Posted By Dan Greenfield on Sep 19, 2024 | 5 comments

ANNIVERSARY ALERT! The Emerald Archer was born more than 80 years ago, on Sept 19, 1941 — but he came to life in the ’70s…

By PETER STONE

I see Neal Adams’ Green Arrow all the time. Every day. DC Comics sent us five statues of him when they came out some years ago. Everyone wanted one. I wanted one. It WAS Green Arrow. It wasn’t the “boxing arrow” Oliver Queen. It was the dude who could fire an arrow between Green Lantern’s fingers to give Hal his ring back. I thought that was one of the coolest moments in the entire run of GL/GA by Neal and Denny O’Neil.

Neal used to go to a place in New York City where you could practice archery. He loved it. That and ax throwing. Neal always wanted to be a tough guy… someone who could do those primitive, primal activities. He taught me how to throw an ax and I was a kid from Boston who went to a sailing camp. I loved it too. It was great.

First appearance of Adams’ Green Arrow, 1969

Neal grew up reading the Jack Kirby Green Arrow but when he was offered the opportunity to revise the character in the late 1960s, he jumped on it. He knew that Oliver Queen was an excellent archer, but also that he had to add “real” archer stuff. Forearm protectors, quivers, three-finger gloves. Neal drew a new character design for Green Arrow — who debuted in his original incarnation, along with Aquaman, 83 years ago, in More Fun Comics #73, on Sept. 19, 1941 — that was unique and modern. He was suddenly amazing and sexy (at least to Black Canary).

The early-’70s Green Lantern/Green Arrow series (technically just Green Lantern) changed comics to a certain degree. A conservative, old-school hero (GL) vs. the modern hippie-style liberal (GA). They traveled across America, dealing with the problems that were plaguing our society. They escorted an alien who seemed like he was from the Supreme Court. Green Lantern’s powers were reduced at some point because he was not doing all the right things, but Green Arrow was always there to save his friend. It was a ground-breaking series that echoes even today.

The most heartbreaking story was Speedy’s addiction to heroin. Oliver Queen’s ward had tremendous trouble dealing with the fact that his surrogate father was out fighting crime and not paying attention to his “son.” The end of the story was devastating. Neal said many times that he personally asked his editor to punch up the ending, allowing Speedy to smack Green Arrow for not being a better person or father figure. Green Arrow watches his ward walk away, a tear running down his cheek and feeling so proud that his boy was starting to become a man. It’s probably the best Green Lantern/Green Arrow story of that entire run.

One of my personal favorite Green Arrow remembrances is decades later, in 2016, when Neal was doing variant covers for a new Green Arrow series. He listened to the editor for 12 issues, but felt he was drawing the same images every issue. So, he changed his layouts. He asked me to find a subway tunnel image because Green Arrow was fighting someone one a train. I searched and searched for a great background he could use and succeeded. It had wonderful pipes and electrical wires. The tracks and lighting were dark and mysterious. I gave him about 10 pictures, but he stopped at the one I loved. Across from me, he looked right into my eyes and said with a dead voice, “I hate you.”

It killed me. I only wanted to make him happy. To find the reference that he really and truly needed. I stammered. I looked down. I was devastated.

“This is perfect,” he said. I looked up, afraid that I had heard it wrong. “Nope. This is perfect BUT now I have to draw all this stuff. So. Fuck you.” And then he laughed.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Don’t be sorry. That’s why I ask you to reference for me,” he said. “Now. Blow up my layout, get me a piece a Joe Kubert cover paper and make sure your goddamn reference fits my layout.”

Twenty minutes later he was drawing the cover, trying to hide as much of the cables and pipes as he could. What he didn’t say was that Green Arrow was hanging from his knees from an unseen cable so he was upside down. It truly is one of my favorite covers from that run.

Years earlier, Neal and his daughter Kris (my wife) went to DC and brought the original design of Green Arrow. A very well-known artist was also in that meeting and he had no idea that Green Arrow’s quiver was actually two pieces designed so that Oliver could bend his back forward and not break the container. (Damn… Neal knew what he was doing.)

Neal’s redesign of Green Arrow remains, well, I’ll say it… legendary. His design IS Green Arrow. Others have messed with it, tried to make it better or more modern, but no one has reached that level of perfection. Neal, as always, nailed it. Green Arrow is Neal’s design. It is as perfect as you could hope for. When people say that Neal’s Batman is the perfect Batman… well, that may be true. But his Green Arrow is the perfect Green Arrow. His Hal Jordan is the best and ohhhhh, his Black Canary is about as perfect as Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman.

Oliver Queen should always continue to fight the good fight, to save the world from the evil landlords and militias and do whatever Dinah Lance wants because she deserves it.

But Green Arrow will always be Neal’s design. You can’t make it any better.

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MORE

— 13 GREEN ARROW AND SPEEDY COVERS: An Anniversary Celebration. Click here.

— MEGO’s GREEN ARROW CAR: Dig This Rare UP-CLOSE LOOK. Click here.

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Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com, and their Burbank, California, comics shop Crusty Bunkers Comics and Toys.