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Green Arrow (2001) (Collected Editions)
Green Arrow, Vol. 7: Heading Into the Light
Oliver Green, also known as the Green Arrow, is targeted by the newly empowered Dr. Light and the embittered dark archer Merlyn, who plan to attack his home and those he loves most--his son Connor and his ward Mia.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Judd Winick
858 books402 followersJudd Winick is an American cartoonist, comic book writer, screenwriter, and former reality television personality known for his diverse contributions to storytelling across multiple media. He first entered the public eye in 1994 as a cast member on The Real World: San Francisco, where he formed a close friendship with AIDS educator Pedro Zamora, an experience that deeply influenced his later work. Winick memorialized their bond in Pedro and Me, a critically acclaimed autobiographical graphic novel that earned several literary awards and became a staple in school curricula.
Winick's career in comics took off with The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius and continued with major runs at DC Comics, including Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Batman. His stories often explored socially relevant themes, such as HIV, homophobia, and identity. He was recognized for introducing gay characters and tackling difficult subjects with empathy and clarity. His work on Batman notably included resurrecting the character Jason Todd as the Red Hood, a storyline later adapted into the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, for which Winick wrote the screenplay.
Beyond comics, he created The Life and Times of Juniper Lee for Cartoon Network and served as head writer for Hulu's The Awesomes. In 2015, he launched the Hilo series, an all-ages sci-fi adventure inspired by his own children. The bestselling series has been widely praised and is expected to reach its eleventh volume in 2025.
Winick lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling, also a Real World alum, and their two children. He continues to create heartfelt and imaginative stories for audiences of all ages.
Winick's career in comics took off with The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius and continued with major runs at DC Comics, including Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Batman. His stories often explored socially relevant themes, such as HIV, homophobia, and identity. He was recognized for introducing gay characters and tackling difficult subjects with empathy and clarity. His work on Batman notably included resurrecting the character Jason Todd as the Red Hood, a storyline later adapted into the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, for which Winick wrote the screenplay.
Beyond comics, he created The Life and Times of Juniper Lee for Cartoon Network and served as head writer for Hulu's The Awesomes. In 2015, he launched the Hilo series, an all-ages sci-fi adventure inspired by his own children. The bestselling series has been widely praised and is expected to reach its eleventh volume in 2025.
Winick lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling, also a Real World alum, and their two children. He continues to create heartfelt and imaginative stories for audiences of all ages.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 28, 2018
This is really a dark arc. Expected from being a semi-followup to Identity Crisis.
Someone is hunting down Oliver and his family. They know who he really is, this isn't a game. They went after his home. So now Oliver recruits Black Lightning to hunt down Doctor Light because Oliver thinks for sure it's him. At the same time Doctor Light plays them both and goes after Oliver's family. Of course it's never that simple as Doctor Light is ALSO teamed up with another villain and they make it twice as hard on the heroes.
Good: I loved the stakes feel real. Without this being a Batman title you know some heroes could die. Some might have here, or badly injured, hell, it'll be interesting to see how they survive. I also really enjoyed the action scenes, both brutal, and highly entertaining. The dialog is solid and Doctor Light rapish ways are on full display here making him pretty creepy.
Bad: The art can be a little weird, especially the lips and facial expressions.
Overall loved this arc. I'm a huge fan of Identity crisis so I had extra enjoyment here. I am eager to see how Oliver gets through this. I give this one a easy 4 out of 5.
Someone is hunting down Oliver and his family. They know who he really is, this isn't a game. They went after his home. So now Oliver recruits Black Lightning to hunt down Doctor Light because Oliver thinks for sure it's him. At the same time Doctor Light plays them both and goes after Oliver's family. Of course it's never that simple as Doctor Light is ALSO teamed up with another villain and they make it twice as hard on the heroes.
Good: I loved the stakes feel real. Without this being a Batman title you know some heroes could die. Some might have here, or badly injured, hell, it'll be interesting to see how they survive. I also really enjoyed the action scenes, both brutal, and highly entertaining. The dialog is solid and Doctor Light rapish ways are on full display here making him pretty creepy.
Bad: The art can be a little weird, especially the lips and facial expressions.
Overall loved this arc. I'm a huge fan of Identity crisis so I had extra enjoyment here. I am eager to see how Oliver gets through this. I give this one a easy 4 out of 5.
September 3, 2025
Not a bad volume. We have a few one shots that lead into an Identity Crisis crossover, and then we end with an Infinite Crisis tie in. Zatanna, Solomon Grundy, Dr. Light and more make appearances. Next up is One Year Later.
August 8, 2021
Green Arrow Vol. 7 Heading Into The Light collects issues 54-59 of the series written by Judd Winnick and J. Calafiore with art by Tom Fowler, Cliff Chiang, Paul Lee, Ron Garney, and James Jean.
This volume of Green Arrow sees Olliver Queen battle the nefarious Dr. Light and Merlyn in a follow-up to DC's Identity Crisis.
This is darker arc than the last few as Dr. Light is vile, vicious, and doesn't care who he maims, kills, and rapes to show off his power. Not a fan of the rape acting as a plot point to just make the reader hate the character.
This volume of Green Arrow sees Olliver Queen battle the nefarious Dr. Light and Merlyn in a follow-up to DC's Identity Crisis.
This is darker arc than the last few as Dr. Light is vile, vicious, and doesn't care who he maims, kills, and rapes to show off his power. Not a fan of the rape acting as a plot point to just make the reader hate the character.
October 22, 2010
Very good, but its essential to read Identity Crisis first. All about Dr Light's revenge.
February 1, 2017
Not bad but I'm not enough of a Dc boy to fully appreciate the history the characters have between themselves, namely GA, Dr Light and Merlyn.
Art is so-so, the issues drawn by Ron Garney being the best of the lot by far.
Apparently, this would be an Identity crisis tie-in, which I haven't read, but the story holds on its own. Scarce enough to be noted.
Art is so-so, the issues drawn by Ron Garney being the best of the lot by far.
Apparently, this would be an Identity crisis tie-in, which I haven't read, but the story holds on its own. Scarce enough to be noted.
February 12, 2020
I found this to be a little too dark. I've never much cared for Identity Crisis, so the aftermath doesn't have much appeal.
We discussed this run, plus the Green Arrow's complicated history in a special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
We discussed this run, plus the Green Arrow's complicated history in a special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
May 26, 2010
I get that this ties into whatever stupid crisis was happening - but, without reading the supporting backstory I didn't think this stood well on it's own.
June 3, 2026
One of the most intense story arcs yet,
Before I love bomb this volume, let me explain why I gave it 4 stars. I don’t keep up on any of the other character stories going on with this Green Arrow series. So when I hear all this stuff about Dr. Light, rape, and The Atom dying, I go…what? They do recap a lot of it so that isn’t my issue. Mostly Dr. Light and his characterization. Yes it’s fun to watch him toy with Oliver and his family and terrorize a school, but I still don’t understand why he’s here in the first place.
Passing the Dr. Light introduction issue with Green Arrow and Black Lightning distracted (cool fight but felt like filler), this series got tense! With Dr. Light endangering Mia’s life for the first time. Killing (presumably?) the every student and teacher that are within her vicinity. Being a new hero, she accidentally leads Dr. Light right back to her home with Connor waiting for the worst. While this is happening, Oliver is being tortured by Merlyn and Dr. Light. Merlyn challenges him to a duel and while it seemed Oliver was winning, Merlyn revealed the real plan. Blowing up the whole city.
Wow! Heavy season 1 arrow vibes here. Mia might actually be dead (doubt it). Connor is once again very injured. Black Lightning is doing everything in his power to not lose another person in his life. The stakes were high! The story could have been more personable. To be honest I don’t think Dr. Light had to be in here at all. But this was still great.
Before I love bomb this volume, let me explain why I gave it 4 stars. I don’t keep up on any of the other character stories going on with this Green Arrow series. So when I hear all this stuff about Dr. Light, rape, and The Atom dying, I go…what? They do recap a lot of it so that isn’t my issue. Mostly Dr. Light and his characterization. Yes it’s fun to watch him toy with Oliver and his family and terrorize a school, but I still don’t understand why he’s here in the first place.
Passing the Dr. Light introduction issue with Green Arrow and Black Lightning distracted (cool fight but felt like filler), this series got tense! With Dr. Light endangering Mia’s life for the first time. Killing (presumably?) the every student and teacher that are within her vicinity. Being a new hero, she accidentally leads Dr. Light right back to her home with Connor waiting for the worst. While this is happening, Oliver is being tortured by Merlyn and Dr. Light. Merlyn challenges him to a duel and while it seemed Oliver was winning, Merlyn revealed the real plan. Blowing up the whole city.
Wow! Heavy season 1 arrow vibes here. Mia might actually be dead (doubt it). Connor is once again very injured. Black Lightning is doing everything in his power to not lose another person in his life. The stakes were high! The story could have been more personable. To be honest I don’t think Dr. Light had to be in here at all. But this was still great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2022
Author, Judd Winick puts the Green Arrow through the ringer here and it felt forced and generic. I guess the point was to enforce the idea that the newly formed Society can get anyone any time. Unfortunately, their presence was only touched on even though there were a handful of villains here. Also, a ton of generic fights with explosions aplenty. The writer is obviously not responsible for this ending as it ties directly into Infinite Crisis and One Year Later but as a reader its unfortunate. The art was also up and down. Down for Tom Fowler, up for everyone else. Overall, if you like fights for the sake of fights, this will be for you. I just wanted, and expected more.
May 5, 2021
3.5 stars
What a cliffhanger!
What a cliffhanger!
December 17, 2022
Loses stars because Dr Light is a POS villain who ruins everything he touches
August 23, 2024
every time dr light spoke i felt years getting shaved off my life
August 23, 2013
I enjoyed this, my first read of any Green Arrow books. I've read a good bit on the Sue Dibney line and I appreciated the references to that. Not really sure about some of the characters which means I'll have to do some online research and it was very much a cliffhanger, but I could grow to like Green Arrow.
January 23, 2016
Winick does an awesome job of working a large crossover event into his ongoing story of Ollie and the rest of the Arrow Crew. Identity Crisis was one of the first DC things I ever read, so it's nice to see it getting some actual play in the DC Universe.
August 8, 2008
Oh god, some truly BAMF things are happening in Green Arrow now. That's about the most coherent thing I can say about this trade paperback's ending.
April 4, 2010
Very good. The art is still a bit angular for my tastes, but it's overall good AND a good story.
August 28, 2013
Read on the train ride to work. A great adventure of Oliver Queen and some of his closest DC Universe companions. Hope they bring a story similar to this to "Arrow".
June 21, 2014
merlin you bastard. Noooooo!!!!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews