Hidden Gems: Jack Kirby's Green Arrow

This volume is a bit too slim to review as a Trade Paperback, so I thought it fit in best as a Hidden Gem. Back in 2001, DC put out this inexpensive ($5.95) collection of Jack Kirby's little seen work 8 Green Arrow stories that originally appeared as back-ups in Adventure Comics and World's Finest in the late 50s. It features a terrific Mark Evanier penned introduction in which we learn that even the King himself had a tough time finding enough work to keep himself busy. This stuff is about as far from The Longbow Hunters as you can get, but it's a lot of fun as you get to see Green Arrows from around the world (as well as from another world), a mechanical octopus and an one of those islands populated by out of touch Japanese soldiers. I actually received my copy of this book from one-time Green Arrow artist Alex Saviuk, who was kind enough to slip it in with a package of artwork I'd purchased from him. If you like Kirby's work on those early Challengers of the Unknown stories, you will likely enjoy this book. It's also a much more affordable way of reading them than tracking down those original issues.