The New Reader vs. Showcase Presents The Green Arrow

Recently, while browsing the comic store, I saw something that I thought to be amazing.  A large, 500 page book for only $16.99!  This book was part of the Showcase Presents series released by DC Comics.  These books are collections of short comics, 5-10 pages each.  The reason they're so cheap, and one of the major complaints I've heard about them, is that they are entirely in black and white.  Something that a lot of readers have a problem with, purely because some characters are so dependent on their color (Green Arrow & Green Lantern for example).

Despite this, I picked it up anyway.  I wasn't going to pass up the chance to read stories from the 1950's and 1960's about my favorite hero.  Reading through, the biggest problem I had was that without coloring, it is often difficult to tell the difference between Green Arrow, and his trusty partner, Speedy.  Other than that, the book is wonderful, consisting of over 50 zany stories, including The Ape Archer and The Mystery of the Giant Arrows.  

Each story is filled with witty one liners, arrow based puns, and some interesting and useful arrows. One of the best parts of reading these classic stories is to see the cheesiness of each and every arrow. Seeing arrows such as the boomerang arrow, the bola arrow, the balloon arrow, and the rain arrow. 

Despite the flaw of being in black and white, I would recommend the showcase presents series to anyone who loves comics.  These stories show the origins of each of these characters, and each book is set up to show some of the defining comics of the age.