Adventure Comics vol 1 #116, by Don Cameron and George Papp

Green Arrow made his debut in 1941, in the same issue as comics' greatest hero, Aquaman, in a story by legendary editor Mort Weisinger and artist George Papp. Early era Green Arrow is notable for recycling various elements of the Batman mythos: a billionaire playboy and his youthful ward with no super-powers tool around the city in their Arrowcar (or sometimes their Arrowplane), and zoom out of the Arrow Cave whenever the commissioner lights the Arrow Signal.

What Green Arrow was missing that Batman stories had was elements of darkness and the grotesque. Green Arrow stories, most of which were around six pages, had no time to develop atmosphere or mystery, and mostly focused on the visual punch that came with trick arrows and other high tech gadgets. Green Arrow also mostly fought one-off, anonymous gangsters who usually employed sci-fi gadgets themselves, with very few recurring villains.

The major exception to this rule was Bull's Eye, a clown-themed, riddle-leaving villain with a target on his chest who did little to quell comparisons to Batman. Nevertheless, this story contains a real visual verve due to the art of Papp, who is able to get a lot of mileage out of Bull's Eye's target-shape motif. The story is a fun little caper that sees Green Arrow gleefully setting a trap for his foe.

Best of the rest: “The Green Arrow” (More Fun Comics #73), “The Silent City” (More Fun Comics #74), “The Secret of the Centuries” (More Fun Comics #76), “Doom Over Gayland” (More Fun Comics #77), “The Archer from the Zodiac” (Adventure Comics vol 1 #120), “Date With Diana” (Adventure Comics vol 1 #111), “Unhappy Birthday to You” (Adventure Comics vol 1 #137)