Green Arrow Vol. 2: Island of Scars (Rebirth)

Great writing in a wonderful volume of the GA rebirth! Just ordered the third installment today and I can't wait for it to get here! I love these collections

Looks amazing and came on time

It's three stories in one!Story: It opens with Emiko and Shado going to see someone that Shado is indebted to, but also shifts to a flashback story where we see Emiko and Oliver's relationship in living together. Emiko uncovers a sinister plot by someone who's killing teens with a sort of tech drug. The story does flesh out her character a little more, but I don't think I agree with her being portrayed as being equal in skill or better than Ollie. Ollie and Shado are supposed to be somewhat equal in skill, especially with a bow, but Emiko out shoots Ollie here. I just don't agree with the depiction of Emiko's skill being on par with Ollie's. It doesn't make sense. Ollie is the DC Universe's best archer. Emiko shouldn't be able to out shoot him. I feel this is some sort of "strong woman, don't need men, feminist agenda pushing" and it's what has made Marvel so horrible in the past several years. We jump to the present where we find Ollie, and Dinah stranded on Scar Island where they attempt to destroy a drug manufacturer and help a native get his island back. There's an exotic quality to this part of the book, and we get to see more of Ollie and Dinah's new relationship explored with some help from the native as he relates the story of his wife. They are joined by John Diggle, also stranded on the island. They all manage to escape into a transcontinental railroad, running under the ocean. Here's where the story really gets good! After the ordeal on the island, they just need to make their way back home, so they barely manage to stow away on this bullet train. It's the maiden voyage of the Empire Express, and it's carrying some diplomats who are going to begin peace talks between the Middle East and America. BUT, there's an assassin on board who isn't interested in peace. Ollie, Dinah, and Diggle get embroiled in a spy thriller that channels a LOT of James Bond. Stopping an assassin on a high speed train traveling several miles beneath the ocean has movie adaptation written all over it! The intrigue, the mystery, and especially the action really pick up here, and it's wonderful! There's a seriously high octane finale that sets things up for the future. I felt as though this book kind of hurried through individual stories, and packed together three short stories that could have each been its own volume. But, the final story with the Empire Express saved the book and made it enjoyable for me.Art: Here, we get the work of three artists: Stephen Byrne, Juan Ferreyra, and Otto Schmidt. Byrne does a nice job, but has a style that in my opinion is a sort of discount Schmidt, who is still the best artist on this title. It's a shame that Schmidt only draws the first issue of the "Island of Scars" arc. It's the best art in the book, I wanted more. Ferreyra does a pretty good job on the final arc with some breathtaking underwater scenery and some awesome race for your life moments! Clearly, the older blonde woman at the end is supposed to be a stand in for Hillary Clinton. She's not named in the book, but if that aint Hillary, then I'm the King of England!Overall: It's kinda convoluted with three arcs that could have each gotten their own volume. The arc for which this volume is named is actually the weakest of the arcs. The first and third stories are stronger. As stated before, I don't agree with Emiko being depicted as so skilled as she is, because it also makes Ollie look weaker and somewhat incompetent. But, this book does offer some good brother/sister moments and some great Ollie/Dinah moments. There's a good bit of action, and the book improves as it moves along, especially once you get to the final arc. I'm giving it four stars because I enjoyed the art, and the final story.

Great had all the issues I needed, worth the purchase!

A+

I am truly hooked on this series.

I really enjoyed the first volume of Green Arrow and I wanted to continue the adventure that was set up in volume one. Volume Two Island of Scars begins with two stories about Emiko Queen, Oliver’s half sister. These stories are alright but don’t really contribute much to the overall story set up within this volume. Hopefully, Emiko’s story will be expanded on in the subsequent volumes that follow.I like Percy’s writing, he creates a great dynamic between Green Arrow and Black Canary. The one flaw that I found was the inconsistency of the artwork. Otto Schmidt did such a great job in volume one and I would have loved for his work to be present throughout this book instead of the last two stories, Murder on the Empire Express and Murder Incorprated.I highly recommended this book, the writing is great, the artwork is good, and it’s definitely action packed. Can’t wait to read the next volume.

To be honest I have never read any Green Arrow book before I started reading the rebirth series because of the TV show when I picked the first volume I really enjoyed it and the art was good but the second arc "volume" isn't as good as the first volume the art was still cool but the story wasn't as strong as the first volume "I heard that it gets better with the third volume" So I will keep reading Green Arrow I am enjoying the series and the art is cool too