Arrow: Season 2.5 - Volumes 1 & 2 - Review

If you’re looking for a little extra Arrow over the holidays, you might enjoy catching up on what happened during the last hiatus. As the title would suggest, Season 2.5 fills in some of the blanks between Season 2 and 3. One of the things that I really like about the comics is that they are scripted by show co-runner and executive producer Marc Guggenheim. Volume 1: Blood Descent is written just by Guggenheim, and Volume 2: Blood Ascension is scripted by Guggenheim and Keto Shimizu (who also writes for the show). Volume 2 also contains a bonus Suicide Squad story scripted by Guggenheim and Shimizu. Pencils in both Volumes of the Arrow storyline are by Joe Bennett. Inks are by Jack Jadson (Vol 1) and Craig Yeung (both Volumes), color by Jim Charalampidis, and letters by Deron Bennett.

The art is quite good, though the characters aren’t a perfect photographic likeness of the actors. If you are familiar with mainstream superhero comics, you’ll feel right at home in these pages. There’s lots of “SHUK” and “CHOOM” sound effects as well as extreme angle close ups of various body parts. However, the panels are all nicely rendered and detailed and the color palette nicely reflects the dark tones of the show itself.

Volume one starts with a page devoted to our familiar voice over. Due to the space restrictions in comics – only so many panels/pages, the voice over only appears at the beginning of the first issue. We then get a flashback to 6 years ago as Caleb Green witnesses the murder suicide of his parents. William is distraught because someone has taken everything from them, leaving them with nothing. Who that is or what exactly was taken remains a mystery. These panels are done in a slightly different tone – not quite sepia – but they still do a nice job of conveying a different time.

We then jump right into the thick of the action. Roy and Oliver are in the field after a drug plane and Diggle and Felicity are helping from the foundry. One of the benefits to the comics is a “bigger budget”! So Oliver and Roy find themselves on top of a plane – in flight – and blast their way in. A major fight ensues, and Oliver uses a new trick arrow that Felicity wants to call the “new boxing glove arrow” – which Oliver promptly tells her to never call it again. It’s cool and practical, but not as cool as the real boxing glove arrow we saw on the show!

Felicity has come up with an autopilot device to fly the plane – though Felicity wonders why he doesn’t just land it himself, as we all know from the last episode of season two that Oliver can fly a plane. The fight is still raging in the plane, however. Roy is shot and falls out of the plane – and of course, Oliver jumps out after him and deploys his parachute arrow! He really must have the biggest quiver ever…

Diggle suggests taking Roy to the hospital but Oliver brings him to the foundry – it was closer and insists they can save him themselves. In saving Roy, Oliver has dislocated his shoulder, so he’s in a sling for the next few issues. There’s a terrific Olicity scene in which Felicity insists they need to find a proper place for Oliver to live as he shouldn’t be sleeping on the floor in this “cave.” The scene ends with Felicity muttering “sometimes I don’t know why I talk.” Just like the show, the comic incorporates a little humor.

We see that Caleb from the flashback has become a homeless drunk, but he’s invited to join a new church that is headed by Brother Blood! We only see the skull mask in this first issue.

There is also a scene with Laurel at Quentin’s hospital bed. He’s currently stable and in a medically induced coma. There’s no mention of exactly what’s wrong with him, but the doctor is also worried about Laurel who hasn’t left his side. She orders Laurel to get some rest. Laurel tries to call Sara and is once again assuming it’s all her fault.

The second volume isn’t quite as action packed as the first. We do see Diggle visit Lodai who is their connection for technology. And we get to see the origins of Roy’s suit! Diggle orders it from Lodai – Kevlar-lined just like the last one!

While Diggle is away, Oliver has to go out and save a woman from a madman on a roof – even though his one arm is in a sling. There’s a really nice panel with sort of ghost images to help convey the motion of Oliver’s entrance. The madman mentions Brother Blood which pretty much freaks Oliver out a bit. We then see that contrary to the madman’s assertions, Brother Blood is not immortal – he’s no longer Sebastian Blood but is now Clinton Hogue.

A flashback to two months earlier, and we see that Hogue is the guy Diggle and Felicity interrogated. We also see him witness Blood’s death at Isobel’s hands. He then picks up the fallen skull and takes over for his fallen mentor. In the present we see that he’s had likenesses of Diggle and Felicity drawn up – no doubt he is going to put his followers on to punishing them. Interestingly, the sketches of Diggle and Felicity are actually better likenesses than the comic characters themselves!

So far, it’s a fun story with good ties to both season two and three. The comic also helps to expand the Arrow universe a little. I’m waiting to see Lodai on the show for instance! It was nice to see the origin of Roy’s suit and the reason for the fern appearing. I’m looking forward to getting a better explanation of Quentin’s condition too!

The Suicide Squad story “Crisis in Kahndaq” is only 2 pages – to be continued in volume 3 and on. The art is by Szymon Kudranski, color by Jim Charlampidis and letters by Deron Bennett. I didn’t like the art quite as well in this story. The color palette is much brighter and warmer – in keeping with the largely African setting. However, the figures and backgrounds aren’t nearly as detailed. The story focuses on a crisis in Africa that the President himself tasks Amanda Waller with diffusing. It looks like she’ll be deploying Deadshot and Bronze Tiger at the very least.

The comics do a good job of expanding on some of the things I’ve been wondering about in Season 3, so I’m curious to see if we’ll get more little tidbits. Have you read Season 2.5 yet? Let me know your thoughts! In my next review, I’ll talk about Volume 3 “Blood Outnumbered” as well as the next Suicide Squad parts. I’ll also talk a little bit about some of the other Arrow comics – have your read any of them? Let me know your favorites in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.