Green Arrow: War of the Clans (DC Essential Edition) Paperback – 8 Jan. 2019

Green Arrow War of the Clans DC Essential Edition collects Green Arrow (2011-2016) #17-34, 23.1, Green Arrow Futures End #1 and Green Arrow Secret Origins (Secret Origins #4). Written Jeff Lemire and artwork from Andrea Sorrentino. I should mention that I have a digital copy so I can't comment on the physical quality of it but do own another DC essentials and it's pretty good. Green Arrow is the first time dipping my toes in waters away from Batman and I'm satisfied to say this was fantastic. I'll definitely be picking up a physical copy for my bookshelf for the next time I read it.This was my introduction to Green Arrow, knowing nothing other than it's about an expert archer I decided to give it a go. The thing that confuses me most is how approachable this story is despite starting on #17 because this feels like a #1 so what on earth was before? Either way don't let that change your mind, it's a perfect place to start. The story is about Oliver Queen who is slightly similar in origin to Batman but abit more complex in terms of origin and motivation and his transformation into the Green Arrow. I really don't want to give away anything from the story but it was well done and I enjoyed it.The artwork shines here, it was well done and feels like the artstyle was meant to pay homage to decades long past, paired with use of colours it is top notch and it really shows especially with Count Vertigo. There are some interesting panels within panels that are noir or different colours but have an item of interest in a highlighting colour which I thought was interesting. Although I loved the artwork I was disappointed with the change of style for the year zero segment and was excited to see Batman but wish the artwork wasn't different from previous issues. This collection also introduces some great an interesting characters like Count Vertigo, Oliver Queen, Komodo and several others, the one character I didn't really care for much was Dragon, which is disappointing since he's towards the last issues. I also was hoping for a bit more from some of the fights but I'm not sure if it's because i they were too short or just because I wanted more. Another thing I should mention that there are loads of flashback scenes, to fill in and create more backstory for the characters, personally I'm not too big of a fan but here it just works and I believe that's due to the writing and pacing.Overall, this is a fantastic collection as I said I will definitely be buying a physical copy for the next read-through. Lemire and Sorrentino have does a great job and should be praised, if like me, this would be your intro to Green Arrow you'll be in for a pleasant surprise. If this is what DC Essentials offers then I'm in for a treat and will be looking out for more of them. I really think that if you are unsure about buying this, I'd say buy it, it's easily worth a place on your bookshelf you won't regret it.Hopefully you found this review helpful and happy reading.