The death of Roy Harper has presented an overwhelmingly strong mental obstacle for Oliver Queen to overcome, both during his time as Green Arrow and not. As Oliver tries to move forward, make some sort of progress in coping with Roy’s death, a part of him still struggles to become the person he promised to be.

Last seen Green Arrow and Black Canary had taken down the Citizen, preventing him from killing Oliver on a live camera feed. As Ollie flew away with his favorite person, Dinah, he swore to do better, to be better - for everyone’s sake, even Roy’s.

Now Oliver spends long hours of his nights trying to prevent any harm from coming to his city. He worries that Seattle is becoming “more like Gotham” to which Dinah hopes he doesn’t become more like Batman. As the city literally shifts, Green Arrow and Black Canary race off to fight the threat that is growing in Seattle, a new and more powerful, Count Vertigo. Green Arrow issue #48 is written by Collin Kelley and Jackson Lanzing, with art by Javier Fernandez, colors by John Kalisz, and letters by Deron Bennett.

Collin Kelley and Jackson Lanzing bring back a formidable nemesis as the story of Green Arrow starts to wind down. Though it can be engaging to see how Oliver combats an old foe with new personal issues, the writing duo, Kelley and Lanzing, try and keep the tension high by focusing on the emotional relationship between Oliver and Dinah. Emotions have always been a powerful factor of Oliver and his stories, and that’s one of the things that has pushed him away from his counterpart, Batman, though it’s growing mundane to hear, rather than see, Oliver trying to push past these problems that have consumed his life.

The art provided by Javier Fernandez delivers some great landscapes, and twisted backgrounds, as Count Vertigo reshapes Seattle. Fernandez’s strengths stay strong in depicting the backgrounds, and more scenic views, as the characters involved lack prominent detail through most of the issue. As the story moves along, the art sort of blended together. The colors by John Kalisz paint fascinating shades of green as Vertigo debuts his new and vastly increased powers. The colors remained wonderful throughout the story, following along with the tone the entire way.

Green Arrow is a character heavily driven by emotion, but it’s difficult to read a story where the same issues prevent the character from changing, whether it’s by growing or worsening. Oliver drones on about his problems without showing any real sign of wanting to do something about it. With Green Arrow officially coming to a close with issue #50, it’s a wonder how this final solo run will impact Oliver Queen.

Grade: B-