Arrow (Vol. 1)

Author: Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg
Illustrator: Mike Grell
Release Date: September 24, 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Source: NetGalley
Genre(s): Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novel, Media Tie-In

Rating: ?????
Review Spoilers:  Medium
GoodReads | Amazon

Okay, so, I really like the CW’s Arrow. I think that they actually do a pretty fantastic job of adapting DC’s properties for television and I would love to see them do a bit of a Marvel Cinematic Universe style series of shows over there. With the casting of the recent casting of the Flash and talk about a spinoff series we might just get something like that in the near future. But, before that happens, I really need to catch up with Arrow. I’m such a bad fan. I am probably only like a third of the way through the first season. See? I don’t even remember where I am. I really need to check through episode descriptions on Wikipedia and see if I can figure it out.

When I saw the show’s tie in comic come up for review over on NetGalley I figured that would be a good way for me to sort of get back into the show. I’d read the comic and then when I had time I’d track down the series on DVD or something. Unfortunately, I think that you really need to have seen the show to really enjoy the stories in this book. I was hoping for something a bit more entry-level but apparently these comics were originally released digitally to fill in spaces between episodes and what not.

That totally makes sense now in retrospect.

All things considered, the stories aren’t that bad. Fans of the show will enjoy them, I’m sure. Heck, I haven’t really watched much of it and I enjoyed some of them. Like, even I could appreciate how cute one of the stories in the beginning was when http://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/anti-fungal/ Oliver as a young man before he was lost at sea used his father’s connections to threaten our daring detective’s career back when he was just a patrol office. Then, later, as his vigilante self he left the detective some bad guys with a little note that referenced back to that event in the vaguest way possible. He might not have understood but Oliver did. And the reader understands, too. It’s just cute.

The rest of the stories I didn’t really get into because I don’t think I’m that far into the show to really appreciate them. That said, you probably are so you should definitely check it out. The artwork is great and the story telling seems pretty seamless. Considering that one of the authors of this book is the co-creator of the Arrow show and has worked in comics before, you can rest easy knowing that at least this tie-in series is handled by people who know what they are doing.

Final Thoughts: —
Fans of the Arrow CW series will fall right into this comic book series and really appreciate the additional stories built out of the world they know from the show. Crafted by one of the show’s co-creators, the comic supplements the stories and characters from the show with new plotlines that only add to the fan’s ability to enjoy the show across media platforms. Fans who aren’t as caught up on the show might be a little lost but even they can appreciate some of the stories told in this volume. Still, it’s probably a better idea to check when the digital versions were released and then make sure you’ve watched that far before tackling this particular TPB release.