Arrow Comic Series #6 Review


Can't Win 'Em All.
Issue six of the Arrow comic series is made up of 'Sins of the Father', 'Two Minute Warning' and 'Keep 'Em Coming'; 'Sins of the Father' sees Oliver learn the hard way that trust can be misplaced as he dismantles a criminal operation; 'Two Minute Warning' sees the Hood race against time to save a football stadium from destruction; and 'Keep 'Em Coming' further fleshes out the relationship between Laurel and Quentin and we witness the beginnings of the latter's alcoholism.
'Sins of the Father' is the weakest link in this issue. In this story, Oliver turns soft on a criminal after he feeds him a tragic backstory, which turns out to be false and he betrays the Hood. The plot is thin and very short, and the betrayal seemed obvious to me as a reader. It was still good to see Oliver spare the boy's life - further evidence that he is changing as a character across the season.
The second story, 'Two Minute Warning', is a fun time trial as the Hood disrupts the slightly-too-over-the-top-and-ridiculous plans of a former football player. The fact that the bombs were linked to his pacemaker was cheesy and a bit too stupid for my liking. Still, the story is fast-paced and fun and once again emphasised how Oliver is getting better at balancing his double life.
Finally, 'Keep 'Em Coming' is an emotionally charged story about how Quentin threw himself into policing after Dinah left, thus becoming closed off to Laurel. Quentin is tasked with hunting down the Night-Stalker, who has no lines in the comic and serves as a generic evil force that the depressed police officer feels obliged to put an end too. Moving and rewarding, this story is the best of the issue and one of the best of the series for sure.
Overall, Arrow #6 is a step up on issue five, with two great stories and one average one. The quality remains high and these three stories have better links as a whole to the TV show which is running concurrently.

 STARRING: The Night-Stalker

 RATING: 7.8/10

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