From its start, the Absolute Universe has pushed boundaries in allowing readers to rediscover classic DC characters through a modern lens. However, no character has been given quite as dark a redesign as Green Arrow, whose new Absolute title is a brutal six-issue critique of unrestrained greed.

In Absolute Green Arrow, Oliver Queen is dead and a mysterious masked vigilante is hunting corrupt billionaires. Executive protection specialist Dinah Lance is tasked with protecting the very people who may have killed Queen, her ex-boyfriend, all the while trying to uncover the identity of this frightening new serial killer. Absolute Green Arrow comes from award-winning horror writer (and former DC editor) Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian, Exquisite Corpses) and prolific artist Rafael Albuquerque (Superman Unlimited, American Vampire), who collectively channel popular anger into a frightening tale that shocks and blurs moral boundaries in a way rarely seen in superhero comics.

We recently had the opportunity to pick Pichetshote’s brain about the first issue of Absolute Green Arrow over a free-ranging discussion that touched on the series’ inspirations, its ripped-from-the-headlines narrative, the purpose of that terrifying new Green Arrow mask and much more.

I know you pitched a few different ideas to DC originally for the Absolute Universe. How did Absolute Green Arrow come to be?

My first instinct was, “Wouldn't it be interesting to see what things look like from the perspective of a villain in the Absolute Universe?” There was an idea to do an Absolute villains book, but then, as the world became what the world is, I realized I didn’t want to be writing a book about bad guys who get away with doing stuff. It felt like there was enough of that in the world. I actually wanted to write about the exact opposite of that. That led me down the path of Absolute Green Arrow in trying to figure out how to make Green Arrow for the modern day.

What are some of the similarities and differences between mainline Green Arrow and Dinah Lance and their Absolute counterparts?

The core is the same. Dinah Lance is a fighter. She is stubborn. She can sometimes leap before she looks and there is a strong theme of legacy to the character. I’d like to think the main difference is the world that she has been thrust into, because this is the Absolute world—it is a world that is darker. It’s a world where justice doesn't necessarily win in the end and that's forced her to become a different person than she is in the mainline universe. Original Dinah Lance lived in a world of heroes. She grew up believing you can fight and make a difference. This is not a world that has shown its Dinah that, and so she has grown up to be a harder character. She’s a character that is struggling with a lot more wounds because of it.

Just like the Green Arrow of the mainline universe, this Green Arrow is trying to affect change. The problem is, again, the world is different. The world is one where the institutions seem to be pushing against change. The question then becomes: What do you have to do to make change happen? How far do you have to go? How far is too far?

You can make the argument that this Green Arrow might be going a little too far. Having said that, he's of the opinion that the biggest criminals on this planet are the rich who feel no consequences for what they do. As a result, if you want to change anything, they have to feel consequences again—which means they need to be scared again. And that’s what he’s trying to do in the hope that maybe that will create the change he is looking for. In that sense, that’s classic Green Arrow. The real difference, in my eyes, is the world they are thrust into.

Absolute Green Arrow, while exploring injustices that mirror our own world, really asks the question, “Do the ends justify the means?” It reminds me a lot of the Vertigo title, V for Vendetta. Did that have any inspiration on the series? What other titles inspired this book?

Yes! V for Vendetta was a huge inspiration. James Tynion IV’s Joker series was a huge inspiration. A lot of Green Arrow stories. I think there is something pulled from all of my favorite Green Arrow stories from every significant run. DC also has a lot of great mysteries like Batman: The Long Halloween, Watchmen, Identity Crisis, Fables Vol. 1, Wild Dog, all of those have definitely had an impact on Absolute Green Arrow.

There is a scene where a certain billionaire villain gets some vengeance/justice served to him. I feel like any readers who have anger towards the societal issues of the world will get some closure through this comic.

With the themes that Absolute Green Arrow is about, there is certainly a lot of resonance to what's happening in the modern day and Green Arrow has always sort of been about that. The biggest difference is that generally in a Green Arrow book, there is some societal problem that they use a Green Arrow story to draw attention to. The idea was always, “Hey reader, here is something that's happening close to you, but probably isn't happening to you.”

I think the big shift for this book is we are talking about issues that are happening to all of us.

Both Oliver and Dinah work within the system, though they both are against it. Issue #1 explores Dinah’s struggle with working for the people that may have killed Oliver and threatened her father. What can you tease about her internal battle?

That internal battle is so much of what the book is about! At the end of the day, both Green Arrow and Black Canary, in their own ways, want to change the world. They always have. They have two very different perspectives on it.

In a lot of ways, this book is a conversation about the two different perspectives you can have on wanting to change the world. It’s just the language of the conversation is a lot of ultra-violence and dead bodies. You are going to see different sides of their argument and hopefully we can take that conversation in places you don't expect.

What went into redesigning Green Arrow’s look, skull mask and all?

It was such a team effort. Me and Rafael and Katie [Kubert], we all threw ideas into the mix. It was a really big conversation. What the Green Arrow design has, that I think is always good to have when designing something, is that the goal of the creators is the same as the goal of the character. The Green Arrow wants to terrify anyone who interacts with him. It doesn't matter if that part of the costume has no purpose as long as it’s scary because that's the purpose. That is what the Green Arrow wants to do. He wants to scare.

With prior incarnations of Green Arrow, you have to design things around the fighting utility of the costume. That’s not the case for this Green Arrow. His main purpose is to scare people into thinking there are consequences for their actions. The scariest costume possible fits his purposes. Our goal as the creators is the same as the goal of the character. It streamlines things. Honestly, most of it is just Rafael being a genius. He is just so good at what he does!

What has it been like working with Rafael Albuquerque and the rest of the team?

So good! I text Rafael every day. I wake up to texts from him, most of the time—he doesn't know this—I'm texting him from bed! But it's great. I’ve known [letterer] Jeff Powell. He edits all my books. Marcelo Maiolo is Rafael’s go-to colorist. Me and Rafael have known Katie forever. It’s a bunch of friends working together. It's a very close-knit group.

So, what can you tease for the rest of the series?

With every issue, the horror continues to ramp up, deeper and deeper!
 

Absolute Green Arrow #1 by Pornsak Pichetshote, Rafael Albuquerque and Marcelo Maiolo is now available in print and as a digital comic book.