlock" | B3 - Boston Bastard Brigade

Within space and time, only one pirate is brave enough to conquer the stars, and his name is Captain Harlock! Leiji Matsumoto’s iconic creation has taken the manga, anime, and film worlds by storm, reaching out far past the Japanese borders and into international territory. The most interesting place Harlock’s fame has gotten him to was France, who consider him (and Matsumoto, of course) a pop culture icon. It’s why Matsumoto had given his blessing to French comic book author Jerome Alquie to continue his story, in the form of the six-part series Space Pirate Captain Harlock!

Taking place after the events of the main series, Space Pirate Captain Harlock has our titular hero taking on a new threat from the Mazon. Earth is once again under attack, as it’s placed in a never-ending tundra from a Mazon threat coming from the planet’s coldest depths. Despite his banishment from Earth, Captain Harlock and his trusty crew set off to save the planet, as well as keep a promise to the late Arcadia’s creator Tochiro. However, in order to protect Earth this time, Harlock must travel to places that have become the final resting places for many past adventurers.

One of the great things about this new Captain Harlock adventure is how much Alquie captures Matsumoto’s look and feel to the story. From its beautiful visual aesthetics and space opera vibes to the overall message that our anti-hero pushes through, everything about this story feels true to Matsumoto original creation. Granted, it does take a big exposition route with much of the back story to this narrative, but this is only so those new to Captain Harlock can catch up to his mighty adventures. (Those who want to dive fully into the Captain Harlock narrative can rest assure that finding the original series is a lot more easier now than it was a few years back!)

The key theme of finding peace and freedom is present all through Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Even as the likes of Kei, Tadashi, Yattaran, and Mimay stand tall for battle against the Mazon, it’s clear that their quest for total freedom is at the forefront of their minds. Nevertheless, when Mimay is left in a coma after an attack from the ice Mazon Mel and the villainous Talika, the fight for revenge for the sake of peace becomes their main focus. After all, be it literally or emotionally, the crew of Arcadia never leaves a crew member behind!

Click here to read the rest of the review!

[oosteven-universe]

The Cimmerian: The Man-Eaters of Zamboula #2

The Cimmerian: The Man-Eaters of Zamboula #2 Ablaze Publishing 2021 By Gess Lettered by Dezi Sienty    The mysticism continues as Conan and Zabibi venture into the temple of Totrasmek where nothing is as it seems and danger lies around every bend, but this house of spirits isn’t the only place where the Cimmerian will face deception and illusion. Conan must use all of his wits to survive the sorcery working against him so he may receive his prize and get his revenge.    This is some seriously interesting and messed up shit going on right here let me tell you.  Zabibi is running around buck-ass naked and doesn’t even take time to get any clothing but continues with Conan to stop the man who took her husband.  I think one of the best things about this book is that with a limited word count to the original story Gess manages to really find a way to expand the story visually to keep the comics page count to a point where the entire story makes perfect sense.  It is a very genius thing to do and it helps with the overall flow of the story as it fleshes out the scenes beautifully.    I am very much enjoying the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well.  The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter continue to bring their personalities to the forefront.  The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we’re nearly hypnotised by the dance which takes place here.    How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow and evolve is incredibly well executed.  What I really enjoy about what we see in the layers, aside from the characterisation and plot twists, is how they manage to add this depth, dimension and complexity to the story.  The two part ending had me increasingly convinced this wasn’t over though it clearly does end with only two issues in this arc.  How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is beautifully achieved.    The interiors here are absolutely gorgeous.  The linework is phenomenal and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality in the attention to detail that we see.  The way that we see backgrounds being utilised throughout the book to enhance and expand the moments is exceptionally well rendered.  They also work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is marvellous.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling.  The colour work is brilliantly rendered.  The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works. ​    This has quickly become one of my favourite franchises in comics today.  It has also managed to make me a fan of Conan the Cimmerian, the point where I will not miss one of these that comes out--from Ablaze that is.  While I have no idea how many short stories that were written by Robert E. Howard exists I do know that I’ll be here eagerly awaiting for any and all of them, heck even those inspired by.  With some amazing adaptation skills and some crazy good interiors this is the kind of unapologetic story that makes Conan such a popular iconic figure.

[darkeraven22]

Hyborian Age 7/2

So we have some stuff in for review… and that means more stuff for the Hyborian Age of Reviews for Fridays… so lets see what came in…

So we start off with from Amazon, this facility being from Tucson Arizona… so what is in from them for reviewing? So from Amazon we got Red Sonja 2019 Volume 1 “Scorched Earth”…. ok cool. From Dynamite. We also have Age of Conan: Valeria from MARVEL. Ok that’s…

[thequiver]

Review of Green Arrow: Stranded (2022)

11/10, would recommend to any Green Arrow fan. I absolutely loved it.

A more detailed review that includes spoilers under the cut!

Alright, here we go! I'm going to be tackling the story first and the art second because both deserve praise.

First things first, I absolutely LOVED that Deneen opened right off the back on the dedication page by showing that he's a longtime DC fan, and paying homage to Mike Grell- it make me feel more secure in the kind of characterization we were going to see, and got me really excited to see where he was going with a young Oliver Queen. And I was NOT disappointed. His characterization of Ollie is probably the best we've gotten in the last 20 years without a doubt- you could really see the makings of our beloved curmudgeon in this thirteen year old- it felt like Ollie again.

Deneen manages a really masterful blend of Rebirth canon and Preboot Canon Queen family dynamics and I think that it's safe to say that with the exception of the island happening when Ollie's thirteen rather than as a young adult, this comic would fit right in with canon stories. It was beautifully structured, expertly split into chapters in a way that didn't segment the story unnaturally, and it felt like I was reading 6 comic issues bound together rather than a volume.

As someone who works with kids, Ollie was an extremely believable thirteen year old, he was just the right amount of independent and seeking validation- and his emotional push and pull with his father? Was EXCELLENT. It's the kind of dynamic we saw hinted at in GA: Rebirth but with Robert Queen being given an actual personality and chance to appear on page. Tyler and Sebastian felt like stand-ins for the Merlyns, which makes sense, given that the canon we've been given for the Merlyns relationship with Oliver Queen would be extremely difficult to portray in a novel for kids and also fitting that narrative into the island narrative would be packing it with too much trauma.

I'm always a fan of Ollie's compassion being highlighted, his acknowledgement that taking a life any life is a burden that shouldn't be handled lightly. Deneen gave us what felt like an homage to the "Safari" death of Ollie's parents from preboot canon mixed with the well known and often discussed grief Ollie feels over the rabbit he accidentally killed while learning to shoot in the way he approaches Ollie's archery skills and his development as a hunter in this comic. On that note too, the shifting between the hunting safari and the island are fantastic- the parallels and anxieties are displayed in a realistic and easy to digest way that's perfect for young readers.

Ollie, talking about the pizza place in Seattle that treats him like anyone else was just so Ollie. It so clearly and easily exemplifies his consistent desire to just be Ollie, and is just one of those instances of the Green Arrow ethos of the importance of being "just a guy."

I am also obsessed with Ollie spelling out "alive" rather than "help" in the driftwood that he sets ablaze at the end to call for help. Something about that was just so Oliver Queen. The focus on living, the determination to look at the unknown and uncertainty found in needed help and to say "I'm here, I'm alive, I am going to show strength regardless of the uncertainty of my situation," was just... so Ollie. I loved it. Seared into my memory forever now.

Onto the art- I need the island to be illustrated like this always now. Hosalla's art style is able to show the island as something beautiful and untamed and dangerous, while still plainly showing the trauma of the situation. It toes the line between serene and horrifying which is exactly what the island should be, it is both an escape, a place where Oliver Queen can just be Ollie, where he's unburdened by the pressures of his life back home- but it's also a crucible that fashions him into the man he'll become. And her art is just a brilliant display of both beauty and pain.

I also really really love the way she portrays Ollie. He looks like a thirteen year old boy, he's not just a smaller version of a grown man without a beard. He looks like a young boy who's still growing into his features, who's maturing still, has baby fat still. And it's this depiction that helps drive home the kind of innocence and unfairness that Dendeen is trying to make apparent in his writing- the art reflects the text of the story beautifully. Ollie's facial features are distinctive, and his expressions are fantastic, I love the way that the pupils of the eyes she draws are just as expressive as the line of the mouth. And I could talk forever about the way that Ollie's face switches between fear and determination, the subtle shift in the panel between just drives the scene, and brings the text to life in a way that makes it feel dynamic.

The art is what truly brings this comic to the level it's at- the writing is incredible, but the art is what elevates it to the being such an incredible Green Arrow comic. The use of color and contrast, the facial expressions convey tone in a way that text alone can't. It's an incredible comic, and an absolutely beautiful example of what the medium can be when artists and writers of equal skill are paired together.

I truly cannot recommend this comic enough. I will be thinking about this for months at absolute minimum.