Arrow #36 (Web Comic) - A Review

Arrow #36 brings last week's story to a suitable conclusion.  At the same time, it sets the stage for Season 2 of the Arrow TV show.  The cliffhanger from the last issue is resolved yet we find that while Oliver's focus as The Hood may have changed somewhat there is still a great deal of anger in him and there is still something of a vigilante inside of him rather than a full-fledged hero.


Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim offers a number of great character moments throughout the script.  My favorite scene involves Oliver coming to an odd sort of peace with Detective Lance, who admits that Laurel was right about Oliver and Tommy both changing for the better.  There's also some good moments between Oliver and John Diggle and Laurel and Oliver.


Sadly, the artwork fails to live up to the story.  As before, Allan Jefferson's pencils are decent enough in the close-up panels - indeed, he draws some very effective caricatures of the show's cast - but falter in the mid-range and background.  Fine details - such as Ollie's scruffy beard-growth - are completely lost in some panels.  The weak inks of Jonas Trindade barely separate the characters from the background and offer no further definition than that.  Still, this issue is well-worth the 99 cent download in spite of the artwork.

Arrow #35 (Web Comic) - A Review

Written by Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim himself, Sacrifices (Part 1 of 2) offers Arrow fans their first glimpse at just how things may be changing for the series in the wake of the earthquake that tore apart The Glades.  Cutting between the events of the Series Finale and a flash-forward to two weeks later, most of the issue is split between Oliver Queen fighting a gang of criminals in The Glades without his usual costume and Oliver's desperate race to save Laurel Lance from a collapsing building.


Guggenheim's script, as per usual, is brilliant.  The action of  the issue is presented well and we get a sense of the destruction of the city that the show's budget could never convey on-screen.  He even addresses one of the few problems I had with the final episode - how Ollie seemed to have a remarkably easy time driving to The Glades.  It turns out he didn't.  I shan't spoil this story's cliffhanger except to say that Ollie will once again be tested as to whether he wants to be a vigilante or a hero.

Would that the art matched Guggenheim's script in quality.  Allan Jefferson's pencils are decent enough and his characters look good in the close-ups and middle ground.  In fact, there's a sight-gag for long time Arrow-heads as we see a figure who looks suspiciously like the classic comics Oliver Queen in one panel.  However, Jefferson still has a problem with detailing his backgrounds.  Inker Jonas Trindade doesn't help matters with inks so light at points they barely seem to be there at all.  There are several panels where the only inking seems to be an outline around the characters that (barely) separates them from the backgrounds.


Despite this, I'd still recommend Arrow #35.  The story comes through in spite of the awkward artwork.  Arrow-heads jonesing for a fix won't want to miss this issue or the stirring conclusion next week.  Next Wednesday can't come fast enough!

Arrow #32 (Web Comic) - A Review

From the Darkness promises us "the secret origin of The Dark Archer".  While we do get the details of how Malcolm Merlyn became trained as a world-class warrior after his wife's death, there's not much that is "secret" about it.  The only new piece of information is the revelation that Malcolm patrolled the streets as a vigilante hero during Tommy's formative years, in the same way Oliver Queen does today.



The script by Wendy Mericle and Ben Sokolwski proves engaging but it leaves us with more questions than answers.  One wonders why, if Malcolm Merlyn was striking down drug-dealers and pimps in The Glades on a regular basis several years ago, we've heard nothing about this on the show before.  You'd think Detective Lance would remember there being a similar vigilante sometime earlier unless gang-members turning up dead with arrows in their back is a common occurrence in Starling City.  Or did every single murder The Dark Archer committed in the name of cleaning up the city go unreported?  Granting that the criminal underclass of The Glades aren't exactly likely to call the cops, you'd think someone would have reported a dead body with an arrow in it at some point.


The artwork by Allan Jefferson is unbalanced.  Jefferson does a fair enough job of capturing John Barrowman and Colin Donnell's likenesses but - as in previous outings on this series - his mid-range and background characters lack definition.  Jonas Trindade's inking does help matters somewhat but there's only so much a good inker can do. 

Arrow #26 (Web Comic) - A Review

The blurb on Comixology for Arrow #26 asks "So what happened between Tommy and Laurel during the five years that Oliver was presumed dead?"  Well, the answer is nothing shocking.  He bummed off his rich father.  She got her law degree.  And the two of them had a lot of sex, all while insisting that each time would be the last time ever.


The script by Tiffany Williams and Mary Iacono offers no broadening of the characters and no new information.  There's nothing of value here, save to an obsessive fan seeking to build a perfect Arrow timeline that tells us precisely when Laurel earned her law degree.  The artwork by Allan Jefferson and Le Beau Underwood is equally shapeless and undefined.


Arrow #26 is an ultimately unnecessary story that does nothing to advance the larger story of the show and tells us nothing about its' characters that we didn't already know.  If I were to sum it up in one word, I would choose "skippable".  Spend your $1.00 on another web comic.

Arrow #19 (Web Comic) - A Review

Arrow #19 tells a tale that was hinted at in last week's episode but has yet to be expanded upon.  The story focuses upon ASIS agent Slade Wilson and his partner Billy.  Sent to Lian Yu (a.k.a. The Island) to retrieve Yao Fei, the two are shot down and captured by Eddie Fyers and his men.  Tortured for the better part of a year, Slade is finally able to escape the camp with Yao Fei after Billy turns traitor and signs on with Fyers.


The script by series writers Lana Cho and Ben Sokolowski is fast-paced and informative, though we still know nothing of Slade's motivations in seeking out Yao Fei in the first place.  The only real new information we glean from this story is the name of Slade's partner - Billy Wintergreen.  This is an interesting nod to the original comics, where William Wintergreen is Slade Wilson's most loyal companion.
 

Sadly, the artwork by Allan Jefferson and Le Beau Underwood doesn't match the script in quality.  Jefferson's pencils are uneven, with characters losing detail in the middle and far distance.  Underwood's inking is similarly eratic, with some panels featuring objects that are barely outlined, with no detail on the interiors.  Despite that, this issue should be of interest to Deathstroke fans interested in learning more about an alternate-universe take on the character.