This is something I should have done a long time ago. It’s been close to three years now when I began covering Mike Grell’s titanic Green Arrow (vol 2) run for the blog in its infancy. Despite its flaws, I enjoyed the run for the most part and focused on its eighty issues, bookending the run with its obvious opener, The Longbow Hunters, and its less-known accompanying miniseries, The Wonder Year. Out of all the Green Arrow stories every published, Grell’s run stands tall as the most important and most famous. It revolutionised the character after the groundwork had commenced under Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams in Green Lantern/Green Arrow in the early 1970s. Urban storytelling, a lack of dialogue, action, and character development all quickly became staples of Mike Grell’s stint on the archer’s title, but there’s something I’m forgetting. Green Arrow has always been one of those heroes who lacks a wide array of villains opposed to heroes like Batman and The Flash. In fact, before Grell’s run, only Count Vertigo stands out. With The Longbow Hunters, Grell creates a character who starts life in the Green Arrow mythos as a foe but ends an ally and one who carries Oliver Queen’s second child. Shado: Song of the Dragon obviously focuses on the title character and her adventures after Green Arrow (vol 2) and continues her
quest involving the Yakuza. As I said, I really should have covered this earlier, but better late than never…
Shado: Song of the Dragon 1-4 was written by Mike Grell with art by Michael Davis Lawrence, and Gray Morrow. It was published from March to July 1992. I’ve read the miniseries in its original square-bound four releases.
Giving Shado a miniseries after her success in the Green Arrow main series seemed like an obvious choice and one that would be popular. Mike Grell wrote Shado: Song of the Dragon in the final year of his stint on Green Arrow (vol 2), when Shado’s involvement in the series was sporadic and entirely random. Some of the best stories from Grell’s run featured Shado, like Blood of the Dragon, Black Arrow, and The Hunt for The Red Dragon. Therefore, it makes sense for Grell to give her a solo story. Perhaps four square-bound lengthy books are a bit grand for an occasion such as this, but what the hell. This was from a time when DC were printing money so they could afford to print literally anything with a touch of royalty. Anyway, like all Mike Grell stories, the first issue begins with a war veteran having flashbacks. Welcome back to Grell’s manly world. Arriving at an antique shop, the vet, Ryan, presents an old relic to the store’s manager who just so happens to be Shado. I guess it’s a quiet life after years of being hunted by the Yakuza. However, that serenity is on the way out as Ryan presents her with an ancient sword created by Masamune, a medieval Japanese blacksmith. Shado, obviously knowing her history, recognises the sword as a weapon for slaying dragons and that it has links to… the Yakuza. While Shado explains the history of Japan and the rise of the Yakuza in the late 19th century (admittedly, not the most fascinating of speeches) and how Mitsuru Tomaya, a right-wing nationalist leader, founded terrorism in the country which resulted in the Emperor hiring an assassin to kill him using the sword, the weapon that adheres to the code of the Bushido. However, the plot failed. Tomaya was saved by a servant, Sakai, who threw himself in the assassin’s path and as a result, the injured servant was rewarded with the weapon. Decades later, with the outbreak of the Second World War, Sakai chose the army instead of remaining in the outlawed Yakuza, and took the sword with him. Somehow, it ended up with Ryan, who decides to continue the quest and give the sword back to its rightful owner. However, Shado is suspicious, and she accompanies him. After reading that introductory act, it’s simple to see why Grell wanted each issue to be longer. There’s a lot of backstory here and while some of it is good and works well in telling the story, I think Grell does go a bit overboard and that fails to cease as the story continues. In Japan, Shado learns that Sakai had two sons, Takano and Takizo, the latter of whom joined the Brotherhood of the Black Dragon. Therefore, due to the death of his master, he is the inheritor of the sword. Shado warns Ryan not to give him the sword back as doing so may trigger another Yakuza war and endless bloodshed. Shado and Ryan instead give the sword to Takano, the older and more peaceful brother. Aside from a nice character moment featuring Ryan and how his experience of war has scarred him and ruined his childhood, nothing else really happens. That is, until the Yakuza arrive packing heat after learning of the sword’s existence. Although the assassins are taken out, most of Takano’s allies in the monastery are murdered and Ryan’s guilt fuels him to continue his quest. There is one survivor: a mute worshipper. Things aren’t looking good at the first part’s end. Although it can be wordy and the introduction can be slow, Grell manages to transition Shado well from being a side character to the main character. Although I guess Ryan is more of a POV character, Shado controls the route of the story but works effectively. Issue two, or book two if you want to have an air of pretentiousness, begins with Takizo addressing the Yakuza family and stressing the importance of an alliance between the families to keep unity. This, of course, is all rubbish as Takizo cares more about the sword. Upon learning of his brother’s survival and a lack of a sword in their mitts, Takizo is far from pleased. Meanwhile, we’re given some red meat on Shado’s past which only continues to explain the Yakuza’s backstory and much of what Grell has already conveyed in in the mainstream series, Ryan spends all of his time moping and in a “woe is me” state. Takano however pledges to carry the sword as his to avoid bloodshed and the deaths of himself, Ryan, that mute guy, and Shado. Oh yeah, this is something I probably should have mentioned earlier. For reasons never made clear, Shado has decided to bring along her young son aged only four or so. Why she does this doesn’t make any sense to me, especially since he’s been kidnapped previously and is again much later on. As for the mute, despite not speaking a word, Grell creates an air of mystery about him and his background. He lives in fear of Shado’s son, giving him flashbacks which remind him too much of a troubled childhood. He then goes a bit mental and nearly kills Takano with a gun, only for Shado to strike him down. Issue two almost puts the main story on-hold and supplements those who may not have read Grell’s Green Arrow run. For instance, much of the second half is taken up with Shado’s origin, her young days in the Yakuza, and how she turned against them only to team up with that bearded hero Green Arrow. Issue two focuses more on character than plot. Perhaps this would be (continued)
entirely beneficial if Grell stopped repeating certain facts which we really don’t need reminding of. In keeping with Grell’s mixed style of storytelling, most of the third issue lacks any dialogue as action takes centre stage. Shado and the gang watch as the Yakuza’s soldiers arrive. Obviously, a huge fight breaks out and results in a heroic victory for our protagonists thanks to the mute’s unearthed marksman skills. Afterwards, we find out the mute’s name is Max and, like Ryan, he has classic survivor guilt. He was, and you won’t believe this, involved in a war! It’s like the Mike Grell toy box is already empty. Regardless, his experience in Vietnam is interesting and the way Grell writes his character mutely adds not just great mystery, but character. You know there is something deeper to Max, but will we ever find out all the details? Shado does nothing after Max tells his story, but only hugs him. It’s a sweet end to the penultimate issue which only highlights to the extreme Mike Grell’s inability to pace comic books successfully. The first issue was wall-to-wall text, exposition gone-mad. The second issue was a bit better, but the third is only a five-minute read. Arguably, the biggest problem with this story, aside from a total lack of originality, is its pacing. Grell really needs to spread out the events of the story in order to make it both more enjoyable and more digestible for readers. It often feels like we’re given far too much or far too little to enjoy. Anyway, with the fourth issue, we reach the conclusion. While Takizo remains impatient for the sword and slowly becomes more unhinged as the seconds pass, we’re given a glimpse into the past and the war-experience of his father from the perspective of Takano. Yes, it’s all very exciting I’m sure, but I’m not exactly enthused after reading the same kind of thing three or four times in the same story. Grell clearly wants to tell a story about the experience of war, and I get that. The problem is that he works that idea into virtually every story he writes. His Green Arrow run is full of stories like this and after two or three, you’re just bored. Even though the characters are interesting here, even though they tell stories which are powerful, I’m not that enthralled by them due to Grell’s lack of originality. This narrative takes up much of the first quarter of the final issue, until Max falls for Shado romantically in a move which almost comes out of nowhere. I guess I can see what she sees in Oliver Queen when she sleeps about as much as he does. Meanwhile, Takano, after days of thinking about the sword and his brother, comes to the conclusion that Takizo will not rest until the weapon is his. Therefore, the best course of action is to kill him and prevent a slaughter. I thought that the was idea anyway. Well, Ryan is disgusted by this idea, but Shado convinces him that it’s the right thing to do. Takano knows where to find his brother. The final confrontation commences at Takizo’s penthouse as he holds another meeting with the Yakuza family, this time to basically to convert power from the gang directly to him, threatening them with his large collection of weapons and the promise of his obtaining the sword. His threat (continued)
pays off, until Takano, Shado, and the gang arrive. A huge fight ensues, but the main battle is between the brothers. The duel is far from long, only ending when Max throws him in the way of the Yakuza’s bullets to save his friends and Takizo’s death from blood loss. With that, Takano decides that, in the interests of Japan, he must stay behind and lead the Yakuza on a way to redemption. While Shado vanishes into the shadows with her son, hoping that the day her cover is blown never comes, Max is memorialised for his war efforts. Ryan will remember him forever. It’s an end to the story which proves my point that Grell really wants to write a story about war and the psychological damage it does to people. It does work well in that regard, but it fails due to its lack of originality and twists and turns which are all-too expected. Takano’s conversion to the Yakuza does feel somewhat contradictory, but I guess there weren’t really any feasible alternatives. As you’d expect from Mike Grell, he creates an interesting set of characters that work well as a cast and complement one another throughout. The lack of variation, however, is a problem. Sometimes, they appear to lack any unique strain or character point which makes them less than memorable. As for the plot, it’s a simple Grell story that it’s difficult to criticise for anything major. He has done the Yakuza to death though and that comes back to the lack of originality. Aside from that and the obvious pacing issues, Shado: Song of the Dragon is a miniseries which is enjoyable in the sense that it tells an intriguing story and has likable characters. Although it does have glaring faults, many of these are problems I find with Grell’s storytelling more than anything exclusive to this miniseries. Overall, this is probably on-par with The Wonder Year miniseries. It obviously completely beats the hell of that Brave and the Bold (vol 2) miniseries, but doesn’t come close to achieving the prestigious image which is enjoyed totally by The Longbow Hunters…
As for the art, Michael Davis Lawrence is an artist I wasn’t too familiar with. I hadn’t even really heard of his name. However, his pencils, with inks by Gray Morrow, provide some subtle storytelling and visually make Grell’s story interesting. Some of the layouts are intriguing and while the storytelling may not be anything revolutionary, there are elements of Grell’s own in there that made The Longbow Hunters so memorable. As for Morrow’s inks, they’re nothing too great or dreadful. They’re a bit standard and scratchy for my liking, but I think overall it looks atmospheric and dramatic. As for the colouring, produced by Davis Lawrence himself, its success varies. Often, the colouring may be extremely vibrant and produce an appearance which looks over the top, while on other occasions it appears too grim and much of the detail is trashed. It does work, but it’s on-and-off…
VERDICT
Overall, Shado: Song of the Dragon is an interesting addition to Mike Grell’s already-large Green Arrow run. Shado’s return in a story with three-dimensional characters and a captivating plot makes the miniseries an enjoyable read. However, the glaring issue is the lack of originality. Simply put, Grell has done this story countless times before and it doesn’t take much for it to become boring and stale. I really do like some of the plot points here, but because this is well-trodden path, its effect is limited. The same goes for the pacing, which very much reflects Grell’s style of storytelling, but often makes the story difficult to digest. It’s not a bad read in any way, shape, or form, but if you’re looking for something different after reading eighty years of Green Arrow by the man himself, I’d give this a miss. I’m two-and-a-half years late, but Grell’s run is finally complete. Sure, there are two annuals I haven’t done, but who cares. Typical of DC Annuals in the early 1990s, they feel incredibly laboured, and they don’t deserve the time of day. There are better things to cover out there…
Story: 7.5/10
Art: 7/10
Next Week: Batman: Incorporated (Batman Incorporated (vol 1) 1-5. Written by Grant Morrison with art by Yanick Paquette, Michel Lacombe, Pere Perez, and Chris Burnham.
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