Arrow #1 Special Edition - A Review

Is this a Mike Grell cover I see before me? It is!

Sadly, Mike Grell didn't have a hand in writing this book or drawing the interior. But Mike Grell artwork is always a welcome thing and it's a darn good sign that the people responsible for this book - and the show - know their roots and are paying homage to the man they call "legendary" in the end of this book, when we see the untouched pencils for the cover.



The plot is fairly standard stuff. Half the issue depicts Oliver Queen being a rich scumbag who makes life miserable for the traffic cop who pulled him over. The other half, set six years later, shows Arrow going after a corrupt businessman. We don't get a lot of insight into who Oliver Queen is in the here and now but the book does hook the reader and leave them wanting to read/watch more to find out how the man we see in the first part becomes the man we see in the second.

The artwork by Omar Francia is serviceable, though heavily over-inked. This is most obvious in the scenes where characters are talking to one another and their faces are half-obscured by the shadows. Actually, given how odd most of the character expressions are in this book, it may be a blessing that half their faces are hidden.. This is all less of a problem in the action-scenes, which are well-done though all too brief, even considering the shortness of this comic.

I don't know if we'll be getting a regular monthly series of this if the Arrow series is successful. What I do know is that I enjoyed this more than any other Green Arrow comic I've read in the past year. If they do continue this, I do hope it has a different artist.

Maybe Mike Grell is free?

This comic is available for free download at DC Comics website.