Don't let the cover of the issue fool you. Yes, with the betrayal of Emiko to the Ninth Circle and their excessively creepy human trafficking operation that Black Canary is poised to take a shot at, it does set up a high stakes confrontation soon to be had between Oliver Queen and Shado, one that has the entire story arc with the Ninth Circle hanging in the balance.

But the real fun of this one for me personally is John Diggle catching up to Oliver face to face.

I'll admit, since this is my first foray into Green Arrow comics, I really don't have much of a frame of reference here other than the TV show, and usually that would be a problem except in this case where loosely similar to Harley Quinn with Batman, Diggle is a character created for the Arrow TV show on CW that has now been made comic canon since his appearance in an issue of Green Arrow in December 2013. So to see him here in this story arc really wasn't a surprise to me, but I also don't know what happened between him and Oliver that set them apart for a time.

Yes, David Ramsey's delivery is in my head when I read Diggle's lines especially in this issue as he finally meets up with Oliver after his own pursuits elsewhere, but this John Diggle is a different, more assertive version than his TV counterpart and also isn't so refined in terms of his personality or how he treats Oliver. It's very much a buddy cop type of scenario where Diggle is the "Hawk" to Oliver's "Spencer." I know, I'm dating myself with that Spencer for Hire reference (really old, like 80's detective show on ABC).

Ultimately this arc is about the Green Arrow's quest against the Ninth Circle who is using Oliver Queen's fortune to fund some most nefarious exploits including a massive human trafficking ring in Seattle. After spending almost a whole issue without any focus on Dinah Laurel Lance, the Black Canary is front and center for this issue getting caught in the crosshairs of the Ninth Circle's efforts and their connection to Shado and Emiko.

I've enjoyed this series from the beginning and I still think it's one of the better DC Rebirth series going right now. Benjamin Percy continues to give me a Green Arrow story filled with characters, plot lines and dialogue that I wish I could see in live action on the CW, but it's still great to have it here in this book which blends timely humor and a few lighter moments with the ultimate seriousness of what is going on with Oliver's battle against the Ninth Circle.

5 out of 5 - DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH - Green Arrow #4

This series runs twice a month, next issue due out August 17.