I've had all kinds of perfectly good intentions wind me up wildly off course from my original destination. I feel like Ollie Queen could probably relate, and I have to wonder if the folks behind Green Arrow since his last reboot couldn't, also.

Just thirty-some-odd issues ago Judd Winick and Cliff Chiang brilliantly crafted touching, sexy, funny, thrilling Green Arrow and Black Canary stories on a monthly basis. I loved it. I felt like I was experiencing their honeymoon high right along with them (except that it wasn't really their honeymoon, it was Dinah and a clone... or something... ). But now, just a couple of years later, we're at the other end of the spectrum, and I don't really know how we got here.

I never felt the sudden lurch of the story going off-track, and if there was a cautionary editor's note to explain that, hey kids, things are about to get pretty dark so you might want to close your eyes, I missed it. Yet, here we are.

This is not to say that I didn't genuinely enjoy this issue or that I disagree with the direction GA's taking. It's compelling, it's true to the characters involved, and I like what I'm seeing from JT Krul. (I did think the whole un-masking bit was a rushed, though; there was a time that would've been preceded by six months of teasers and a cover treatment, at least.)

The art? Um... there was art, yeah. Other commenters have noted that it looked almost like the pencils and inks were covered up with color, or that there was some other issue with the production process. I agree. The layouts, perspectives, and whatnot were all passable, but the overall product just looked... off. I did like the effect of overlaying the transparent masks on all the heroes' civilian identities, though, that was pretty cool.

Green Arrow's still worth picking up; I want to be along for this next part of Mr. Queen's journey, I just didn't know this was the ride I'd signed up for so long ago.