Cliff Chiang — A League of His Own

Green Arrow / Black Canary #11, October 2008

Green Arrow is back on the air (CW) for its eighth and final season, so before the emerald archer fades into the TV sunset, we’re focusing a few posts on Green Arrow originals.

This impactful Cliff Chiang cover comes to us courtesy of a somewhat short-lived Green Arrow series — written by Judd Winick — prior to the “New 52.” It has plenty of action throughout, but the stories also focus on the interpersonal relationships that pierce the heart (sorry) of Team Arrow.

Cliff’s art (he was the interior artist on the first seven issues) is full of energy and features a bold, clean style, that manages to capture the angst of the modern Green Arrow, with less traditional rendering than many of the veteran Arrow illustrators (Neal Adams, Mike Grell, Jim Aparo, et al). 

Cliff’s career, of course, has rocketed since that Green Arrow run. His Paper Girls series (with writer Brian K Vaughn) is phenomenal, and I was pleased to hear at New York Comic Con that he is returning to DC superheroes with a Black Label title in the near future.