Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Green Arrow/Black Canary # 16

By Koppy McFad
January 20, 2009 - 02:46

This issue is part of the big "Faces of Evil" theme that DC Comics is playing up this month. This time, the face is that of Merlyn, the evil counterpart of Green Arrow.

These "Faces of Evil" issues are suppose to put the villain in the spotlight but in many cases, DC Comics has simply taken the badguy-of-the-issue, put him on the cover and slapped the "Faces of Evil" logo on the book. This is the case in this issue where there is no special focus on Merlyn-- no elaboration on his origin, his background, his motives or his abilities. He is an intimidating menace but one that does not really stand out. They could have used any of the hundreds of hired killers in the DC comics universe and the story would not be substantially different.

Other than that, the book is quite satisfactory. Basically, we get a story where Merlyn is hired to kill some tech-geeks. Green Arrow and Black Canary track him down and and a vicious struggle ensues. This is a competent, self-contained story with strong, well-rounded art that makes all the characters come alive as real people-- particularly the Black Canary who comes off as a good-looking, but tough woman and not some super-sexy comicbook vixen.

 

Rating: 7 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12