DC has been putting out some excellent stories outside of their main series. I look forward to more titles like this.

Following a plane crash on a deserted island 13 year old Oliver Queen must learn the skills he needs to protect his father.

I think my middle schoolers will really like this, but it was not for me. The story was really simple. It felt like a picture book to me. Like there just wasn't time or space to write a complex story. The story had a beginning, middle, and end, but no complexity at all.I do think the clear uncomplicated story will appeal to younger audiences though. It wasn't poorly written or boring, just simple. Though there is a lot of animal death so be careful with too little of an audience.

For me: 3 stars
For my students; 4 stars

Creative Team:
Written by Brendan Deneen
Illustrated by Bell Hosalla
Letters by Andworld Design

A good middle grade graphic novel about overcoming fear and embracing one's individuality. The illustration was nicely done and the characters were good in their portrayal.

Thank you NetGalley, DC Entertainment and DC Comics for giving me the opportunity to read this.

#GreenArrowStranded #NetGalley

I had a great time reading this graphic novel. A plane Ollie was on crash lands on a deserted island and he needs to find a way out of this place. When he finds his dad it is clear he isn’t in going shape. While trying to survive Ollie bumps into a rival who doesn’t seem to be doing much better. They will need to work together if they hope of getting off of this island in one piece. As this graphic novel comes to a close life for Ollie will never be the same.

I was interested to see a new interpretation of the Green Arrow origin, a scenario where Oliver isn't alone after the shipwreck but rather stranded with his father and a rival. As is typical in middle grade reading, rivals are forced to work together for the greater good and form a better understanding of themselves and each other. The characters here aren't' especially interesting, nor does the plot take any interesting directions.

Thank you to Net Galley and DC Comics for an ARC

DC Comics strikes again with a re-imagined origin story for a young generation of readers. This time, they put the Emerald Archer in the center of the bullseye.

Writing a story like this can be difficult. If one is writing for younger kids, the path is laid out. When one is writing for Young Adults, it is a bit easier to follow as well. Writing for middle-readers is tricky. How does the writer talk to them and not down to them? How can the writer keep them intrigued without them thinking it is “for babies?”

While I don’t have the answers, Brendan Deneen does. In this story, we meet a young Ollie Queen whose parents are getting divorced, who was just embarrassed in front of one of his peers and who is being asked to do something he’s never done before. These are all things a middle reader can relate to. However, in an effort not to get bogged down in the message and the After School Special-ness that often happens in stories like this, Deneen has Ollie’s plane drop from the sky so he has to do all of this while trying to keep himself and his father alive.

The pacing is pitch-perfect. Deneen knows just when to stop and let the reader breathe and he knows when to push the limits and force the reader to stay up for just a few more minutes to get to the next chapter.

The star of the piece is Bell Hosalla. They immerse readers into Ollie’s world. Because they color their own art, they play with light and shadow in an immersive way. I think Hosalla shines the brightest when they draw Ollie’s reactions. Readers of any age will be able to know exactly what is going through Ollie’s mind and which emotion he is feeling. Look out for Hosalla, they are an artist on the come and you will be pleased to see what they do next.

Conclusion

Adult readers may feel that this book is a bit beneath them. It is supposed to be. Deneen and Hosalla wanted to write for a specific audience. If I had a middle-reader in my life, I would buy this book tomorrow.

If you do have one, you should do just that.

When Oliver goes on a trip with his father and and his rival, things take a turn for the worse when they're stranded on an island. With his father injured, Oliver had to learn how to survive and protect his family.
This was a cute read. I liked seeing Oliver overcome his fears and start to become the archer we know and love. I also loved the art style!
It did feel extremely rushed, even for a kids graphic novel. There were a lot of story points I wish they would've dived deeper into. Oliver's rival is separated from them on the island for a majority of the book, which I thought took away a lot of the bonding they could've had. The story just felt kind of choppy in how they would bring up a problem, ignore it for a while, and then resolve it with a line or two at the end.
Overall, it's an entertaining enough read for kids.

This book was extremely accessible for the age group and made for easy reading. It’s a good jumping-off point to get to the know the kid who would become Green Arrow, but the pace was a little slow. Points of high stress could have been amplified by more of a look into Oliver’s thoughts, as I didn’t really get a good sense of Oliver’s character. However, Oliver having to deal with the immediate stresses of the plane crash were relatable, so I would recommend to readers looking for stories about survival that aren’t too stressful or intense as well as young readers with an interest in archery.

What I consider to be a very solid and highly entertaining Green Arrow origin story. It was both friendly enough for newcomers unfamiliar with Oliver Queen and has a unique perspective that would keep the interest of the DC fans already familiar with Oliver’s backstory. The graphic novel centers around a 13-year-old Oliver who must quickly learn how to survive in the wild and protect his injured dad after their plane crashes on an uninhabited island.

Thank you NetGalley and DC Comics for providing me with this ARC!

Thank you to DC Comics and NetGalley for this ARC
As a comic book reader, I'm familiar with the Green Arrow origin and so I was curious how a middle-grade retelling of the story would handle the story. The main beats are still present however changes have been made to appeal to a new audience. The tone is much lighter whilst retaining the dangerous elements of Oliver's situation. This is a much younger Oliver, 13 years old, so his struggles are different to the previous incarnations of his character. I think this will be perfect for middle grade.
The artwork is really great. The island in the book is rendered with a muted but expressive blend of browns, blues and greens. The island feels dense and lush as you progress through the pages to the lighter-toned, more hopeful ending.

This review was posted on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/26094184-cadguycad

This book has done the impossible and made me care about Green Arrow who I previously considered nothing more than a worse version of both Batman and Hawkeye. Something it accomplishes by focusing on Oliver Queen rather than the Green Arrow identity he will later adopt. This is my first foray into DC's middle grade titles, though I've read several of their YA books so I don't know if this is something they often do, it was very successful here though.

This was a really charming read, and maybe this is a virtue of the nature of the Green Arrow's origin story but this didn't feel like it was trying to tell two different stories in a place where there was really only room for one. Oliver is a likable protagonist and given that this was a middle grade title it was nice to end the book on the hopeful note that everyone was going to make it out alive. I also appreciated that this was an origin story in action more than in name, kids who like comic book superheros or who already know Green Arrow will like this but this can just as easily be sold to fans of Hatchet who are looking for a new survival story. It's great!

The art is gorgeous, the backgrounds especially which is important in a survival story. Really the whole book was a treat to read, it's made me want to go and pick up some more of the middle grade titles that I've missed from DC.

This was a great read. I didn't realize it was a "kid's" book, but it was well-written and fast-paced. Some good moral fiber and an overall feel-good vibe.

Thanks to Netgalley, DC Comics and the creators of this comic. All opinions are my own.

These days, it seems like everybody loves a hero with a bow and arrow. Marvel is doubling up on Hawkeyes, Katniss Everdeen is still the gold standard for young adult readers, and Legolas will probably always be the coolest member of Tolkien's Fellowship. Yet, one could likely argue that none of these characters have managed to achieve 'definitive archer' status in the cultural hive mind. That honor, for at least the last decade, has seemingly belonged to Oliver Queen. While Marvel's early Avengers films became the cause of an industry-changing uptick in comic book movies, it was DC's costumed bowman who managed to prove television could pull from the same bag. The CW's Arrow debuted in 2012, and with it came a new appreciation for the titular vigilante. Green Arrow somehow found himself the center of DC's most successful live-action universe and a genuine nominee for "most popular superhero." The only problem was that Arrow never really showed fans why Ollie was so special.
Stephen Amell's take on Oliver was dark, angsty, and violent. These attributes were explained away by the character's time on a hellish island, with claims that nobody could go through that experience and not come out the other end bent on revenge. It's fine when an adaptation takes creative liberties like this with its protagonist, but it can be frustrating when that altered version takes over as "the one people think about" going forward. The Oliver Queen found in DC's comic books is a jovial romanticist, who overcame a dark past and appealed to his better nature. Arrow eventually leaned towards this concept but never committed. Luckily for all, actual comic books still undertake an existence on store shelves and online libraries. This means parents still have the opportunity to introduce children to their favorite heroes via the printed page, which facilitates a special kind of bonding you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. Author Brendan Deneen seemingly agrees, as his latest retelling of the Emerald Archer's origin, Green Arrow: Stranded, might be the perfect way to get kids into a hero whose most well-known series isn't meant for them. 
Stranded is likely the softest, fluffiest iteration of the rather tragic Green Arrow genesis we've seen yet. To be clear, this is because the comic was designed to be perused by beginner-level readers and not to scar the nation's youth. However, the reframing of a once-depressing tale as an optimistic story for kids may have accidentally, or purposefully, brought out the best attributes of its title character. Drawn with beautiful simplicity by Bell Hosalla, the plot sees Oliver, at only 13 years of age, survive a terrible plane crash alongside his dad and a fellow father-son duo, the brutish business associate Sebastian and his angry offspring, Tyler. The adults are severely wounded, and Tyler is mostly inept, so Oliver must find a way to overcome his situation. In a traditional account, this is where things would go downhill for the family, with a dying Robert Queen leaving his son to survive alone on an island for years to come. Instead, Deneen puts a more positive spin on the narrative.
Not yet a superhero, but still wearing a green hoodie, Oliver maintains his faith and never gives up hope. The other characters in the story, especially Tyler, are shown to be less than kind to Oliver before the fateful wreck. He is made fun of for lacking guts and skill, demonstrated by his inability to take the life of an animal on what appears to be an important hunting trip. He desperately wants approval from his father, who refuses to give it to him out of some misguided belief that he'll grow more without it. But even with all this against him, Oliver is not full of angst, or spite, or self-pity. He chooses instead to help those who wronged him, and does so without ever breaking his own youthful moral code. Ultimately, Ollie proves that his heart was simply bigger than his desire to meet the traditional standards of masculinity. For some, this notion may induce an exaggerated eye-roll, but it's actually exactly the kind of comic book story young boys should be reading.
With Stranded, Deneen displays a redefined type of hero. The type Green Arrow has always been. He makes an effort to prove that you can find ways out of even the most worrisome scenarios without succumbing to violence or anger. In the same spirit that made Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse so wonderful, the message of this book is that a real hero stays true to themselves and always gets back up. Though clearly not the intent, Stranded almost functions as the anti-Arrow. Obviously, it's strange to compare a short-form comic to a long-form television series, but Stranded soars everywhere Arrow sank. The limited series is a perfect read for any kid looking to get into comics, and does its best to teach all the right lessons along the way.

It's fine. It's the Green Arrow origin story with all its edges shaved off. Thirteen-year-old Oliver Queen gets stranded on an island with his dad, dad's business partner, and business partner's son after a plane crash. Ollie's dad is really hurt, so Ollie has to try to survive and save his dad. There isn't much to this story, seeming to end their adventure on the island in a day or two. It felt like a five minute story without much weight or stakes to it. The art is nice and does well to set a tropical environment. I just needed more something to the story itself.

In Brendan Deenen’s Green Arrow: Stranded, 13 year old Oliver Queen and his father along with his father’s friend and son Tyler finish up a hunting trip. Oliver is distracted as his parents have been fighting more and more and he suspects a divorce is looming.

Right as Oliver gets the courage to discuss it with his father, they barely survive a catastrophic event. After a massive plane crash, Oliver finds his father who is badly hurt and unable to walk. Armed with a crude bow and arrow he made, Oliver feels uneasy about survival but knows that water and food are necessary for he and his dad to survive. Will Oliver do the scary but necessary things to survive until help arrives?

The illustrations by Bell Hosalla are reminiscent of sketches with lots of greens and brown depicting the hostile nature of the island. Hosalla’s feral boars on the island are terrifying and play nicely into Oliver’s reluctance to take a life. Stranded is targeted to grade school children so the plot is very easy to follow and children may be interested in how Oliver handles the conflict with Tyler. Stranded is a suspenseful and entertaining tale introducing children to the Green Arrow superhero universe!

I really enjoyed this titles. I'm a fan of superheroes but don't know as much about Green Arrow. Despite my ignorance I was able to follow along well. It was really nice to see Oliver grow and develop as a character. My biggest complaint was the ending. The story just sort of stops. I was really expecting to see a bit of the aftermath. I also don't really understand Tyler's animosity towards Oliver after the plane crash. Even if they disliked each other before, it seems odd that he wouldn't be more interested in Oliver's help when his survival was on the line. Other than that the book was enjoyable and will likely appeal to fans of adventure and survival stories.

As a bookseller involved with a preteen grandson, I decided to request an Advance Reading Copy of this graphic novel to enhance my knowledge of the genre. Published by DC Kids, the story offers an age-appropriate plot and language. The illustration offers elaborate and lush scenery; i feel the people are drawn with less detail and expression, requiring the reader to depend on the dialogue to decipher some of the emotions. To me the scenes also often appeared dark rather than vivid. For an enthusiastic audience, however, I trust this would be an appreciated superhero origin story.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, please note that an Advance Reading Copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Green Arrow has always been my favorite superhero so when I heard they were reimagining his origin story for younger readers I couldn’t be more excited. 13-year-old Oliver Queen is on a trip with his father and his business partner Sebastian and his son Tyler, who Oliver doesn’t get along with that well. But when the plane gets caught in a storm, they crash onto a deserted island, Oliver’s father is hurt and needs help and Sebastian and Tyler are nowhere to be seen. Will Oliver find the strength to be able to keep him and his father alive or will the dangers of the island get to him before help can. A fantastic origin story, and an even better survival story. This comic scratches the itch for Gary Paulsen fans and can get superhero fans to try out a genre that may be outside their comfort zone.

Baby Oliver McQueen!!

And I say baby, but I mean teenager McQueen going through some things. I liked the family bonding that happened, and although I don't like Mr.McQueen's buisness partner, I can see the character development here.

I really like to see origin stories, or pieces of them, and this is a nice, fast-paced, adventure that will get you acquainted with what the Green Arrow has been through, in order to be the Green Arrow that we see so often in other DCAU properties.

All in all a great story.

Absolutely gorgeous artwork and a fantastic introduction of Green Arrow/Olive Queen.

Targeted for kids, there was a wonderful focus on the important details and origin of Olive Queen without glossing over some of the heavier topics.
Simply leaving the darker elements out of sight, but mentioning tough topics like Oliver's parents and his father's company.

I'm personally not the biggest DC fan, but I'm really enjoying the DC Kids stories. Can't wait to read more!

**Thank you to DC Entertainment, DC Comics, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**