Best wishes for Connor Hawke

I like Connor Hawke. I've enjoyed him since he first showed up in Green Arrow. I enjoyed him when Oliver Queen was dead and Connor was the only Green Arrow. I enjoyed him when he was briefly a member of the Justice League of America.

Things have looked a little grim for him lately. First, previews suggested that a member of the Green Arrow family might be dying and then, in last month's Green Arrow/Black Canary #3, when a bolt of energy from out of the sky skewered him.

The series writer, Judd Winick, is a little hit and miss for me. He writes some very cool sequences--nice action, good characterization, funny quips. He also writes some bad ones, with characters acting out of character (some of his writing of Nightwing in The Outsiders is notoriously out of character). He tends to lean toward more violence and "sexing up" than I like in my four-color comics. The recent Teen Titans East special, where he seemingly slaughtered a whole bunch of characters, was an example of this. But he seems to love Green Arrow and generally does a nice job writing him.

So I've been reading the Green Arrow/Black Canary title with "one eye open." On the one hand, I've enjoyed the ride so far. On the other hand, I fully intend to drop it if Connor dies.

But this preview gives me the chills. It's beautifully rendered and nicely written. Yeah, it completely pulls a deus ex machina card, but it's still cool. Here's hoping the rest of the issue doesn't disappoint me.


You can read more of the preview here.