Comics Recs - Tumblr Posts
Do you have a reading list recommendation for comics with Roy Harper? Also I love your blog ❤️
Yes! The short version is that you should pick up anything written by Devin Grayson or Judd Winick, who are the best and second best Roy writers out there IMO. The longer version is this:
Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85-86, a.k.a. “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” and “They Say It’ll Kill Me...But They Won’t Say When” by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams: This is the original Roy addiction storyline from the 70s. It’s definitely dated but once your brain adjusts to Bronze Age art and storytelling it’s absolutely brilliant and gorgeous and heartbreaking. It’s also a groundbreaking moment in comics history for its unvarnished and sympathetic portrayal of drug addicts. And of course it’s probably the most important thing that ever happened to the character and hugely pivotal for his relationships with Ollie, Hal, and Dinah.
The New Teen Titans (1984) #20-21 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez: Roy discovers he’s a father and meets Lian.
Batman Plus Arsenal by Devin Grayson and Rodolfo Damaggio: A one shot but there’s so much good character stuff in here oh my god.
Arsenal #1-4 by Devin Grayson and Rick Mays: There’s a plot about Vandal Savage trying to harvest Roy and Lian’s organs but mostly this is a deep character study and exploration of Roy’s relationships with Ollie, Dinah, and Connor, and UGH it’s so freaking good.
The Titans (1999) #1-25 by Devin Grayson and Mark Buckingham: If you like team books with lots of complicated feelings, you need to read this. I pretty much draw all my headcanon about Roy’s relationships with Donna and Cheshire and his own self-destructive romantic tendencies from this series. It ran for 50 issues, but the first 25 by Grayson are the good ones - there’s more Roy stuff in the back half of the series but it’s a different writer and simply not as good.
Green Arrow (2001) #16-21, a.k.a. “The Archer’s Quest” by Brad Meltzer and Phil Hester: Full disclosure: I don’t actually like this story, but it’s a pretty major Ollie ‘n’ Roy teamup adventure and most people like it more than I do. The art’s good! Roy pets some puppies! *shrug*
Outsiders (2003) #1-33 by Judd Winick and Tom Raney: Do you want Roy as a super badass emotionally intuitive leader and A+ dad who is EXTREMELY homoerotic with Dick but also very much enjoys being topped by dangerous ladies? Well, this is the book for you!
Green Arrow (2001) #32 by Judd Winick and Manuel Garcia: Roy and Connor go out for a night on the town and discover that they do actually have things in common despite being very different people. It’s a crime that we don’t have more Roy and Connor team ups but this one is A+.
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) and Red Hood/Arsenal by Scott Lobdell and various artists: ...Sigh. Look. These are bad comics. They are actively terrible. BUT they are the source of the Jason/Roy relationship and like so many bad comics, they steer so hard into macho nonsense that they just wind up being homoerotic. Also you should pick up Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #25 and Annual #2 if you want to cry about how much Jason and Roy love each other and how Roy’s dead now. SIGH AGAIN.
Who is Roy Harper? - A Reading Guide
Roy Harper is a DC Comics legacy character introduced in the Golden Age as the protégé/son of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen). Roy was the original Speedy and had an extremely close relationship with his adoptive father Oliver Queen throughout the Golden and Silver Ages. In 1971, DC released the "Snowbirds Don't Fly" storyline in response to Nixon's announced War on Drugs. This storyline was a PSA designed to show what not to do when a loved one (particularly a young adult child) is struggling with addiction. This story would change the trajectory of Roy's story and cemented his role as a recovered addict, a part of his character that has unfortunately come to be his defining quality rather than being part of his larger story. Roy is a single father to Lian Harper (his daughter with the assassin Jade Nguyen/Cheshire), and has a sibling bond with family members Connor Hawke, Mia Dearden, and Emiko Queen. Roy's origins have always been connected to America's Indigenous Peoples and later comics have cemented their role in his life with his having been adopted by the Diné/Navajo as a young child before being adopted by Ollie in his teenaged years. Roy has had multiple mantles over the years, from Speedy, to Arsenal, to joining the Justice League of America as Red Arrow - but in every iteration is he the very image of a hero.
Reading list (with totally legal links) under the cut!
This reading list begins in the Golden Age and will take you through Pre-52 comics, and then end with the Green Arrow 80th Anniversary Super Spectacular! New 52 is left out because that is not Roy Harper, and Rebirth and more current comics are being left out for a lot of reasons that I won't list here.
If multiple issues are listed for one run at a time, only the first issue will be linked, the assumption is that you will be able to navigate to the following issues from there.
Golden Age:
More Fun Comics #78, 81-82, 89, 91-92
World's Finest Comics #7, 57, 70
Adventure Comics #121, 133, 137, 151, 155, 164, 166, 179, 184, 189, 196
Silver Age and Beyond:
Adventure Comics #233
World's Finest Comics #88
Adventure Comics #246, 256, 260-263
Teen Titans Vol 1 #4, 11, 19-43
The next story on this list is "Snowbirds Don't Fly" - it is HEAVILY RECOMMENDED to read the above stories BEFORE reading Snowbirds as they should be considered required context for the storyline as they are the context the story is building from. Don't be a Judd Winick- do your reading kids.
Green Lantern Vol 2 #85-86
Action Comics #436
Teen Titans Vol 1 #44-52
Green Lantern Vol 2 #100
Teen Titans Vol 1 #53
World's Finest Vol 1 #251
Best of DC #18
New Teen Titans Vol 1 #27, 29-32
Tales of the Teen Titans #50
New Teen Titans Vol 2 #19-21
Action Comics Vol 1 #613-618, 627-634, 636-640
Secret Origins Vol 2 #38
New Titans Vol 1 #60-69, 97
Green Arrow Vol 2 #75
New Titans Vol 1 #99-114
Showcase '94 #7
New Titans Vol 1 #0, 115-130, Annual #11
Green Arrow Vol 2 #97-101 * these issues should be read with the understanding that the writer, Chuck Dixon, is a vocal hater of Oliver Queen and did his best to ruin the character's image before and during the character's death as soon as he took over the run
Showcase '95 #8
Batman + Arsenal #1
JLA/Titans Vol 1 #1-3
Arsenal #1-4
The Titans Vol 1 #1-50 Annual #1
Green Arrow Vol 3 #1-15*, 16-21 - *(most Roy centered issues are 1, 5-6, and 8-9)
Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1-3
Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files/Origins Vol 1 (2003)
Outsiders Vol 3 #1-33
Green Arrow Vol 3 #32, 44-50
DC Special Return of Donna Troy #1-4
Outsiders Vol 3 #44-46, Annual #1
Justice League of America Vol 2 #1-31
Titans Vol 2 #1-14, 17-19
Justice League: Cry for Justice