Absolute Green Arrow #1 Review: A Hard-Edged, Intriguing Opener That Lives Up to the Hype

I just read Absolute Green Arrow #1 that came out today (5/20/26). It’s a very solid, hard-edged opener with a fantastic start to this darker Absolute series.

Absolute Green Arrow Comic Book Cover A by Rafael Albuquerque

The Setup

It opens with an assassin-style Green Arrow action scene, then segues into a cool series of social media posts that feel very relevant today. The story ties into a billionaire with serious sexual allegations and other shady stuff — very Epstein-like and makes it feel connected to the real world.

Absolute Green Arrow ominously behind a bag guy in a horror movie like scene
Absolute Green Arrow in a aura farming stance with his bow pointed down and drawn
Dead bad guy with green arrows in his eyes.
Three panels in green showing Absolute Green Arrow converting his bow into a weapon of two blades attached with a bow string.

The Cool (and Interesting) Parts

  • We get Absolute Black Canary (new in this book) working as security to pay for her father’s medical care. She gets roped into protecting some of these evil rich guys, including a very familiar name – “Hammond”.
  • This is a continuation from Absolute Evil, especially with what happened to Oliver Queen.
  • Flashbacks show how the Greenarrows Trading company came to be. Oliver Queen is dead (as we know from Absolute Evil). Possible suspects: Roy Harper, Maya Dearden, and Tom Halley. 👀
  • Ends with an action scene followed by the discovery of a secret room and a confusing twist that sets up a lot of intrigue.
  • One of the standout fake social media quotes : “Guys… we really don’t think there is a bigger story here?” — sums up how I feel – I can’t wait to find out what the bigger story for Absolute Green Arrow is.

Overall it has some horror vibes and situations that loosely mirror real-world events/people/public sentiments.

A flashback to 8 years ago with Absolute Black Canary and Oliver Queen half dressed in bed. Discussing how American will does not influence whether or not congress will pass a bill.

Final Verdict

This is a fantastic opener. It definitely lived up to the hype and benefits from the established Absolute Universe (it pre-sold more than Absolute Batman). Too soon to tell if it hits the absolute highs of Snyder’s stuff, but I’m hooked and looking forward to where it goes.

Absolute Black Canary action scene. Two panels of her catching and breaking a poison tipped green arrow that just nicks the man she is protecting.
A strange, young, dead body with eyeballs all over it.

What did you think?

Did you pick up Absolute Green Arrow #1 yet? What was your favorite part — the real world parallels, Absolute Green Arrow themselves, Absolute Black Canary, the end twist, or something else? Tag me on X!

Originally posted as a thread on X — check out the original conversation here:

Read the original X thread →
An image showing three comic covers that released on day one. Absolute Green Arrow covers A, B, C, D, and H

Protect your comics with bags & boards, top loaders, boxes and more storage supplies from BCW!

Affiliate links are used in this post. I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases—no extra cost to you.

Related Posts

Scroll to Top