Arrow Comic Series #9 Review


To Do What You Can't.
Issue nine of the Arrow comic series takes a step back from Oliver's crusade and instead shows us stories from different perspectives; 'The Pieces Missing' depicts Diggle trying to unearth what happened to Oliver on Lian Yu by meeting with Lyla; 'Lapse' fills in the backstory of how Laurel and Tommy's relationship began during Oliver's absence; and 'Lone Hunter' introduces an SCPD officer who chooses to go undercover in order to catch the vigilante.
'The Pieces Missing' is the most underwhelming story of the three, comprised mostly of flashbacks to important moments in Dig and Oliver's friendship so far. It is nice to see Lyla appear in the comics for the first time, but she reveals nothing that we didn't already know, leaving this story feeling a bit empty.
'Lapse' takes the filling-in-the-gaps approach that many past issues have done, this time focusing on Laurel and Tommy beginning their sexual relationship as they mourn the loss of Oliver and Sara. It is an emotional story and we can see the seeds being sown in their characters for what they would become in the TV show. I also like how it links directly to 'Pilot' as it shows their reactions to Oliver's reappearance.
Finally, 'Lone Hunter' is a simple plot in which a cop goes undercover to catch the vigilante, only to eventually accept that maybe the vigilante's form of justice is required, as it saved his life when gangsters threatened to kill him. A solid, unspectacular story with some good action sequences, the only problem with this chapter is that it is largely forgettable and thus won't live long in the memory.
Overall, #9 is an average addition to the Arrow series, taking different approaches to storytelling than we've seen before but ultimately straying just far enough from the TV show to feel detached.

 RATING: 7.5/10

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