Arrow
DC Digital: best-kept secret or worst-covered gem?
Panel from “Adventures of Superman” #1 by artist Chris Samnee and writer Jeff Parker
It’s always a great feeling when you find good comics in a place you weren’t suspecting. But as a reader, fan and journalist, I was surprised at how good the DC Comics digital titles are. But why? DC has put out great books, and continues to do so now with some of its New 52 line-up; I was also a big fan of the publisher’s previous digital-first endeavors with Zuda. Why then is it so surprising that the current crop of DC Digital is good? Then I figured it out.
First, a primer: Launched in early 2012, the DC Digital titles premiere online with weekly installments and are later collected in print. Originally consisting of just two series, Batman Beyond Unlimited and Smallville: Season 11 (both coincidentally continuations of canceled television shows), the line expanded in the fall with the anthology-style Legends of the Dark Knight, companions to the TV drama Arrow and the video game Injustice: Gods Amongst Us, and Batman: Li’l Gotham. The imprint’s most recent addition is an anthology called Adventures of Superman.
DC Comics declares Oct. 10 ‘Arrow Day’
DC Comics has declared Wednesday, Oct. 10 as “Arrow Day” to celebrate the premiere of the Arrow television series on The CW.
What’s Arrow Day, you ask? Well, when fans visit direct-market stores on Oct. 10, they’ll receive a free Arrow #1 Special Edition custom comic — it’s characterized as “the perfect companion for the show’s premiere that night” — as well as a six-page preview of Green Arrow #0, which was released earlier this month. The publisher is also providing retailers with promotional posters and bags for the TV series.
Readers will also be able to download the first chapter of the new Arrow digital comic series written by the show’s executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, with art by Mike Grell.
Developed by Guggenheim, Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti, Arrow centers on wealthy young bad boy Oliver Queen, who after being marooned on a remote island for five years returns to Starling City with a mastery of the bow and a determination to make a difference.
The series stars Stephen Amell (Hung) as Oliver Queen, Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn, Katie Cassidy (Supernatural, Melrose Place) as Laurel Lance, David Ramsey (Dexter) as John Diggle, Willa Holland (The O.C.) as Thea Queen, Susanna Thompson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Moira Queen and Paul Blackthorne (24) as Detective Quentin Lance.
Arrow premieres Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
Grumpy Old Fan | DC’s December is getting closer all the time
Not the face!
Here in Memphis this week, September finally turned the corner into fall. High temperatures are mostly in the 70s, the air is getting crisper, and the sky is turning a paler blue. Unlike July or August, when October and November seem far in the future, a nice September makes December that much easier to imagine.
In September you start to settle into the routine which will take you through the winter — and that’s apparently true as well for the New 52 superhero books. Let’s get on with it, shall we?
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Ivan Reis and Joe Prado head to Justice League with December’s Issue 15, and I for one am happy. Although I like Jim Lee fine, I think Reis is better-suited to big, multiple-character action. It’s hard for me to explain the distinction, so consider this: How would “Sinestro Corps” or Blackest Night have looked if Lee had drawn them? Reis manages crowds quite well, and Justice League should be crowded.
Also, while I’ve been rather down on Justice League of late, the expanded roster (teased over a year ago) and the Atlantis-centered storyline make me optimistic that the book is … well, doing what I’d like it to do, which is being a showcase for, and gateway to, the larger superhero universe. So, well done, solicitation!