Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
Encyclopedia
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters is a three-issue prestige format
comic book
miniseries
published in 1987
by DC Comics
. Written and drawn by Mike Grell
, it stars the character
Green Arrow
.
, the home of his girlfriend Dinah Lance
. He changes his costume and abandons the use of his trademark trick arrows
for more traditional archery equipment. As Green Arrow tries to track down a serial killer, the Seattle Slasher, killing prostitutes in the area, Black Canary attempts to infiltrate a drug racket.
Oliver tracks the killer to the abandoned Seattle Underground section of the city, discovering that the killer is a disturbed ex-tunnel rat from the Vietnam War
. The Slasher jumps Oliver and gets away to apparently kill again, but a mysterious female archer with an elaborate dragon tattoo on her arm shoots the slasher (as well as a passing motorist) before vanishing.
The archer is revealed to be Shado, the daughter of a Yakuza
agent incarcerated during World War II
, where American soldiers forced him to reveal a major cache of Yakuza gold. Dishonored, the agent killed himself in atonement. When Shado comes of age, she is charged with killing those who dishonored her father and the Yakuza. The passing motorist she killed was one of those soldiers, who used the stolen gold to build a financial empire. Ollie tracks Shado down and fares poorly in the confrontation.
At home, Ollie hears on the news that the drug supplier Dinah had been investigating was found dead and mutilated earlier that day. Panicked, Oliver races to the dockside warehouse Dinah suspected the drugs were being distributed from. There, he finds Dinah tied up, tortured, and on the verge of death. Without hesitation Ollie kills her torturer along with the others in the drug lab, including one of Shado's intended victims.
After killing another target, Shado leaves a message for Ollie to meet her on Mt. Rainier where she intends to kill her remaining targets. Although Ollie initially tries to stop her, only one of the targets survives the affair. Ollie also confronts a CIA agent about the use of an Iran
ian arms deal to fund Nicaragua
n Contras
, mirroring the events of the Iran-Contra story which broke months earlier. Ollie confronts the remaining target in his office. Ollie intends to frame him for the murder of the drug supplier, but Shado shoots the target through the window and kills him.
for Best Finite Series.
The series proved popular enough that DC Comics commissioned the first ever Green Arrow ongoing series
, also written by Grell. The series ran for 11 years. Grell also wrote the official Post-Crisis origin of Green Arrow in Green Arrow: The Wonder Year.
Prestige format
Prestige format is a term coined by DC Comics and later came into wider use to refer to a square-bound comic book with cardstock covers. A prestige format comic book is usually longer than a normal, stapled 32-page comic...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
miniseries
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
published in 1987
1987 in comics
- Year overall :* Independent publishers continue to enter the comics arena, including Amazing, CFW Enterprises, Imperial Comics, Matrix Graphic Series, New Comics Group, and Rebel Studios...
by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Written and drawn by Mike Grell
Mike Grell
Mike Grell is a comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Jon Sable Freelance.-Early life:...
, it stars the character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
.
Plot summary
On his fortieth birthday, Ollie Queen relocates from Star City to Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, the home of his girlfriend Dinah Lance
Black Canary
Black Canary is the name of two fictional characters, DC Comics superheroines created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino. The first Black Canary debuted appeared in Flash Comics #86 . The first Black Canary was the alter-ego of Dinah Drake, who took part in Golden Age adventures...
. He changes his costume and abandons the use of his trademark trick arrows
Trick arrows
Trick arrows are fictional arrows often found in the world of comic book superheroes. They are often used by archers such as Green Arrow of DC Comics, and Hawkeye of Marvel Comics. In some portrayals, particularly during the Silver Age, trick arrows are sometimes shown to defy the laws of physics...
for more traditional archery equipment. As Green Arrow tries to track down a serial killer, the Seattle Slasher, killing prostitutes in the area, Black Canary attempts to infiltrate a drug racket.
Oliver tracks the killer to the abandoned Seattle Underground section of the city, discovering that the killer is a disturbed ex-tunnel rat from the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The Slasher jumps Oliver and gets away to apparently kill again, but a mysterious female archer with an elaborate dragon tattoo on her arm shoots the slasher (as well as a passing motorist) before vanishing.
The archer is revealed to be Shado, the daughter of a Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
agent incarcerated during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, where American soldiers forced him to reveal a major cache of Yakuza gold. Dishonored, the agent killed himself in atonement. When Shado comes of age, she is charged with killing those who dishonored her father and the Yakuza. The passing motorist she killed was one of those soldiers, who used the stolen gold to build a financial empire. Ollie tracks Shado down and fares poorly in the confrontation.
At home, Ollie hears on the news that the drug supplier Dinah had been investigating was found dead and mutilated earlier that day. Panicked, Oliver races to the dockside warehouse Dinah suspected the drugs were being distributed from. There, he finds Dinah tied up, tortured, and on the verge of death. Without hesitation Ollie kills her torturer along with the others in the drug lab, including one of Shado's intended victims.
After killing another target, Shado leaves a message for Ollie to meet her on Mt. Rainier where she intends to kill her remaining targets. Although Ollie initially tries to stop her, only one of the targets survives the affair. Ollie also confronts a CIA agent about the use of an Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian arms deal to fund Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
, mirroring the events of the Iran-Contra story which broke months earlier. Ollie confronts the remaining target in his office. Ollie intends to frame him for the murder of the drug supplier, but Shado shoots the target through the window and kills him.
Reception
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters was nominated for a 1988 Eisner AwardEisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Finite Series.
The series proved popular enough that DC Comics commissioned the first ever Green Arrow ongoing series
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
, also written by Grell. The series ran for 11 years. Grell also wrote the official Post-Crisis origin of Green Arrow in Green Arrow: The Wonder Year.