I have to say that I wasn't that much of a fan of Julie and Shawna Benson' run on Birds of Prey. It started well enough with solid characterization and team dynamics but it quickly devolved into unremarkable stories and heavyhanded themes which made me pretty apprehensive about their upcoming work on Green Arrow.
That being said, I've been pleasently surprised so far.
The Annual was pretty solid, in fact one of the most solid stories the book has seen in a while. The writers recognized that one of the most important aspects of Oliver Queen is his humanity and that was really emphasized during such story while also giving him an interesting direction (editorially mandated but still). It was a bit simple and not as complex as I would prefer but still got the job done (and it got the appearance of the Arrow Plane which is automatically more fun than anything that happened in the last few years).
The best came out during their proper first issue this week. Issue 43 implements the editorially mandated direction in a way that makes sense due that it contributes to the return of the classic relationship between Oliver and Roy and it even includes a few scenes that are reminiscent from Brad Meltzer's The Archer Quest storyline, I had a few problems about the previous continuity being violently forced into the book but here it does work since Ollie and Roy's old dynamic should always be preserved. Speaking of relationships, Ollie and Dinah's dynamic is also really enjoyable which is not surprising since if there's something the Bensons nailed during their Birds of Prey was Dinah's character, easily her best portrayal in this volume so far.
The current antagonist fits the title really well due that is centered around the idea of how people shouldn't implement their own idea of justice into others, no matter how bad they think they are while both Ollie and Dinah react with disgust as they should (and it especially shows you how different Dinah is from the last run since you just KNOW that Percy's Dinah would have found some valuable points in the murderer's actions).
Javier Fernandez was also a good fit for the book thanks to his strong storytelling and expressive characters.
I quite digged this opening chapter. I'm just hoping the Bensons are able to maintain the quality.