Green Arrow: Year One (HC)

Green Arrow: Year One is a hardcover collection that reprints all six issues of Green Arrow: Year One comic book limited series published by DC Comics. The series was written by Andy Diggle with artwork and inks by Mark "Jock" Simpson. Jock also composed the cover art illustration for this volume. The story was colored by David Baron and lettered by Jared K. Fletcher. It was edited by Mike Carlin with Tom Palmer, Jr. as associate editor. This volume shipped to retailers in April, 2008 and carries a cover price of $24.99 per copy (US).

Synopsis
Part One

Oliver Queen and his partner Hackett go mountain climbing across a frozen tundra. Hackett saves Ollie from nearly falling into a ravine, and criticizes him for his recklessness.

Three days later, the two return to Star City where they appear at a charity auction fundraiser for the Star City Drug and Rehabilitation Center. Ollie is inebriated and makes a spectacle of himself – particularly when he makes an outrageous bid for the prop bow used by archer Howard Hill in the film The Adventures of Robin Hood. Ollie takes the stage after the auction, and embarrasses himself by throwing up into a wastepaper basket.

The two leave, and Ollie is mortified over his behavior. He tells Hackett that he wishes to go with him on a business trip involving some of Queen's Industries offshore accounts. Hackett tries to talk him out of it, but Ollie insists on coming along. He cannot bear to be in the public spotlight after the fundraiser fiasco.

On the luxury ship The Pacific Queen, Ollie learns that Hackett has been embezzling money on behalf of a criminal named China White. He didn't want Ollie involved, but knew that his presence on the journey threatened to expose China White's operations. Hackett holds Queen at gunpoint, but Ollie knocks him down with a punch to the jaw. Hackett responds with a head-butt and Ollie collapses onto the deck. China White telephones Hackett and orders him to shoot Queen. Hackett doesn’t want to murder Ollie in cold blood, so he dumps him overboard.

Part Two

Ollie washes up on the beach on one of the Fiji Islands. He is alone, tired and hungry. He begins wandering into the nearby jungle as the sun burns down upon him. He comes upon the remains of a camp, along with a water pump and power generator, both of which, turn out to be useless however. Near the camp is a pit that leads down into a dark, dank shaft It is filled with the skeletal remains of human bodies – victims of apparent gunshot wounds.

Going back topside, Ollie finds a leaf-spring suspension blade and fashions it into a makeshift bow. He uses rusty nails, bamboo shoots and broken bottles to make arrows, and manages to eke out an existence for himself hunting fish, birds and monkeys. He takes a piece of sail canvas and uses it as a poncho to protect himself from the sun.

Several nights pass, and Ollie hears the sound of an airplane from off in the distance. He runs out from the camp and fires a signal flare arrow (made from burning rubber) in the plane’s direction. As the plane angles itself in Ollie's direction, a gunman leans out the hatch and begins spraying machine gun fire at him.

Part Three

A gunman from the seaplane continues to fire at Oliver, but Ollie manages to respond with two well-placed arrows. The pilot loses control and the plane crashes into the side of a mountain. Ollie scales the side of the mountain to inspect the wreckage and manages to acquire a pair of boots in the process.

Wandering around the volcanic base of the mountain, Ollie finds tilled fields of poppy seed. He also meets a pregnant woman who tells him that China White uses slave labor to cultivate the poppies for heroin. China White and Hackett arrive at the sight of the downed plane, and Ollie hides in the brush. China orders Hackett to find out who is responsible for the plane crash. She also has him finish off the surviving crewmen.

As night falls, Oliver encounters Hackett in the jungle. Hackett opens fire on him with his machine gun, but Ollie pins him to a tree with an arrow. Hackett draws a handgun and tags Ollie in the shoulder. He then frees himself from the arrow and produces a grenade launcher, which he fires in Ollie’s direction. The attack fails to produce the desired results however, and the tree falls down on top of Hackett. Ollie is bleeding profusely and collapses to the ground. Everything goes white.

Part Four

When Oliver Queen awakens, he finds the pregnant slave woman kneeling over him. He learns that her name is Taiana and she resets his broken arm. To deaden the pain, she begins feeding him opium. Over the course of several days, Ollie slowly grows dependent on the opium while he heals from his injuries. He recognizes the hunger of addiction and swears to wean himself off the drug.

Meanwhile, Hackett reports back to China White. China is furious that Hackett didn't shoot Ollie aboard the Pacific Queen as she instructed him to. She tells him to find Queen and finish him off or else she will throw him away in a dungeon to be eaten by rats.

A short time later, two of China's gunmen find the meager camp that Taiana and Ollie have been resting in. They open fire on him, but Queen drives them off with several well-placed shots from his custom-made bow. Taiana and he run off in separate directions and Ollie eventually reaches the shoreline. He is shocked to find that his yacht, the Pacific Queen has beached itself on the shore. He goes inside to clean himself up and gather supplies. He finds the Howard Hill bow that he purchased at the auction, then sets fire to the ship. He hopes that the flames will alert China White's mercenaries and that they will come looking for him. This time however, Oliver Queen is ready to fight back.

Part Five

SECTION NOT YET WRITTEN.

Part Six

SECTION NOT YET WRITTEN.

Appearances

 * Oliver Queen


 * Taiana
 * Tupu Tamaitai


 * China White, Chien Na Wei
 * Hackett


 * Unnamed mercenary
 * Unnamed seaplane pilot


 * California
 * Star City
 * Star City Drug Rehab Center


 * Pacific Ocean
 * South Pacific
 * Fiji
 * Starfish Island


 * Makeshift bow and arrows
 * Grenade launcher
 * Pistol


 * Seaplane
 * Pacific Queen
 * U.S.S. O'Kane