Collecting Green Arrow, need help

[MapleMatt]

Hi, I have chosen to try and collect Green Arrow and want to ask, where should I start. I dont want and cant afford every book, but maybe You could point out some outstanding. Thank You for help

[Sam]

The two best places to start are Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle and Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell. Year One is one of the best reimaginings and retellings on Ollie's origin story and Longbow Hunters is an all-time classic with truly beautiful art.

After that, you have a couple options of different directions to go depending on your tastes.

If you love The Longbow Hunters:

Mike Grell's run continues for another 80 issues. It's great, but it never reaches the same heights it achieved during The Longbow Hunters. There are some great issues in their and you get some great street-level archer tales. Here There Be Dragons from issues 9-12 is a particular highlight.

If you want to see all eras of Green Arrow and the DC Universe come together to make something great:

Kevin Smith's 15 issue run is a lot of fun and introduces on of my favorite Green Arrow rogues. The follow up arc, Archer's Quest by Brad Meltzer, is even better and both tales really combine to make a great story of Ollie seeking redemption and family. The only drawback is that these tales can be intimidating for readers who are less familiar with the history of the DC Universe.

If you are interested in the adventures of a younger and less political Green Arrow:

Jeff Lemire's 18+ issue New52 run is magnificent. The art is beautiful and he really tries to build up a new mythology behind Oliver Queen. He creates some of the best adversaries Ollie has had in years and reimagines some old rogues in really cool ways. He also introduces Ollie's current sidekick, Emiko Queen. The only drawback of this run is that you'll wish Lemire had stayed on for way more issues.

If you are interested in the current stuff:

Ben Percy's Rebirth run (avoid his New52 stuff like the plague) was a lot of fun. It brings back a lot of elements fans felt were missing from the title for New52, including his relationship with Black Canary. It also introduces Green Arrow's equivalent of Batman's Court of Owls and really emphasizes why the DC Universe needs Oliver Queen.

Let me know if you need me to expand on anything or have any further questions. Happy reading.

[Sam]

The double posting strikes again.

[married guy]

The first mini series is a good start.
Then hit up Longbow Hunters. Mike Grell did great work with Ollie.
If you want to skip Grell's run (he wrote the title from #1 - 80), you can try starting from issue #81-137 which is the transition from Ollie to Connor.
Kevin Smith & then Brad Meltzer also had great short runs (#1-15 Smith, #16-21 Meltzer)
Winick's run form #60-75 was also particularly good.

I have stayed away from the book since the GA/Black Canary book, but the back issues are GOLD.