DC Finest - Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

DC Finest: Green Arrow #1

by Mike Grell (Writer / Artist), Dennis O'Neil, Sharon Wright

A major new line of DC collected editions begins with the most iconic stories starring Green Arrow!

Welcome to DC Finest, a major new publishing initiative presenting comprehensive collections of the most in-demand and celebrated periods in DC Comics history, spanning genres, characters, and eras!

Collecting the can’t-miss stories about the modern-day Robin Hood, DC Finest: Green Arrow is a must have for any fan!

Collects Detective Comics Annual #1, Green Arrow #1-8, Green Arrow Annual #1, The Question #17-18, The Question Annual #1, Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1-3

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2025

About the author

Mike Grell (born 1947) is a comic book writer and artist.

Grell studied at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, and took the Famous Artists School correspondence course in cartooning. His entry into the comics industry was in 1972, as an assistant to Dale Messick on the Brenda Starr comic strip.

In 1973 Grell moved to New York, and began his long relationship with DC Comics. His first assignment at DC was on Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, a high-profile assignment for an artist with no prior experience illustrating a monthly comic book. Grell says he got that job because he was walking in the editor's door to ask for work, literally, as the previous artist was walking out the door, having just quit. These stories were written by Cary Bates and Jim Shooter. The Bates/Grell/Shooter run on the title is very well-regarded today by Superboy/Legion fans, who consider it one of the high-water marks in the character/team's history. Grell's work on SATLOSH is widely thought to be some of the best beefcake/cheesecake ever committed to comic book pages, and is affectionately referred to as the 'disco Legion' in retrospect by fans of the title.

A writer as well as artist, Grell cemented his status as a fan-favorite with his best-known creation, The Warlord, one of the first sword and sorcery comics, and reportedly the best-selling title published by DC Comics in the late-1970s.

The character first appeared in 1st Issue Special #8 (Nov 1975) and was soon given his own ongoing title (The Warlord #1, Jan/Feb 1976). In this book, Air Force pilot Travis Morgan crash-lands in the prehistoric "hidden world" of Skartaris (a setting highly influenced by Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar). For years thereafter, Morgan engages in adventures dressed only in a winged helmet, wristbands, boots, and breechclout, and armed with a sword and (years before Dirty Harry handled one) a .44 Auto Mag.

At DC, Grell also worked on titles such as Aquaman, Batman, and the Phantom Stranger, and with writer Dennis O'Neil on the re-launch of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series in 1976.


[edit] Tarzan
Grell wrote and drew the Tarzan comic strip from July 19, 1981 to February 27, 1983 (except for one strip, February 13, 1983, by Thomas Yeates). These strips were rerun in newspapers in 2004 - 2005.


[edit] First Comics: Jon Sable Freelance and Starslayer

Cover to Jon Sable Freelance #7. Art by Mike Grell.Through the 1980s Grell developed creator-owned titles such Jon Sable Freelance and Starslayer. Jon Sable Freelance was published by the now-defunct First Comics. Starslayer, a space-born science fiction series, started at Pacific Comics, but shifted to First.

The titular character of Jon Sable Freelance was a former Olympic athlete, later a African big-game hunter, who became a mercenary. First appearing with a cover date of June 1983, Jon Sable Freelance was a successful non-super-hero comic book in an era when successful non-super-hero comic books were almost unheard of, and a graphically violent comic sold in mainstream comic book stores in an era when such was as rare. Jon Sable was a precursor to what would eventually be called, by some, "the Dark Age of Comics," when even long-established super-heroes would become increasingly grim and violent.

The character was heavily influenced by Ian Fleming's James Bond novels as well as drawing on pulp fiction crime stories. Also, many of the stories of Sable's hunting exploits in Africa were influenced by Peter Hathaway Capstick's novels. At a convention in the late 1980s, Grell stated that his idea for Sable was "something like a cross between James Bond and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer."

Sable was adapted into a short-lived television series and the character's origin tale, "A Storm Over Eden," from the comic book, was expanded and novelized by Grell under the title Sable, which was publ

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very 1980s grim-and-gritty take on the emerald archer--quality character work and storytelling with some philosophical meandering from Denny O'Neil via the included Annuals.

But it's still weird to have a costumed crime fighter wandering the streets of a major city shooting people with arrows.

[Thxlbx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Grell's take on the Green Arrow is one of the finest in Green Arrows long history.

The art, the grit of the stories, and the real world late 80's feel make this version of the Arrow one of the best, if not the best, ever created.

A must read for Green Arrow fans and comic fans alike.

[NewWorldGod · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

Amazing art/story in the green arrow issues. The final 3 annuals I didn’t like that much but they were mostly good.

[Darik · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'm not a cop... which means I don't have to play by any RULES," Ollie says while wearing mirrored sunglasses. Oh, brother...

Pure Reagan-era pulp. Comic-book equivalent of a Canon movie. Kids are depicted as violent animals. Violence against woman is ubiquitous. The first big storyline is dripping with orientalist fetishizing of yakuza culture. Edgy and exploitative for the sake of it-- and while it does try to handle the fallout of its grossly violent storylines with a degree of emotional honesty, it doesn't make its dime-store noir vibe any less silly.

Still... I enjoyed it. Mike Grell's artwork on the first three-issue miniseries is lush and captivating, and there's a compelling sense of introspection to these stories that keeps them from feeling like all-out reactionary propaganda. I may not AGREE with the writer's politics, but I can at least respect how he's chosen to express them.

... Except for what he had happen to Black Canary. That was just plain reprehensible.

[Al Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not comics code authority approved, but deals with rather mature themes, not for kids.

Art is very good throughout except for the Green Arrow Annual, The initial 3 isssue prestige longbow hunters has the best art.

Stories are quite good and more grounded, based in Seattle, (with excellent references to the PNW)and not encountering any superpowered individuals, this is how comics should be. Grell and O Neil take a liberal perspective to their writing but it isn’t too obnoxious. A solid read, with the introduction of one of DC’s greatest characters Eddie Fyers.

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

No había leído The Longbow Hunters y bien bien no ha envejecido. El intento de abordar una trama adulta alejada de los superhéroes llevándose al personaje a Seattle, olvidando cualquier vínculo con nadie que lleve un traje de mallas salvo Canario Negro, a la que Mike Grell hace sufrir para motivar a su pareja, apenas tiene algo digno de este propósito en una conversación en la que esta confiesa que no desea tener hijos. El resto es un thriller así como con base social (prostitución; estadounidenses WASPs que hicieron cosas chungas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial) que en los tiempos de Moore, Miller, Chaykin, Moench parece muy menor. Más si le metes a una ninja arquera seria, seria en busca de venganza. O tu puesta en página se pasa de creativa y se pega con la historia que estás contando.

Se deja leer pero como aventura a pie de tierra queda lejos, por ejemplo, de lo que Steven Grant estaba haciendo con El Castigador por aquella misma época con Mike Zeck. Curiosamente, por las expectativas menores (sobre todo dibuja un competente Ed Hannigan), la serie regular me ha entrado mejor. No pretende epatar y apuesta por un serial criminal muy pulp con temas interesantes como la violencia contra homosexuales en plena epidemia de SIDA, las bandas callejeras... El disfrute está a punto de arruinarlo el encadenamiento final de tres anuales junto a Batman y Question, con un Dennis O'Neil poco inspirado. Algunos diálogos son antológicos (madre mía las escenas con Talia al Ghul).

[Hannah Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5/5

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up reading Marvel comics, but can appreciate that DC wrote some good stuff over the years as well. Mike Grell’s Green Arrow comes highly recommended, and since this collection is such a good value, it’s worth a try.

Was hoping this might compare to Frank Miller’s Daredevil. But that’s not quite a fair comparison. Grell made most of the plots fairly mundane, at least if you’re comparing to a comic book. With the exception of the crossovers with the Question and Batman at the end of the book, this feels more like an 80’s tv show.

It has potential, but so far it’s only exciting when Shado turns up and they start fighting ninjas. The Longbow Hunters series has the best art and colors. But they felt it necessary to torture the girlfriend to up the stakes. Also, is it me, or is Oliver Queen supposed to be a righteous hero while also being a crappy boyfriend? Or is he a great boyfriend by 80’s standards?

[Robert McCallum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall an excellent read with very consistent quality through the whole book.

The longbow hunters is the headline story and it really is a great read. Established the “new” green arrow series and introduces story elements that will last for decades to come.

We then go onto the on-going series. This maintained the quality from the longbow hunters mini-series with some pretty hard hitting storylines from the late 80’s. Having been around at this time the issues in these stories are totally relatable regarding prejudice, abuse etc - you forget how much the world has (hopefully) changed over the last 30 years.

To me this is a must read book and well worth your time

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent, very different from everything else during that time and now even. Honestly I could live without the question stuff but I did like the inclusion anyway (do I not like the ?) The storytelling is wonderful and I love the different color pages. I need to read more Black Canary tho

[Wendopolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Green Arrow’s one of the good guys!

[Adam Tarrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've thought about this book a lot since I first read it earlier this year. Everything about the Green Arrow issues, from the art to the writing, was incredibly well done. It all felt so real, so believable and human. There were so many shocking and badass moments that I knew would stick with me forever from the second I flipped the page. I wasn't a fan of The Question stuff at the end, but that was like an unnecessary special feature added to sell DVDs. The actual movie (and it does feel like watching a movie) is amazing. I think this, along with Year One, has solidified Oliver Queen as my favourite superhero. It's a shame we won't be seeing much of him in the Absolute universe 😢. I want a Green Arrow with enormous arms and an enormous bow that shoots javelins through tanks.

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started off very strong but the momentum of the series gradually petered out. First, the ending was not satisfying at all: Oliver is never made to confront whether or not killing is justified when you know someone is going to walk off without any repercussions at all. He has no second thoughts about letting one of the antagonists go, and is happy to spend the money he gave him. Second, I don’t know if the author is aware of how serious the topic of Japanese Internment camps is, because it’s only ever used as the backdrop for the tragic past of Shado, and is never properly dealt with. Same with the mention of how some people start killing because they’re in the army, and then they don’t know how to stop. Push the topic further, and don’t just make a one-off comment about it to make your book seem more interesting. I also think that Mike Grell knew from the start that he would have an ongoing with thr character because we never get a true confrontation between Oliver and Shado. Also, it’s unfortunate that Shado’s characterization falls into orientalist stereotypes.

As for the main series, I was left feeling pretty underwhelmed. Two issues are not enough to cover the topics that the book wants to discuss, which just leads to pretty surface-level observation of the problems it is tackling. To me, the worst offenders of this were issues 5 and 6 because the gay bashings are just there as a way to get Oliver to discover the big bads, and the story ends up being about why teenagers can easily end up joining gangs. Don’t get me wrong, that’s an important topic, but it should’ve been reserved for its own storyline. Especially because the only meaningful exploration of queerness in story comes from the fact that one of the villains was gang r*ped in prison and contracted AIDS as a result. Those are some really serious topics with a lot to explore in each one, but they’re just left as a one off comment. Why would you not use the story to highlight the lack of attention the government was giving to the AIDS epidemic. Another storyline that really was done dirty because of the two issue arcs was Dinah coming to terms with the attack and trauma she endured at the end of the Longbow Hunters. My final critique is that Ollie’s moral code seemed really flexible. Like I mentioned before, he doesn’t kill the guy at the end of the Longbow Hunters, even when he straight up said to his face that he’s not going to face any repercussions because there isn’t any evidence, but on the first arc of the ongoing, he lets a man drown even though there was definitely enough evidence to gain a conviction. Something that I also thought was going to be brought up at some point but wasn’t was an exploration of why Oliver feels justified in using excessive amounts of violence (aka literally shooting arrows at people’s hands or legs) when he’s dealing with simple muggers, but it never came. Also, the orientalist stereotypes kept going in the annuals.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike Grell understands Green Arrow.
While the character is taken on a darker path after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, there's still a level of charm and likeability that good old Oliver Queen should exude. Grell's work here perfectly displays both.
The man creates a story surrounding Ollie mixing it up with corrupt government officials, ninja bow hunters, and a series of other events that create something unique to the character and creating a more grounded mythos for him.
Complaints that I've heard about Green Arrow, mostly from people who only watched Arrow the show, is that he's too much like Batman. He's a vigilante with money, no super powers, and a gimmick. I don't think that's very true about this character. Green Arrow is far more political, with Ollie going after a serial killing of gay men in Seattle in this book. He's also championing for the oppressed, but unlike the Denny O'Neil days, its less outwardly spoken and more internal. Its an interesting shift.
Also, the additional the Question issues here were fun. It was cool to see Denny O'Neil return to a character that he may as well have created (since Green Arrow was largely underdeveloped before him) to a darker version of the character without any of the really outwardly political views. I think that it was a nice sendoff to one of the original writers kind of giving his blessing to the next writer.
The art is very inconsistent here. Grell does interiors for the first miniseries in the book, and it was the best the book looked. I loved the water color effects, the isolation I felt when reading it, and the way the whole story flowed. It felt great to read. Other artists here were lacking. Some had really no depth or shadow to create a form of depth, and it was very flat looking and ugly. Other artists did okay, but it wasn't enough to compare to the miniseries before. However, whoever did the art for the Question series was something else. I loved that art and thought that he did really good for the brief panels of Ollie that were in there. It looked closer to the original design but it was still great.
Happy to start picking up DC Finest, hoping that it stays consistently published like Marvel's Epic Collection.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally a pretty silly Robin Hood knockoff, Green Arrow became the poster child for the Bronze Age shift towards tackling 'real world' social issues in comics. So Post-Crisis it makes a certain amount of sense for his book to eschew the Comics Code and lean into a gritty, Cannon-films perspective on Reagan's America.

Despite collecting the limited series The Longbow Hunters and the multi-character tie-in Fables, there's a pretty consistent tone here. Gone are the costumed mad scientists and supervillains, and in their place are ruthless street gangs and intractable social problems. It's not so much a commitment to realism as a different flavor of heightened camp. I don't doubt Mike Grell's sincerity, but the way sexual assault and child abuse are trotted out as a quick way to show readers that this is a Serious Comic for Grown Ups leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's very self-conscious about how to do superheroes post-Watchmen, with one of the Question issues literally having The Question read Watchmen and wonder if he should be more like Rorschach (the stupidest, most literal way of addressing that Watchmen was originally based on those Charlton characters). Some of the political stuff in here goes in really weird directions, like Ollie taking down Iran Contra conspirators and disguising himself as a Tom of Finland-style leather daddy to bait gay bashers.

Artistically I think this book is really strong, with Julia Lacquement's luscious watercolors giving a softer, dreamier look to The Longbow Hunters, with a more vibrant, poppier color treatment on much of the main run. Shout-out to Tatjana Wood, who did some great colors in this as well. I think Mike Grell really captures the Pacific Northwest landscape very well, and has a great attention to detail in city scenes too.

All in all, this didn't age very well in a lot of ways (I didn't even mention the lazy 80s orientalism) but it is a highly detailed and engaging read that does a lot to really make Ollie and Dinah feel like real, embodied characters.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was decent, but like a lot of those "mature reader" superhero books, doesn't really split the difference in dealing with mature themes while sticking strictly in juvenile adventure tropes very effectively. Most of the "maturity" stems from Ollie facing drug dealers rather than super-crooks, and honestly, the drug dealers are pretty forgettable and their plots aren't overly memorable either.

Once he gets into the monthly series, Grell does try to dig into the (misogynist) trauma he subjects Dinah to during THE LONGBOW HUNTERS miniseries, but it's pretty cursory, and he barely deals with Ollie's guilt over actually murdering a guy, no matter awful that guy was.

The art's generally really good - particularly Grell and Lacquement in THE LONGBOW HUNTERS, but also Hannigan/Giordano in the monthly.

As usual with these big DC FINEST books, DC makes some odd choices about what to include - two issues of THE QUESTION are only tangentially connected and really unnecessary. The three-part Batman/Arrow/Question Annual crossover fits a little better, but it's also pretty mundane.

[Max Martin-Udry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up merely because it was on deep discount, and I can sort of see why. When people ridicule dark and gritty comics, this is what they’re taking aim at. Most of the issues here really fumble around ungracefully with heavy topics. And the trio of Annuals that cap the volume are just nonsense. Still, The Longbow Hunters graphic novel that starts the book looks real fantastic, and the first 2 issues of GA are really good, even if they are kind of clumsy. If I paid $40 for this, I’d be flat-out mad. But for $16, it was historically interesting enough and entertaining enough. 2.5 stars (why on earth doesnt this app have half stars?) in comparison to the really good stuff DC was putting out 87-88 this is just average. Owing largely to the fact that a rich guy in a robin hood costume kinda sucks in comparison to a swamp god, a dream god, or a bat… man. He sure beats the hell out of The Question though

[Mike]

I enjoyed this DC Finest volume quite a lot. The beginning of the book grabs you right away with the "Longbow Hunters" storyline. Even if you're not a big Green Arrow fan, this story might change your mind. Mike Grell makes the city of Seattle come alive through his writing, and the city becomes just as important a character as anyone else in the book.

While I didn't enjoy the stories that followed quite as much as *The Longbow Hunters*, I was still invested and looking forward to seeing what happened on the next page. I also really enjoyed the issues featuring The Question. Before this volume, I hadn't read much of The Question, but these issues did a great job introducing the character and giving me enough information to want to seek out more of his stories outside of this collection.

Overall, this is a strong volume with excellent storytelling and a great mix of characters that left me wanting to read more.

[Riley Pilgrim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never really been a big Green Arrow fan, as my only interaction with the character was mainly the CW tv series. However, this book was a pleasant surprise, and was consistently compelling throughout the entire volume. Grell for one, did a great job at reinventing Ollie in a more grounded setting. This book takes place in Seattle, and Ollie deals with a lot of heavy stuff (corruption, serial murders, drugs, gangs and street level stuff at the time). This new setting gives Grell the freedom to take Ollie in an interesting/different direction.

My only issue is how Grell treats Black Canary at times, as she overall doesn't feel that important. She just stays home, and runs this flower business she started; I would've liked seeing her and Green Arrow team up more often. This was overall a great read, and I'm excited to continue this run in the future.

[Erik Wirfs-Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veteran writer/artist Mike Grell revamps Green Arrow post Crisis for "mature" readers and it's just...ok. Basically, it reads like a watered-down Canon movie, as Oliver Queen moves to Seattle with his girlfriend Black Canary and fights ninjas, serial killers, thugs, the CIA etc etc. The main difference is, instead of being a stone faced badass like Charles Bronson, Green Arrow is written as a sensitive dude who like to have sex a lot when he's not yelling at cops that he's not playing by the rules. So, the cliches are obvious, but this is still readable pulp. The included crossover with the Question makes that series seem much more interesting, although the second crossover included to end the book is also a bit eye rolling with the eastern philosophy mumbo jumbo.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, this is the good stuff. The beginning of Mike Grell's character-defining run on Green Arrow. Grell jettisons the goofy boxing arrows for drug dealers and an adult relationship with Black Canary in Seattle. This collection has the Longbow Hunters prestige format miniseries and the first 8 issues of the regular series. It also collects some things I'd never read before all by Denny O'Neil. A 2 part Question story that Green Arrow appears in along with a crossover between the annuals for Detective, Green Arrow and the Question that contains some of the first appearances of Lady Shiva.

[Dan Rheingans · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Green Arrow stuff I've read, pretty good overall storylines. Art is ok for its period, you can sure tell it was written in the 80s. Lots of references and lingo that aren't used today, which actually made reading thru it a little fun flashback in time. Overall some good stuff, enjoyed it.

[Matt Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start of the best Green Arrow run by Mike Grell and contains the Longbow Hunters storyline which is peak and greatly inspired the tv show Arrow. Definitely more mature comics with its graphic content and themes. Oliver is not messing around in this one. Covers 1987-1988.

[Doug Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

some good stuff in here for sure. the longbow hunters story was probably my favorite, but there wasn't anything bad by any means and it was pretty consistently good throughout.

[Desire Manara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mucho de este material se editó en castellano pero no sé si abarcando cada issue.

[Dash Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was genuinely surprised how progressive and well thought out Mike Grells stories could be. Otherwise pretty standard superhero fare

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting trip back to the mindset of the 80s. Honestly I was in this for Mike Grell's work (big fan since the Jon Sable days) so skimmed through half of the stories.

[Set Sytes · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the Longbow Hunters and Hunter's Moon arcs (I wish Grell's art for TLH was for the whole book).

At least 4 stars for the rest.

4.5 in total.

[PsionOverlord (Thomas Stedman) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoying read front to back. I enjoyed every single arc and never felt like they dragged until the last one which was stretched across 3 books. It was also a strangely pleasant surprise to see Lady Shiva here in a supporting role compared to the batgirl run where she is kind of just represents strength without limits or checks.

Green arrow is a really interesting character that doesn't get as much love as he should. He's like a warmer friendlier, healthier batman. He'll kill villains sometimes because he's a human, he doesn't have some mission or code he's dedicated his life too. Sometimes people are dangerous and the going gets tough, and he regrets it every time he has too, but he still does. He has a girlfreind/ wife that he has a lovely relationship with that opens up really interesting stories like how she has to explain to him why they really can't have kids however much she way want to.

A lot of the stories and villains feel very grounded at the street level. Like the villain of one of the stories is just a homophobic guy who got some gay people killed, but to green arrow, he knew some of them as friends so he hunts this guy down to make him answer for his murders. Everything here feels very personal and contained outside of one or two stories, again, including the last one with Lady Shiva which is probably the weakest of the lot being a crossover with Batman and The Question.

[Batusi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darker and more grounded take on the Green Arrow that redefines him for a mature audience.

Oliver Queen relocates to Seattle with Dinah Lance, only to fact brutal street-level crime and personal challenges that push him into morally gray territory.

While influential and atmospheric, the bleak tone and controversial elements make it a less satisfying overall read.