Fans get ready to take aim as DC Entertainment prepares to release a brand new digital first series, Arrow: The Dark Archer.
Based on the hit CW series, Arrow, this new digital first series will give us the origin story of the Dark Archer himself, Malcolm Merlyn.
Taking on writing duties on this project alongside his sister Carole Barrowman (Hollow Earth)Â is the man who brought Malcolm Merlyn to life on the small screen, John Barrowman. Â Check out the synopsis below.
As Malcolm Merlyn settles into his new role as Ra’s Al Ghul—the leader of The League of Assassins, the sins of his past have come back to haunt him. ARROW: THE DARK ARCHER is set between the third and fourth seasons of the TV series, and also reveals what Malcolm was up to before he became the Dark Archer, the nemesis to Oliver Queen early in the series.
TVInsider.com managed to score an interview with John and Carole Barrowman. Â Check out some highlights below.
TV Insider: Â How did you get involved with this project?
John Barrowman: Arrow: The Dark Archer began with a pitch for an entirely different comic. My sister and I are both comic fans and a couple of years ago we came across a description of a team of DC superheroes from the 1950s that have been lost to history. We came up with a story to update them into a contemporary series. I went to Geoff Johns, chief creative officer at DC Comics, and pitched the idea to his team. While we were chatting, I mentioned Carole and I would love to write Malcolm’s backstory too. Geoff knew Carole and I had written a number of things together…
Carole Barrowman: Six books, a couple of screenplays, but who’s counting?
John Barrowman: Obviously you are.
Carole Barrowman: Oh, shut up.
John Barrowman: After we got the go ahead from Geoff, we researched what had already been written about Malcolm Merlyn.
Carole Barrowman: And there wasn’t very much. We discovered he didn’t have much of a backstory except for a couple of intriguing details. Like the fact that…
John Barrowman: Don’t say it!
Carole Barrowman: Let’s just say that Malcolm has had at least one other identity and his slightly vague and sinister past gave us lots of creative room to play around in.
John Barrowman: Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, Arrow’s executive producers, got involved at that point to make sure our ideas would work within the series’ canon. We’ve kept it all in the family.
Carole Barrowman: Actually, the real truth is that we wanted to be DC writers so badly that John begged and begged and whined and whined until Geoff, Marc and Andrew broke down and said yes.
John Barrowman: I also now carry all their coffees when they’re on set…
Read the rest of this great interview HERE.
Arrow: The Dark Archer will consist of twelve chapters released bi-weekly starting Wednesday, Jan. 13 (available via the DC Comics App, readdcentertainment.com, iBooks, comixology.com, Google Play, Kindle Store, Nook Store, and iVerse ComicsPlus).  The entire story will later be collected in single print edition.
