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Green Arrow (2001) (Collected Editions)
Green Arrow, Vol. 5: City Walls
Green Arrow steps forward to save Star City after a millionaire, while the police are occupied with the Riddler, casts a spell that encases the entire city in an impervious sphere and sets demon behemoths to punish anyone who breaks the peace--all in thename of making the city safer.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
2 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Judd Winick
795 books394 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.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 12, 2018
I really got to get to reading more of Judd Winick stuff because everything I've read from him so far I've liked. Green Arrow is no exception.
Sadly I read this before volume 4 (I gotta hunt that one down), so some of the events are missing. It seems not too long ago Ollie was attacked by someone and Mia and Conner almost suffered a horrible fate. He's not on edge, freaking out all the time, while also trying to basically be a father to Conner AND Mia. I love Pops Oliver, and then you find out he did something awful again. Without spoiling myself he might have cheated. Oh, and if you think that is bad, the whole city becomes stuck in a vortex where NO violence is permitted otherwise you die. SO yeah...Green Arrow has a few things to deal with at once.
Good: The internal struggle with Oliver is great. Love seeing him try to juggle so many things, while also being hard on himself for slipping up. Watching him with Mia and Conner is wonderful. I also enjoyed the art work, very cartoonish but it works real well here. The first chapter where Roy and Conner go out to have a boy's night is also filled with lolz. Oh, and the ending, damn...
Bad: The demon's coming in and taking over the city was a little meh. Kind of felt unneeded and we could have got more realistic story for our character.
Overall this was great. Judd Winick obviously know's Oliver and gives the man plenty to deal with. The fights are great, the family feel is perfect, and the ending has me hyped for more. Green Arrow in this era just rocked. A 4 out of 5.
Sadly I read this before volume 4 (I gotta hunt that one down), so some of the events are missing. It seems not too long ago Ollie was attacked by someone and Mia and Conner almost suffered a horrible fate. He's not on edge, freaking out all the time, while also trying to basically be a father to Conner AND Mia. I love Pops Oliver, and then you find out he did something awful again. Without spoiling myself he might have cheated. Oh, and if you think that is bad, the whole city becomes stuck in a vortex where NO violence is permitted otherwise you die. SO yeah...Green Arrow has a few things to deal with at once.
Good: The internal struggle with Oliver is great. Love seeing him try to juggle so many things, while also being hard on himself for slipping up. Watching him with Mia and Conner is wonderful. I also enjoyed the art work, very cartoonish but it works real well here. The first chapter where Roy and Conner go out to have a boy's night is also filled with lolz. Oh, and the ending, damn...
Bad: The demon's coming in and taking over the city was a little meh. Kind of felt unneeded and we could have got more realistic story for our character.
Overall this was great. Judd Winick obviously know's Oliver and gives the man plenty to deal with. The fights are great, the family feel is perfect, and the ending has me hyped for more. Green Arrow in this era just rocked. A 4 out of 5.
May 23, 2016
3.25 stars
It's easy to see that this series is losing some of its initial momentum. Oliver Queen is already accepted as having come back from the dead, and he has tied up the loose ends he left from his first life. So it's back to fighting crime and only that.
This was still good, but there wasn't as much character development as previous volumes. Oliver does have to deal with the regret of his actions in the previous volume and he has to repair his relationship with Mia and recognize that she is growing older (plus, she does something very serious at the end of this volume that obviously points to some character development for her in the next volume). Plot-wise, the Riddler shows up for a little bit. And then some nutjob mourning the loss of his loved ones puts the entirety of Star City under a magical impenetrable dome that Superman can't even get through (yes, he tried multiple times). And then he summons ultra-moral demons up to make sure no one under the dome can commit a crime, also wiping out all forms of electrical technology. But by ultra-moral, I mean that if you try to steal or kill someone, the demons will kill you. Weird, but it works. So left-wing Oliver Queen is in a police state. But obviously everything resolves.
Good artwork and dialogue overall, but the series is getting tired, I can tell.
It's easy to see that this series is losing some of its initial momentum. Oliver Queen is already accepted as having come back from the dead, and he has tied up the loose ends he left from his first life. So it's back to fighting crime and only that.
This was still good, but there wasn't as much character development as previous volumes. Oliver does have to deal with the regret of his actions in the previous volume and he has to repair his relationship with Mia and recognize that she is growing older (plus, she does something very serious at the end of this volume that obviously points to some character development for her in the next volume). Plot-wise, the Riddler shows up for a little bit. And then some nutjob mourning the loss of his loved ones puts the entirety of Star City under a magical impenetrable dome that Superman can't even get through (yes, he tried multiple times). And then he summons ultra-moral demons up to make sure no one under the dome can commit a crime, also wiping out all forms of electrical technology. But by ultra-moral, I mean that if you try to steal or kill someone, the demons will kill you. Weird, but it works. So left-wing Oliver Queen is in a police state. But obviously everything resolves.
Good artwork and dialogue overall, but the series is getting tired, I can tell.
May 9, 2025
Meh. Green Arrow faces the Riddler, a match that doesn't really play up to either of their strengths. A bigger supernatural threat is uncovered that supersedes Nigma (despite the fact he had a literal nuke). The first two issues, although they were not really connected to the subsequent story, were really good.
July 28, 2021
Green Arrow Vol. 5 City Walls collects issues 32 and 34-39 of the series written by Judd Winnick and art by Phil Hester.
Oliver Queen takes in the Riddler who has set his eyes on Star City and a horse of demons that have been unleashed to keep everyone from commiting any crimes.
These were some fun stories but nothing Earth shattering. So far Judd Winnick's has been steady, but hasn't tried to do anything new and exciting. Nothing wrong that, it is still some good crime fighting stories. I am really enjoying seeing Olliver and his son Connor bonding and working together. The art continues to be drawn by Phil Hester whose cartoony style with strong clean lines has really grown on me.
Oliver Queen takes in the Riddler who has set his eyes on Star City and a horse of demons that have been unleashed to keep everyone from commiting any crimes.
These were some fun stories but nothing Earth shattering. So far Judd Winnick's has been steady, but hasn't tried to do anything new and exciting. Nothing wrong that, it is still some good crime fighting stories. I am really enjoying seeing Olliver and his son Connor bonding and working together. The art continues to be drawn by Phil Hester whose cartoony style with strong clean lines has really grown on me.
August 30, 2015
Not a bad volume. Story was very good with a new side kick. Arsenals appearance is great and the riddler really makes a good appearance. Ended pretty abruptly which was disappointing.
August 21, 2022
This plot is so bananas, I loved it! Green Arrow, The Riddler, and Demons make a strange combination but this worked so well. Judd Winick crafted a clever but funny story that was pretty epic. The stakes were high while still being Green Arrow "street-level" gritty. Winick does a great job with the family drama between Ollie and Mia. The Riddler was great here and even better was Ollie's response to him. Phil Hester was great here especially his depiction of the Demons. The book was smart, inventive, and a perfect example of Green Arrow's appeal.
August 20, 2025
This is an interesting volume. There's a few one shot stories but the main storyline involves a demonic invasion of Star City. So far this series has had more supernatural influences than you'd expect from a Green Arrow series, but I think it works pretty well.
July 22, 2025
Connor and Mia remain my favorite parts of Winick's run so far. Connor Hawke must be protected at all costs.
July 11, 2013
There used to be a time I waited impatiently for the newest Green Arrow monthly issue to come out. Even though nothing major ever really happened. Judd Winick really understood Green Arrow's "voice" & motivations, but the story arcs themselves were, for lack of a better word, inconsequential (until Mia, the new Speedy, got HIV in a subsequent trade paperback - anything to boost the sales of a struggling comic book series, no?).
Add to that the fact that, aside from Onomatopeia (from Green Arrow, Vol. 2: Sounds of Violence) or Constantine Drakon (from Green Arrow, Vol. 4: Straight Shooter), Green Arrow's villains are lame ("Brick" comes to mind). But borrowing one of Batman's villains (the Riddler) - appearing twice in the first 40 issues or so of the re-launched the title has to be the low point, no matter how "cool" Winick thinks the Riddler is (because he's not).
Sometimes referred to as the poor man's Batman (mostly because Green Arrow has no super-powers, and because he has - or used to have - a lot of things Batman has: an Arrowcave instead of a Batcave, an Arrowplane instead of a Batplane, and so forth... And let us point out that, just like Batman, who infallibly always has just the right gadget in his utility belt, Green Arrow always has the right trick-arrow for the problem at hand). That kind of gets on my nerves, no matter that I have this unexplainable fascination for Green Arrow himself.
(Maybe I should get back to the actual review of this book and stop rambling... )
Yet another forgettable story arc, unfortunately. But at least Hester and Parks are still on art duties (for now anyway) and I like the look they bring to the book. Please: more focus on Green Arrow's human failings (THAT's what makes him interesting), and less bogus situations/predicaments that we all know will be wrapped up within six issues at most.
Add to that the fact that, aside from Onomatopeia (from Green Arrow, Vol. 2: Sounds of Violence) or Constantine Drakon (from Green Arrow, Vol. 4: Straight Shooter), Green Arrow's villains are lame ("Brick" comes to mind). But borrowing one of Batman's villains (the Riddler) - appearing twice in the first 40 issues or so of the re-launched the title has to be the low point, no matter how "cool" Winick thinks the Riddler is (because he's not).
Sometimes referred to as the poor man's Batman (mostly because Green Arrow has no super-powers, and because he has - or used to have - a lot of things Batman has: an Arrowcave instead of a Batcave, an Arrowplane instead of a Batplane, and so forth... And let us point out that, just like Batman, who infallibly always has just the right gadget in his utility belt, Green Arrow always has the right trick-arrow for the problem at hand). That kind of gets on my nerves, no matter that I have this unexplainable fascination for Green Arrow himself.
(Maybe I should get back to the actual review of this book and stop rambling... )
Yet another forgettable story arc, unfortunately. But at least Hester and Parks are still on art duties (for now anyway) and I like the look they bring to the book. Please: more focus on Green Arrow's human failings (THAT's what makes him interesting), and less bogus situations/predicaments that we all know will be wrapped up within six issues at most.
March 3, 2010
My first Green Arrow story. Aww ^_^. I've seen him in team books but never on his own.
My dissatisfaction with the book stems from the fact that the story is too generic. It could have been adapted to any other super-hero, tailored to his particular strengths and weaknesses. There is nothing surprising here except the ridiculousness of The Riddler's riddles.
There are some good parts, mostly dialogue. I loved the 'phone' conversation between Batman and Ollie and the way Green Arrow and Arsenal are gossiping about Nightwing.
My dissatisfaction with the book stems from the fact that the story is too generic. It could have been adapted to any other super-hero, tailored to his particular strengths and weaknesses. There is nothing surprising here except the ridiculousness of The Riddler's riddles.
There are some good parts, mostly dialogue. I loved the 'phone' conversation between Batman and Ollie and the way Green Arrow and Arsenal are gossiping about Nightwing.
February 12, 2020
I really like the look of the book and that counts for a lot. I enjoyed the bits with Dinah and Mia and it was interesting to pit Ollie against the Riddler. Then it took a weird turn and I sorta checked out. It was fine. How's that?
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...
March 16, 2010
Quite good GA stuff here. It took me an issue or so to get into Winick's style, but, saying that, I think there was a good continuity here. Good story arc, too. It's strange and supernatural and odd and pretty fun.
August 4, 2007
See my review here: http://trebro.livejournal.com/240959....
December 31, 2013
Not knowing much of GA I figured i'd start reading more. it wasn't bad.
October 20, 2010
Good story, definately a page turner because you really want to know what happens next. Superman/Batman cameos are very funny.
October 15, 2013
This includes a great Riddler story. Some really clever riddles and of course Green Arrow isn't too shabby either
May 31, 2018
Quinta saga de Green Arrow publicada por Norma Editorial.
April 21, 2017
The story was decent. The art was great. But there were some things I couldn't forgive - especially lazy art in some pages.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews