The King is Dead.
Long Live the King!
Written By: John Barrowman
and Carol E. Barrowman
Art By: Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, Kyle
Ritter
Letters By: The Unknown
Letterer
Digital Price: $0.99
Release Date: January 27, 2016
*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*
Okay, Arrow fans, are you ready for the next
installment of Malcolm Merlyn’s secret origin? No, not that secret origin we learned about on the show, where he left
Starling City to train with the League of Assassins after his wife’s murder.
This is a whole new secret origin that predates his other secret origin! It’s
so secret, it involves Malcolm’s real name. Oh, you didn’t think the guy’s real
name was Malcolm fucking Merlyn, did you? Might as well have called himself
Johnny Mysterioso for crap’s sake. Last chapter we set the stage, this chapter
we start getting into the nitty gritty. So let’s get into it! Read on!
Explain It!:
I feel I should begin this review with a disclaimer: Arrow: The Dark Archer Chapter #2 and the entire series should be
read only by fans of the CW television show Arrow.
Indeed, you should be somewhat of a regular viewer, and should have definitely
seen season three before reading this comic. If you do not watch Arrow, then this digital comic will mean
very little to you, since it doesn’t even feature the Green Arrow, from the
television show or otherwise, and deals primarily in concepts laid out in the
program. Okay? This isn’t a comic book that just anyone can enjoy, it’s not a
good entry point into the series, it should be consumed only by people that
watch Arrow. And if you’re not
watching Arrow, what the fuck is
wrong with you?
Last issue we saw Malcolm Merlyn held captive by a Shadowy Figure in the
Sea of Souls, which is actually a weird altar cave that is slowly filling with
water. Shadowy Figure again demands that Malcolm reveal his real name, get some
stuff off his chest before he drowns to death, and so Malcolm does: his real
name is Arthur King. DC fans may have caught themselves in a stifled gasp at
that bit of information, because that’s the real name of Justice League nemesis
Merlyn as shown in Justice League #94 in November of 1971! We won’t be
exploring that right now, though—instead we jump to Malcolm’s fortress in Corto
Maltese from earlier in the day, when he got a bunch of weird packages
delivered and then was besieged by like a zillion arrows. He rushes inside his
laboratory compound with his personal assistant Rainie and the old dude he
almost ran over with his motorcycle in order to regroup and reassess. Of course
Rainie has to keep asking question because girls are soo annoying. And Malcolm tells her as little as possible because
boys are such assholes. Especially
Malcolm Merlyn.
Outside, the woman that I think is Nyssa’s mother and her son Sarcon are
strolling around in hooded robes acting like their shit don’t stink and
preparing an assault on Malcolm’s stronghold with the help of a bunch of
ninjas. Inside, Merlyn takes some time to open his mail and unwraps a box with
a severed pinky in it. The pinky has a ring, which Malcolm recognizes as being
from the Lost Tribe of Ashkiri, legendary folks that settled the region before
the Conquistadores showed up. Nyssa’s mom and half-brother turn the alarms on
to rattle the people inside, and ruminate on the dead Llama outside that was
killed during the first wave of attacks. Nyssa’s mama tells no one specifically
to skin the llama and bring her its heart, which is a funny way of honoring the
dead. I guess if someone dies and you don’t think it’s regrettable, you poop in
their casket.
While Malcolm Merlyn suits up in an outfit that looks suspiciously
similar Oliver Queen’s Green Arrow costume (except in black) and prepares for
war. While he puts on his gajillion pieces of leather armor and accessories,
Malcolm tells Rainie that the people attacking are members of the Hidden, a
mythical sect created during the Crusades to protect the sacred and the dead.
Well, myth begone because they’re definitely cutting through the front door
with an acetylene torch. Just before the conflict starts, Malcolm tells Rainie
he was once a member of the Hidden, then ninjas bust in and it’s all flying
kicks and bullets everywhere. The old dude that Malcolm almost ran over opens a
secret passage in the rock wall, and the two of them escape in the heat of
battle!
This was a pretty exciting book, despite the fact that it took place in
one room for the most part. The artwork is really good in this chapter, and it
seems like the plotting has improved as well. As far as intrigue, well this
book’s got it in spades—IF you have been watching Arrow, that is. While some books hold your hand a little so
everyone is (literally) on the same page, this one does not. So what I’m saying
is that you should watch Arrow, it’s
great. And then read this comic book.
Bits and Pieces:
This chapter
really threw out some wild concepts, and tied Arrow’s Malcolm Merlyn to the DC Comics universe in a satisfying
way, at least to this old codger. It was well-paced, nicely written, and I do
think the art in this chapter was slightly better than the last one…or maybe I
just grew more accustomed to it. Regardless, there’s lots of intrigue and
action in this chapter, so if you’re a fan of Arrow—and ONLY if you’re a fan of Arrow—you should definitely give it a look.
8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment