Little wonder, then, that DC Comics quickly decided to add the Arrow to the roster of their brand-new, hotter-than-hot JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA series [see photo, above]. If nothing else (the thinking must have been, by this point), maybe some of the "shine" from these NEW kids -- what with their newfangled "science fiction"-y stories and whatnot -- will rub off on the old war horse, and make HIM seem like less of an archaic, bow-slinging geezersaurus."

End result: while the Arrow never garnered any luster-by-association as a result of his be-bopping around with his canonical juniors, over the years... he did manage to hang about on the peripheries of the DC universe for a few years longer than he might have, otherwise. Call it the comic book character's equivalent of "living from paycheck to paycheck," if you like.

That all changed, however, with the advent of The Beard. And the Psychiatrist. And the deal with him killing another man, just so he could sleep with the poor schlub's wife.

The latter landmark, first: in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #74 [1st series],Green Arrow -- along with a junta of his fellow JLAers -- found himself forced to square off against the assembled heroes of the Justice Society of America. The Arrow, in this instance, was swappin' licks with the martial arts mistress known as "the Black Canary" [see pictures, accompanying].

Rendered immobile and helpless (albeit fetchingly so) by means of a trick arrow with an epoxy payload, the Canary was, thus, all-too-easy pickin's for the villain of said tale (one "Aquarius," by name), who promptly unleashed a coruscating, minivan-sized sphere of energies directly in Our Heroine's direction. Green Arrow's reaction (it should be noted, at this juncture) to said occurrence is nicely summed up, I think, by the phrase: "zip-a-dee-doo-dah." ) In other words: nada.

Bear that in mind, if you will, whilst reading the following paragraph.

It just so happens that the Canary's intrepid hubby -- "crusading investigative reporter" Larry Lance -- was loitering nearby, just as his beloved was about to get steamrollered by said special effect. Thinking only of his wife's safety and well-being... he launched himself directly into the path of the onrushing sphere, in order to protect her -- and promptly perished, as a result.

If you observe the following panel very closely... you can just make out the tiny figure of a jubilant Green Arrow, pumping a triumphant fist in the air and mouthing: "... yessssssssss -- !!" I'm just sayin', is all.

Naturally, the grief-stricken Canary joins the JLA... whereupon, the Lothario Leaguer waits a good fifteen, maybe twenty seconds before putting the "moves" on her. James Earl Ray was convicted on less convincing "circumstantial evidence" than this, wasn't he...?

This, however, was merely the first indication that Our Hero was -- finally; after all those long, humiliating years of comic book"second banana"-hood -- several McNuggets short of a Happy Meal. You see: after having lost his vast private fortune, a short time earlier (through events never really convincingly explicated, by the way)... Green Arrow started seeing a Couch Counselor. And told him who he really was, by the way [see picture, accompanying].

(One wonders, incidentally, just what sort of Freudian frappe those sessions must have been like. "Doc...I had another dream about the Batman, last night. He and I were both naked. And sharing a banana. What does that mean...?" "Ahhhhhh... let's get back to the issue of those arrows of yours, Mr. Queen. Are you at all familiar with the concept of phallocentrism, by the way...?")

Mind, now: any self-respecting super-hero would have mis-calculated that final, hairpin curve on the mental health highway, if they'd had to contend with the sorry, spavined and sway-backed likes of the so-called "super-villains" uncaring writers had fobbed off onto the Ace Archer, over the previous decades. Take, for example -- and I do wish you would -- the goober emeritus known, regrettably, as "the Clock King" .

Born one "William Tockman" [NOTE TO ALL ASPIRING COMICS SCRIVENERS: unless your name happens to be Jack "King" Kirby -- and I rather suspect it isn't -- never, ever attempt to get away with "cutesy" names like (just as a f'rinstance) "William Tockman," if said character is only going to end up tarting himself up as something out of the Spiegel catalogue. Never mind "why"; just don't, dammit.], the self-styled Caliph of Chronology was -- I kid you not -- the closest thing Green Arrow ever had to his own "arch-enemy." He turned to crime because his beloved sister had, apparently, A Really Severe Case of the Sniffles, and he -- in turn -- knew despair. ("Who," he must have thought, upon first donning that ludicrous headgear, "can take care of my invalid sibling as responsibly and rationally as I? Tick-tock... tick-tock...")

(... and, by the way: check out the illustration of the Clock King again, directly above. Not to make a mountain out of a molehill [ummmm... in a manner of speaking, I mean], in this particular... but: my God! The dude is obviously... you know... packing. Couldn't he have simply signed up with the Chippendale Dancers, if he really needed the dough that danged badly...?) (Wonder if he ever referred to it, fondly, as "Big Ben"...? I'm just sayin.)

In any event: the fateful, final shearing away of the worn rudder that was keeping Green Arrow's leaky dinghy of mental stability on a more-or-less even keel (... still "with" me, all of you...?) occurred during the infamous WORLD'S FINEST two-parter, hereafter referred to as the "I'm Not Batman" Affair.

Check it out: after a two-bit underworld gunsel-turned-entrepreneur by the name of "DeLeon" accidentally discovers the super-secret, hush-hushcavern hideout nestled away beneath Oliver Queen's old family demense, said future Jeopardy contestant, naturally, leaps to the most readily apparent deduction, in turn: "... Oliver Queen is really... THE BATMAN!" [See pictures, accompanying]

(You see how it is, though? Even the densest denizens of the underworld knew a Bat-"wannabe" when they bloody well saw one. Talk about the chickens -- or, in this case, bats -- coming home to roost, by jingo...!)

Well, mesdames and messieurs: the Arrow wrestled with his inner demons (re: that pronounced case of "Bat-envy") for all of two... maybe even three seconds, at least, before shrugging his massive shoulders and mumbling something to the effect of: "... what the hell... beats chasing Speedy around the house in those chartreuse 'bunny slippers'..." and -- for one adventure entire -- gave in to his deepest, darkest, most unspoken desire: to don the mantle of the Bat.

It was kinda sorta like watching Daryll Strawberry surrender to the nigh-irresistible inner compulsion to take batting practice while wearing a paisley sundress. Only funnier

In any event: Ol' Ollie finally seemed to "settle down" somewhat, after taking that spandexed equivalent of A Walk On the Wild Side. )He eventually graduated (after umpty-ump years of being the perennial "back-up feature to be named later") to his own ongoing monthly series; became something of a "fan favorite" character, in turn; and even behaved himself decently whenever storytelling events brought him into repeated contact with his comradely idee fixee .

"It goes with the costume." Heh. Well... you oughtta know, dude. And say "hi" to Commisioner Gordon for me, next time you see him... 'kay? Psycho. )

Green Lantern: PAGE ONE

Green Lantern: PAGE TWO

Green Lantern: PAGE THREE