GREEN ARROW 265
corresponds well with the protagonist’s larger-than-life persona within the actual
story. Th us, Atkinson simultaneously stays true to the story and invokes something
of American heroic traditions with its projection of male protagonists from Twain to
Superman.
Th e other method used within this series is to provide the straightforward text but
add illustrations to enhance particular moments and enrich the reader’s experience.
Th ese are used at times with poetry or very short pieces at the beginning of an anthol-
ogy, or for transitions to larger pieces. While these are the two dominant styles, Graphic
Classics also fi nds ways to blend these approaches and experiment with artistic styles.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Th e Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” adapted by
Tom Pomplun, the art provides a striking example of the work’s ingenuity. In the fi rst
half of the novella, Simon Gane provides the comic art in a style of thick, rigid, and
highly angular lines which in many ways evokes the moods and mentalities of the story’s
setting in Victorian London Th e second, personal confessional part of the novella is
executed as an illustrated text. Th e text in its entirety is laid out alongside very diff erent
drawings by Michael Slack, whose roundish and caricatured drawings on a gray scale
contrast sharply with Gane’s work.
On occasion, Graphic Classics republishes its previous volumes as updated editions
with added stories. Up until 2009, Graphic Classics was a black-and-white publica-
tion with the exception of cover art; but with Science Fiction Classics: Graphic Classics
Volume Seventeen , they began experimenting with publishing in full color. Th ough
publishers are hesitant to admit it, Graphic Classics has been the major infl uence
on the return to classics attempted by many other publishers in the latter half of
the 2000s. Other publishers following their tradition include the publisher Classical
Comics, Lerner Publishing Group’s imprint, Graphic Universe, NBM’s relaunching
of the Classics Illustrated series, and Marvel Comics imprint Marvel Illustrated.
See also: Adaptations from Other Media
Lance Eaton
GREEN ARROW. An archery-themed DC Comics superhero, the Green Arrow (alter
egos Oliver Queen and Connor Hawke), was created by Mort Weisinger and George
Papp in 1941. Although he has had a number of origin stories over the years, the major-
ity follow the same plot: rich playboy Oliver Queen falls off of a yacht, washes up on a
primitive jungle island, and is forced to take up archery to survive. When he discovers
smugglers on the island, he uses his new skill to bring them to justice, and returns to
his home in Star City determined to fi ght crime using archery and a number of trick
arrows.
Green Arrow fi rst appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941. A major fi gure in the
Golden Age , he survived that period, but was mostly a second-string character during
the Silver Age. Green Arrow remained a second-string character, usually appearing as
