I’m sure that any of you who have read a comic before have heard the name Jack Kirby. If not, then I’m shocked. Kirby was the king of comics, a father to the more dynamic style and action-packed art that we see today. Kirby, Steve Ditko and Neal Adams are the founding fathers of modern comic book art, but out of those three, Kirby is certainly the one whose impact will be everlasting. From the early 1940s to his death in 1994, Jack Kirby draw and wrote comics at both DC and Marvel, along with pretty much every other superhero- comic company. His chunky style depicting mighty superheroes was certainly recognisable and whatever you may think of his art, whether it be thinned down in ink or exaggerated in muscle size, Kirby was the first artist in comics to add pure drama and suspense in the art, making the storytelling much more advanced and dramatic. In his long career, Kirby worked at DC Comics for a total of four periods. The first was in the 1940s, working on The Boy Commandos and the Newsboy Legion. The second was in the late 1950s, working mainly on the Challengers of the Unknown. The third was the most famous, with Kirby launching his Fourth World titles (The New Gods, The Forever People and Mister Miracle), while working on Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, The Demon and many more. Lastly, the fourth was in the mid-1980s, when Kirby worked on the two Superpowers (vol 1-2) miniseries, plotting the first one and pencilling the second. However, this review will be focusing on a character/title that Kirby isn’t exactly famous for working on. After World War Two, Green Arrow was one of the few heroes to still be published, along with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman. A decade later in the middle of the 1950s, Kirby was desperate for work, resulting in the Green Arrow stories by Kirby, which may not be some of his most well-known work, but in my view, some of his most fun work published at DC…
I will be reviewing all the Green Arrow stories by Jack Kirby, which are:
The Green Arrows of the World --- Adventure Comics 250
The Case of the Super-Arrows --- Adventure Comics 251
Five Clues to Danger --- World’s Finest Comics 96
The Mystery of the Giant Arrows/Prisoners of Dimension Zero! --- Adventure Comics 252-253
The Menace of the Mechanical Octopus --- World’s Finest Comics 97
The Green Arrow’s Last Stand --- Adventure Comics 254
The War That Never Ended! --- Adventure Comics 255
The Unmasked Archers! --- World’s Finest Comics 98
The Green Arrow’s First Case --- Adventure Comics 256
Crimes Under Glass --- World’s Finest Comics 99
Adventure Comics 250-256 were published monthly from July 1958 to January 1959. Although World’s Finest Comics 96-97 were published monthly from September to October 1958, issues 98-99 were released bi-monthly, from December 1958 to February 1959. While all stories are drawn by Jack and Roz Kirby, there were numerous writers, including Bill Finger, Kirby himself, Dave Wood, France Herron and Robert Bernstein. However, the writer of one story is unknown. Lastly, I have read these stories in The Jack Kirby Omnibus Volume One hardcover.
Also, I will be reviewing the art after all the stories, since they are all drawn by the Kirby couple.
The Green Arrows of the World --- Written by Bill Finger with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
A group of superhero archers arrive in America to attend a convention set up by Green Arrow and his sidekick, Speedy. However, while they meet, the hero named the Archer of Scotland Yard is attacked and tied up, while a mysterious criminal steals his costume and identity. Meanwhile, the international archers show Green Arrow their skills with a bow and their unique arrows, before the fake Archer of Scotland Yard arrives. Not knowing, Green Arrow is given a “Big-Ben” arrow to fire, before the Archer tells him that he must leave to capture a crook named Limehouse Larkin, which he shows to Green Arrow on a wanted poster. Running towards the exit, the Archer is shocked when Green Arrow fires the arrow through his hat, revealing the faker to be a crook named “Counterfeit Carson The Forger, who then escapes through the window. Together, the International Archers capture Carson and Green Arrow reveals that he knew that Carson was a fake as the wanted poster he was shown by him rewarded money in dollars, not in the British currency of pounds.
MY THOUGHTS
Despite its light-hearted and silly storytelling, this story is actually the most normal of them all. In fact, it feels like a regular story you’d find in the late 1950s of Detective Comics. I mean, it’s written by Bill Finger. Anyway, the plot is fairly standard but enjoyable. The reason for how Green Arrow works out that the man pretending to be the Archer of Scotland Yard is outlandish, yet convincing. The other characters in the story, by that I mean the Green Arrow’s from all over the world, are somewhat enjoyable and the idea of them all competing against each other in terms of their bowman skills makes sense, since there really isn’t anything else they would talk about.
Okay, I think it comes as no surprise that this story has been done before. In Detective Comics (vol 1) 215, written by Ed Hamilton, Batman and Robin meet all the international version of themselves and the plot is very similar to the one in this story. However, as this story was published a few years after that, this story lacks originality and after years of Bill Finger writing detective stories, which I admit, do have some funny and interesting moments in them, it does become quite tiresome.
Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
The Case of the Super-Arrows --- Written and drawn by Jack Kirby with inks by Roz Kirby
THE STORY
After receiving a reward from the FBI, Green Arrow and Speedy are shocked when a capsule randomly appears, along with a voice from the future, telling the heroes that they are celebrating Justice Week and inside the capsule are superpowered arrows for the two heroes. Testing one out, Green Arrow fires an arrow into the sky, which causes a thunderstorm. He then fires another, which picks up sounds of danger. The arrow detects a burglar alarm going off in the city, causing Green Arrow and Speedy to locate it. When they do, they use another arrow and freeze the robber’s car. The criminals inside, led by Cougar Cain, escape from the car and while chasing them, Green Arrow accidently drops a hypnotic arrow, causing he and Speedy to fall into a trance. Cain and his mob then steal the arrows and use them to commit crimes. Then, after planning, Green Arrow fires an arrow at Cain, who fires a hypnotic one as well, causing them both to shatter. Speedy then fires a wrap arrow at Cain and the mobsters, wrapping them up tightly and capturing them. In the end, Green Arrow and Speedy pledge to never use the super-powered arrows again.
MY THOUGHTS
This story is by Jack Kirby himself, so you knew it was going to be weird. I really like this story, mainly for the fact that it is so different from the previous one. This is the usual generic silver age story that works really well when you appreciate that it was published over six decades ago. The idea of Green Arrow testing out some strange futuristic arrows is unlikely for his vigilante-like character, but it’s fun and arguably works better than when Batman has stories like these, even if they can be enjoyable too. This story works best as a short one, since if it were any longer, its gimmick and uniqueness would most probably become quite tiresome. The different arrows that appear in the tale all capture your interest and I’m also glad the story actually progresses from that, when Cain and his men steal some of them. If the story was the same length and just about Green Arrow and Speedy testing out some arrows, the
stakes wouldn’t be nearly as high, adding drama and action into the story. There are also some sillier touches in the story, such as Green Arrow receiving an award from the FBI, which is a little strange, but for the Silver Age, anything goes. Yeah, nothing to really complain about here, just good fun.
Story: 10/10
Art: 8/10
Five Clues to Danger --- Writer Unknown, with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
Green Arrow and Speedy (both in the Arrowplane) search for Professor Anderson’s boat in the ocean. However, they find the boat’s wreckage and leave feeling down, since Anderson was a friend of Oliver. Two days later, Oliver and Roy are given the belongings of Anderson, which are a harmonica, a watch, a packet of old letters, an old almanac and an elephant statuette. Although confused, Oliver and Roy decide to sleep, when they are woken up in the night by burglars. Chasing them, Green Arrow and Speedy find the burglar’s car has crashed and that they have escaped the scene. However, the heroes find Anderson’s belongings in the car, causing Green Arrow to wonder how the criminals knew that the items were in Oliver’s house. Green Arrow then believes that the items given to him by Anderson were clues. Meanwhile on Whale Island, the burglars return to their boss, who has Anderson tied up as he is a creator of artificial diamonds. Then, the heroes appear and easily defeat the criminals, rescuing Anderson. Green Arrow then tells Anderson that he found him from the belongings, as if they are written and arranged in a particular order, the first letters spell out “WHALE”.
MY THOUGHTS
This story is another exciting and fun adventure, written by… no one knows! My bet is on Kirby or Wood, mainly because it feels similar to their other stories, but I may be wrong. Anyway, this genre of story is pretty much the same as the first one, a detective story. However, here it is done with a lot more joy and it is full of action. The main plot is quite appealing since it’s murder mystery in which the victim hasn’t actually been murdered. It certainly has its bizarre qualities, such as the items given to Green Arrow and Speedy by Anderson. Plus, we see the Arrowplane, another quality which pretty much made the green archer into a Batman clone. Although the reason for how the duo find Anderson on Whale Island is… well… ridiculous, I can entertain it in a funny sort of way because I guess the rest of the story can be just as weird.
The only issue I have with this story is that at the end, Anderson is known to have made artificial diamonds. If that’s the case, then why didn’t he give any of those to Green Arrow and Speedy in his will, instead of the random assortment of items. Plus, that doesn’t make too sense either, since it would have meant that Anderson knew he was going to Whale Island, meaning that he somehow gave the duo the items when he was kidnapped.
Story: 8.5/10
Art: 8/10
The Mystery of the Giant Arrows/Prisoners of Dimension Zero! --- Written by Dave Wood with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
In Star City, a giant red arrow falls from the sky. Green Arrow and Speedy investigate the scene but are confused by it. The heroes then notice another arrow fall from the sky, causing Green Arrow to fire a wrapping arrow around it, before firing a regular one at it, causing it to go off-course and land in the sea. Suddenly, a giant flaming arrow falls from the sky, but changes course and explodes in the sky. Confused by the random attacks, Green Arrow is contacted by a Professor Riggles, who tells the heroes that through his cosmo-radar, he has discovered some strange aliens from space firing arrows. Then, one of the aliens fires an arrow, which, like the others, lands outside in giant form. However, this arrow has a rope attached to it, causing Green Arrow and Speedy to sit on it as it is dragged away into another dimension.
Green Arrow and Speedy arrive in Dimension Zero, where they find a giant alien thin version of Green Arrow fighting a cosmic villain. Running away from the fight as if (continued)
they were ants, they discover that they are on top of a large building. Suddenly, the villain appears again, along with the alien green archer, named Xeen Arrow, who easily defeats his cosmic foe. Afterwards, Xeen Arrow heads home in his Arrowcar, but unknown to him, Green Arrow and Speedy are hiding on board. Inside the Arrowcave, the heroes make themselves noticed by Xeen Arrow and tells him that they are trapped in his dimension. After Xeen Arrow explains that the dimensional shift was caused by a wandering comet, he puts the archery duo onto another arrow and fires it, causing them to appear back in reality.
MY THOUGHTS
This story starts off fairly normal-ish and quite dramatically changes to one of the weirdest stories I’ve ever read. The giant arrows being fired on Star City is something in itself, but when they turn out to be from another dimension, that takes the cake. Xeen Arrow fighting against a strange cosmic villain is so random, yet likable in terms of the story. It throws you off really, since when the giant arrows attack, you think it’s some criminals trying to destroy the city or something, but, it’s an alien pixie. You can’t help but laugh at this story, in a good way that is. I mean, in the second part, instead of Xeen Arrow being awfully suspicious about two miniature archers, he basically tells them that they can go home. What I think the story does well is that it is weird, but it never goes completely over the top, meaning that a large array of ideas is introduced but then lead to nothing. It just makes it a bit easier for readers to understand.
I think the big problem with this story is in terms of pacing. I think the story could have been just one part, since the giant arrows becomes a bit boring after a while and if you mix the two stories into one six-page tale, then the speed of the story would increase. Other than that, I didn’t get the stuff about the comet at the end, which somehow is the direct cause of Green Arrow meeting Xeen Arrow. Also, where was Speedy’s weird counterpart. I mean, I’m surprised there wasn’t one, since it is a painfully obvious idea.
Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
The Menace of the Mechanical Octopus --- Written by France Herron with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
In Star City, a giant mechanical octopus steals jewels from a building, before flying away. Green Arrow and Speedy notice this but then they head to the scene, the octopus is gone. Later, the Arrow-Signal lights up, telling the heroes they are needed. The duo finds the octopus on top of a train and although they try to fight it, they are caught by its android tentacles, before they enter the octopus itself. Inside, Green Arrow and Speedy are locked in a cell by the octopus’s controllers. However, after some time, using an aqualung arrow, Green Arrow and Speedy escape from inside the octopus and shoot firecracker arrows into its tentacles, causing it to explode (and seemingly kill everyone inside of it).
MY THOUGHTS
All this story is is a standard fight between a hero and a villain, but with a giant robot octopus. I mean, doesn’t that just make the story so much better. In all seriousness, (continued)
apart from the octopus, the plot is fairly standard, but it moves at a very fast pace. This is because there is a lot going on in the story, whether it be the octopus stealing from buildings or Green Arrow and Speedy trapped inside of it, the short story is a quick, yet enjoyable read. Plus, like I said, a giant robot octopus, what’s to complain about that?
The only problem I have with this story is its ending. Basically, Green Arrow and Speedy destroy the octopus, seemingly killing everyone inside. For the Silver Age, you would have though the Comics Code Authority would have burst into tears over that, but in terms of the character and era, killing in comics was a rarity. However, the story is only six pages, meaning that there probably wasn’t any room left to show the heroes saving the villains.
Story: 9/10
Art: 8/10
The Green Arrow’s Last Stand --- Written by Dave Wood with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
On vacation, Oliver and Roy hear that Professor Hagen and his staff have disappeared near Crow Mountain. They investigate the scene as Green Arrow and Speedy and manage to locate Hagen. However, once they land their Arrowplane in the rocky area, a horde of Native Americans attack. Although Green Arrow and Speedy manage to drive off the natives, they damage the Arrowplane. Elsewhere, the natives come up with a plan to discredit Green Arrow. Later, the natives return and pay homage to Green Arrow, calling him a legend. They then demand that Green Arrow proves himself to be a legend by firing arrows at a full moon, starting a rainstorm. Green Arrow knows that the natives are attempting to trick him, but he decides to play along. Then, shocking the natives, Green Arrow fires an arrow at a full moon, and it starts to rain. After the natives leave, Green Arrow thanks Speedy, as he fired a balloon arrow into the air, making it appear as a full moon, while firing a firecracker arrow in order to make the sound of thunder and then firing a dry-ice arrow, causing the rain.
MY THOUGHTS
Another strange story, which feature Native Americans of all things. Green Arrow and Speedy go on another rescue mission and in order to live, the natives want Green Arrow basically to perform an act of god. Again, an excuse for Green Arrow to use a load of different arrows, but other than that, the story is fairly simple. I must say though, how Green Arrow and Speedy trick the natives is one of the most overly complex and complicated bits of writing I’ve ever read, yet you can’t help but like it in a strange way. It wouldn’t work nowadays because of the darker mood, but back then, storytelling like this usually worked.
While this may not be one of the more enjoyable reads, since the first few pages are a tad too slow for my liking, I think the big problem is that Green Arrow has gone all out on those futuristic arrows from a few stories back. In the end of that, he pledged to never use them again. Now, of all the reasons to use them, he is using them to trick a load of natives… you couldn’t make some of this stuff up if you tried.
Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
The War That Never Ended! --- Written by Dave Wood with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
When Oliver and Roy are on a flight to Tokyo for a crime convention, the plane experiences engine damage and everyone is forced to evacuate. In boats, the passengers arrive on a remote island, where they are attacked by a group of Japanese soldiers, who believe that World War Two is still going on. Although they try to fight the soldiers, Green Arrow and Speedy surrender. Trying to convince the soldiers that the war is over, they explain that their communication systems were damaged in a storm in 1945, but they still believe the war is ongoing. Then, the Japanese commander orders Green Arrow to help them sink a US naval fleet, or face death. Green Arrow agrees, shocking Speedy. However, using his trick arrows, Green Arrow attracts the attention of US fleet, while Speedy manages to defeat the soldiers. The fleet then arrives and the commander surrenders, accepting that the war is over.
MY THOUGHTS
The plot to this one is basically the same as the last one, but better. I think Japanese soldiers from the war are more of a threat than a load of natives and as villains, they work. These days, hearing of a soldier that still thinks the war is going on is unbelievable, but in the 1950s, just a decade after, it makes sense. Cleverly, Green Arrow tricks them into thinking he is helping them defeat a US fleet, which makes the threat of the story much stronger. Apart from that, there is a random shark attack at the start of the story, which I guess adds to the tension factor, but ultimately it means nothing.
Apart from random engine damage, it is never explained why the plane crashes at the start. It was probably added as a way to get the story going, but as I said, its never explained why and it doesn’t get repaired at the end, meaning everyone is stranded on an island, unless the naval fleet is willing to take a couple of dozen people home.
Story: 9/10
Art: 8/10
The Unmasked Archers! --- Written by France Herron with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
The next morning after Oliver leaves his exclusively rich businessman club, he and Roy find a newspaper with the top story being that Oliver and Roy are revealed to be Green Arrow and Speedy. Shocked, after seeing the Arrow Signal light up, Green Arrow decides to respond to it one last time. After defeating some criminals, the duo head to the Commissioner’s office, who thinks that Oliver and Roy are just joking and that they aren’t really the heroes. Confused, Oliver and Speedy then find out that the story was a hoax made for them, since no other newspaper published the story. This makes Oliver realise that the fake newspaper was part of the initiation to join his exclusive club. Then, the Commissioner phones Oliver and tells him to be at a crime scene as Green Arrow for a joke. When they find the criminals, Oliver fires an arrow at them, but misses. However, unknown to the police, the arrow then spun in the air, before taking out the criminals. This makes the police believe that the real Green Arrow and Speedy were hiding. Then, the Arrowplane flies in the sky, proving to the police that Olivier isn’t Green Arrow. Later, Oliver discovers that Speedy used a balloon arrow shaped like the Arrowplane in order to hide his identity.
MY THOUGHTS
Something that makes this story different from the others is that we see Oliver Queen and Roy Harper in their normal identities for a change. I guess it gives them a bit more personality than the usual two-dimensional feel that they have.
I’m going to be honest here, I don’t like this story. I know the whole newspaper revelation story is meant to be a joke, but it just doesn’t make any sense. Then Oliver has to pretend he isn’t Green Arrow, but he uses a strange flying arrow. The whole story feels off and over-complicated for its own good. I don’t find the humour to be particularly amusing, mainly because its too predictable and the main plot just comes across as cheap. Plus, what is it with the writer’s re-using old ideas from the other stories? I mean, I get that coming up with new good ideas every month can be difficult, but at least try something new for a change. While some of the other stories may not be brilliant, this one is most probably the weakest of the lot.
Story: 3/10
Art: 8/10
The Green Arrow’s First Case --- Written by France Herron with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
Watching TV, Oliver hears a report that explorers will be searching around Starfish Island. Worried, Oliver and Roy head to the island as Green Arrow and Speedy. On the way, Green Arrow explains that one night, he accidently fell off a boat into the sea, but wasn’t rescued. He managed to swim to Starfish Island, where he decided to train in using a bow and arrow. Over time, he became skilful at it and managed to hunt for food. After some time, he made a green archer costume out of leaves and discovered (continued)
that a freighter was coming to the island. However, on board, the crew had turned against their captain, causing Oliver to step in and defeat the crew. Praised by the captain, Oliver decided to become Green Arrow and fight crime. After telling the story, Green Arrow tells Speedy that they are returning to the island as when he was training, he carved a diary into the wall and he is fearful that the explorers will discover it. However, when on the island, Green Arrow fires a fake uranium arrow in the cave, causing the explorers to leave the island, keeping Oliver’s diary a secret.
MY THOUGHTS
Out of all these stories, this one is possibly my favourite. It refines Green Arrow’s original origin with him falling off a boat and training on an island to become a hero. The origin itself it told well here, showing Oliver’s journey from being a boring wealthy man to becoming a boring wealthy hero. However, what makes this story unique is the way it told. Normally with origins, it is told in the past or the main character reminisces about it. Here, Green Arrow has a reason to return to Starfish Island, since his diary carved on a cave wall could be discovered. Although this doesn’t feature for much of the story, it works very well as a reason for Oliver to re-tell us his origin. When he does get back to the island, the reason for how Oliver gets rid of the explorers is stupid, yet understandable. The radioactive arrow would cause the team to escape, but afterwards, surely, they would return kitted out in hazmat suits. That being said, it doesn’t bother me that much and overall, this slightly updated and unique telling of Green Arrow’s origin is a very good and enjoyable short story.
Story: 10/10
Art: 8/10
Crimes Under Glass --- Written by Robert Bernstein with art by Jack and Roz Kirby
THE STORY
When three robbers break into a safe and the alarm goes off, Green Arrow and Speedy go to the scene. However, when they get to the scene and find that the criminals are escaping in a helicopter, they do manage to retrieve the stolen goods, but then numerous lenses appear out of the helicopter, protecting it, causing the robbers to escape. Later, using giant mirrors, the robbers steal loot from a bank and escape. However, Green Arrow and Speedy chase them, resulting in the criminals using prism lenses on the heroes, nearly blinding them with colour. But the heroes overcome it and destroy the lenses using arrows, defeating the criminals.
MY THOUGHTS
As its only six pages, this story isn’t over-ambitious or cluttered with loads of different story ideas. For that, I think it works well and in terms of pacing, the story feels very smooth.
However, I don’t rate the actual plot of this story. Sure, the mirrors are an interesting idea, but it becomes very boring very quickly. Also, when the burglars use the mirrors to make themselves appear as giants, I’m surprised it fooled everyone. The actual plot may be smoothly told, but the gimmick wears off incredibly quickly and when you realise that the villains themselves are nothing special, you realise the story is just the same. Average at best.
Story: 5/10
Art: 8/10
THE ART BY JACK AND ROZ KIRBY
In terms of the art, all done by the Kirby Couple, I think the art is very vibrant, action packed and great to look at. While Kirby’s art may not be as chunky or over-the-top as it is later, there still is drama and action in the stories, making them feel unique to other DC stories at the time. Although there isn’t a single splash page through all of these stories (mainly because of the page limit), effort has been placed into every single panel, showing how dedicated Kirby was as an artist. You have to remember that in this period, Kirby was desperate for work, meaning that he’d even have to take up inking some of his own work, a process which Kirby rarely experienced. However, this is where his wife, Roz Kirby came in. After Kirby finished pencilling a Green Arrow page, she went over most of the lines with a one-line pen. Then, Kirby himself would ink in the thicker blacks with a brush. Honestly, Roz’s inks over the art isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen. I mean, she certainly slims down some of the panels and finishes can look generally appealing. However, the same line weight becomes very boring after a while and often confuses me in terms of perspective. I’m also not a fan how Kirby draws both Green Arrow’s and Speedy’s masks, as instead of just having white
blank eyes in the middle of mask, their regular eyes are visible, and the masks look incredibly thin. This just makes the duo look a bit dim-witted and it just doesn’t work. Apart from that, there are also some colouring and lettering mistakes. Some examples would be the wrong character saying what another should be saying and the colour costumes of Green Arrow and Speedy are occasionally reversed. Overall though, the art is very appealing and great to look at, despite its flaws.
VERDICT
Overall, Green Arrow by Jack Kirby may not be some of the artist’s most famous work, but it is very enjoyable. Even though it has its very good moments and poorer moments (like with everything else in the world), the reason these stories are so great to read is that they are fun. Reading them, they are from an age where the stories were very entertaining and fun to read. It was the 1950s. Most modern fans of the New 52 and Rebirth would look at these stories and laugh, claiming that they are crap. However, not only would I read these over most of the 2010s stuff, but these are proper comics. These are superhero comics that are fun, and the writers realise that the characters are in a world of fun fiction. This is something the writers of today don’t understand and for all I know, maybe never will…
Stories: 7.5/10
Art: 8/10
Next Week: Doom Patrol: Down Paradise Way (Doom Patrol (vol 2) 35-41). Written by Grant Morrison with art by Richard Case, John Nyberg, Kelley Jones, Mark McKenna and Kim DeMulder. Expected to be published by 23/02/2020.
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