Arrow Comic Series #1 Review


Filling in the Blanks.
Upon discovering the Arrow comic series I was extremely excited to discover that it linked to the TV show and in particular claimed to fill in the gaps between episodes. Having read the first issue and it's three storyline ('Time's Arrow', 'Prey' and 'China White'), I realise that the connections aren't as direct as I expected them to be, but they are still enjoyable nonetheless.
'Time's Arrow' is the most forgettable of the three. It is essentially a direct scene-for-scene rip off from the second episode of season one, 'Honor Thy Father', with Oliver speaking to his father's grave about having to dishonour his memory. It was a nice introduction to Arrow in graphic novel format however so I enjoyed it despite nothing new being introduced.
'Prey' stepped up the ante, introducing a target on Oliver's List called Scott Morgan and chronicling his face off against the Hood as he begins systematically targeting Starling City's elite. It's fun to watch Oliver take down dirt bags in comic format and the links to Malcolm Merlyn and Moira at the end were nice connections into the wider Arrow story line of season one.
The final story was the origins of China White in a story-line which shared a name with the titular character. Having previously attacked the character of China White in my review articles, I must admit I much prefer seeing the villain in comic appearance rather than being played by Kelly Hu. Her origin is actually quite tragic and although I wasn't a big fan of the idea that her hair was turned slightly white out of fear when her parents were killed, but China stabbing a classmate in the hand was beautifully brutal. Also I liked learning that the leader of the Triad, Zhishan, took her in and trained her, turning her into the killing machine she is now.
Overall, these three different stories are a fun introduction into the Arrow comic series, but I hope the future issues explore the world in more depth moving forwards.

 STARRING: Scott Morgan, China White

 RATING: 7.7/10

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