Absolute Green Arrow #1 Does Jeffrey Epstein And More (Spoilers)

Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: absolute, Absolute Green Arrow

Absolute Green Arrow #1 Does Jeffrey Epstein And More (Spoilers)

Absolute Green Arrow #1 does Jeffrey Epstein, CEOs, health insurance, Robinhood, capitalism and much, much more... (Spoilers)

Published Tue, 19 May 2026 17:44:10 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Article Summary

• Absolute Green Arrow #1 turns Oliver Queen into a horror-mystery legend targeting corrupt billionaires from beyond death.
• Jubal Slade emerges as Absolute Green Arrow’s Epstein-like villain, tied to, abuse allegations and murder.
• Dinah Lance leads the investigation through class warfare, healthcare rage and a brutal Absolute Universe conspiracy.
• Other archers deepen the suspect list as the killings escalate.

Tomorrow, expect a lot of the comic book internet to be complaining about Absolute Green Arrow #1 (the one that has just got 300,000 pre-orders and a second printing), saying the superhero comic books that do left-wing politics simply don't sell well and are destroying the industry. And even those who might in some circumstances consider that they have a point, will lose it when people are talking about Green Arrow, a comic book and a character that has for half a century done just those politics, modelled after Robin Hood, who stole from the rich to giove to the poor, as Oliver Queen has consistently gone up against the money and the power in the DC Universe… and then firing a boxing glove arrow at it.

But this is the Absolute Universe. We met Oliver Queen, the Absolutev Green Arrow, last year in Absolute Evil. With Oliver Quinn chatting to "Roy" about his plans to take down a certain someone.

While he was going after millionaire slum landlord Jubal Slade… a classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow slum landlord who only appeared in the iconic Green Arrow/Green Lantern #76, and reintroduced to the Absolute Universe, in Absolute Evil, alongside those other rich men.

Rather than targeting him for being a slum landlord, in the Absolute Universe, Oliver Queen targets him over his own personal island and the kids he brought there. Basically, Jubal Slade is the Absolute Universe version of Jeffrey Epstein. Some people thought I had gone over the top, reading into this, but put a pin-shaped arrow in that for now.

With Hector Hammond of the Absolute Green Lantern book talking to Jubal Slade about Oliver Queen. Who they both know, but it turns out it may have been more than just Billionaire's Club. Although as we saw, it was also that as well.

So we have a dead Absolute Green Arrow. But when it comes to Jubal Slade, it seems that death isn't stopping Green Arrow in the Absolute Universe. They did say it was a horror comic, after all… Pornsak Pichetshote said that you can feel Oliver Queen's presence in every panel of  Absolute Green Arrow, even if he's dead. And he wants to tell a mystery in real time, describing it as a Knives Out monthly, or "I Know What You Did Last Summer for Billionaires."… and now we have Absolute Green Arrow #1.

Jubal Slade and Oliver Queen worked together. They were co-founders of Greenarrows. And Jubal Slade is subject to allegations of sexual assault and trafficking minors to his own island. I would say that's very, very much Epstein, wouldn't you? And the personal connection is why Oliver Queen went for him, both when he was alive – and when he was dead. And then there's Dinah Lance.

She is not an Absolute Black Canary here, she is a bodyguard, competition fighter and former lover of Oliver Queen. And feeling the class struggle…

Especially in a country without universal healthcare. Let's call it Absolute America.

Absolute Green Arrow #1 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque

Malcolm Merlyn, created by Mike Friedrich, Neal Adams and Dick Dillin, also known as the Dark Archer, in the standard DC universe, is a bow-wielding assassin and nemesis to Green Arrow. The TV series Arrow introduced Malcolm Merlyn as a villain and his son, Tommy Merlyn, as Oliver Queen's best friend, later integrated into the comics. But this is the Absolute Universe. Reese Tyler is new, but he seems to be a parallel for Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare insurance, murdered by Luigi Mangione in New York. Or, at least the CEOs of other companies who suddenly upped their security as an answer, rather than anything else.

Because Dinah Lance knew Jubal Slade as well as Oliver Queen, they all lived together, as Ollie and Jubal were creating Greenarrows, which is also a rather on-the-nose parallel for Robinhood Markets,  founded in 2013 by Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt with a mission to "provide everyone with access to the financial markets, not just the wealthy", and which became famous during the GameStop shorting scandal. But Dinah and Ollie haven't been a thing for a long time.

Bad Ollie. But much, much worse, Jubal. And now Jubal is dead, viciously killed by a zombie Green Arrow. And there are more suspects. Such as that "Roy" Oliver Queen was talking to before he was murdered by a man with wings.

And it is indeed Roy Harper, classic DC Green Arrow sidekick, the first Speedy. We have Mia Durden, the second Speedy. And Tom Hallaway, The Spider, playboy-turned-archer superhero with a nasty streak and a villainous motivation, from the thirties… And that would track with some reaction online to the murder of Brian Thompson. But Hector Hammond is back, and the billionaire is going to be a billionaire if Dinah won't play along.

The power of money has no kryptonite, it seems. Except maybe a killer who can't be bought, can't be paid off, can't be reasoned with, or even killed… Absolute Green Arrow #1 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque is published tomorrow by DC Comics.

• ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #1 (OF 6)
  (W) Pornsak Pichetshote (A/CA) Rafael Albuquerque
  WITHOUT THE TRICK ARROWS…WITHOUT THE MONEY…WITHOUT MERCY…WHAT'S LEFT IS THE ABSOLUTE HUNTER! A serial killer is slaughtering corrupt billionaires. The only clue to his identity is the mysterious green arrows sticking out of his victims' corpses. Executive protection specialist Dinah Lance, a.k.a. Absolute Black Canary, is one of the people tasked to uncover this murderer's identity as she investigates her suspects…all familiar DC archers uniquely linked to a recently murdered Oliver Queen. I Know What You Did Last Summer for billionaires, Absolute Green Arrow reimagines the Emerald Archer's mythos into a dangerous, urban horror murder-mystery by Eisner winners Pornsak Pichetshote (Dead Boy Detectives, Infidel) and Rafael Albuquerque (Detective Comics, American Vampire).
  $4.99 5/20/2026
• ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #2 (OF 6) 
  (W) Pornsak Pichetshote (A/CA) Rafael Albuquerque
  NEW ARCHERS! AND NEW MURDERS! Is the Green Arrow Killer merely a psychopath or something more? Is he a monster Absolute Black Canary should be fighting against–or with? Still reeling from the disturbing discoveries of last issue's final pages, Dinah investigates one suspect on her list of DC archers–Mia Dearden–and stumbles on a secret from Oliver Queen's past that will change everything. $4.99 6/17/2026
• ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #3 (OF 6)
  (W) Pornsak Pichetshote (A/CA) Rafael Albuquerque
  DINAH ON THE TRAIL OF THE GREEN ARROW KILLER! After the horrifying events of last issue, Dinah must capture the Green Arrow Killer as she finally finds Oliver Queen's protege Roy Harper. But as the killer's attacks intensify and Dinah discovers the unsettling effect they're having on Star City, Harper's trail takes her on a journey darker and more twisted than she ever imagined.
  $4.99 7/15/2026

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