FOG! Chats With DC Comics’ Team Arrow, Benjamin Percy, Juan Ferreyra & Nate Piekos at FORCES OF GEEK

With CW’s Arrow going into it’s fifth season and 100 episodes (how did that happen?) spawning a superhero revolution on TV with the Arrowverse, a new spike has been given to the Emerald Archer’s popularity.

DC’s Comics recent Rebirth initiative made comic stores great again and writer Benjamin Percy was able to give Ollie back his goatee and reunites castaway with Black Canary along with selling a ton of Green Arrow Rebirth #1s.

We talked pre-Rebirth and post-Rebirth with Ben and Rebirth #1 cover artist and co-writer Juan Ferreyra at the DC Comics booth at New York Comic Con last week as Mr. Queen and Black Canary face the Island Of Scars.

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FOG!: Hey guys, it’s an honor to talk with you, I’m a big Green Arrow fan, and I’ve been reading what you’ve been doing since before Rebirth. My first question is, did you feel like Rebirth was a good opportunity to revisit some things, or did you feel like you weren’t done telling part of your (New 52) story?

Ben Percy: When I jumped into the New 52, and first pitched Green Arrow, I wanted to write Black Canary into it, I was told, “You can’t do that”. I said, “He’s gotta have a goatee,” and I couldn’t do that.

I was also trying to do the novelist thing, which is playing the long game, which you should never do in comics! Because, I could have been kicked out after a few issues. But early on, I was keeping Ollie away from his costume, away from his bow and arrow in an effort to really get to know him as a person. It felt kid of schizophrenic prior to that in the New 52.

I really wanted to build up the character, and I had in my mind a Rebirth revitalization of the character, anyway. I was going to move towards that moment when he truly became Green Arrow. It just got sped up a bit for me.

I did have another storyline involving The Outsiders that I was working towards. There were a lot of hints in there, about that, but its fine. We got rid of that, we just jumped right into the new era.

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TRIPLE SHOT with a DC CHASER: The Road To REBIRTH – Grayson #18, We Are Robin #12, Teen Titans #18, Secret Six #12 at FORCES OF GEEK

It’s a DC Comics takeover today as we get closer to the Rebirth event and a new Batman on screen. We start off with a new creative team on Grayson before Rebirth, more Gotham sidekick action with We Are Robin and Teen Titans (guest starring Wonder Woman). Over in Secret Six, Strix is faced with dilemmas from the League of Assassins.

Are you ready for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Be sure to check back Friday morning for the Forces of Geek review when it is posted!

Grayson #18
Writers: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Artist: Roge Antonio
Publisher: DC Comics
Pub. Date: March 23, 2016
UPC:  76194132185101811
PRICE: $3.99
BUY IT HERE


Things are really heating up for Dick and Spyral this issue, but Grayson aka Agent 37 isn’t really at the center of all the action.

With Lanzing and Kelly (Batman and Robin Eternal) jumping on as writers to wrap up this arc, where a lot of threads were just sort of hanging there, we start the issue in the middle of the action at the St. Hadrian’s school for wayward spy girls.

With guest appearances from Bronze Tiger, Grifter and Midnighter, Dick leads a team against Leviathan. 

Helena is seriously injured in the melee, but at the end we have Agent Zero and her sister vying for the top of the stack as someone from their past makes a surprise appearance.

This is most certainly not a jumping on point for readers, perhaps not many people out there are even aware that Dick is a spy now, but no matter. With Rebirth, Nightwing returns and we can turn our back on this now overly complicated spy story. 

I sure wish Seeley wrapped this arc up, though because this issue is a bit confusing, and I have been reading this book since the beginning!

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