By Will Barber – Taylor

After being marooned for five years on a remote Pacific island, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen returns home determined to fight crime and corruption as a vigilante. But amidst the scheming of his family, the hidden agendas of his friends and the secrets of his own past, nothing is quite as it seems. Just who are the heroes and villains of Starling City?

This book is a comprehensive guide to the characters of Arrow, the hit Warner Bros. TV show. It examines their alter egos, personal histories and key relationships. Covering established figures from the comics through to new additions this is essential reading for any Arrow fan who wants to go deeper into this rich, dark world.

Arrow is one of Warner Bros. most successful TV series in recent years. Starting in 2012, the series has grown in the opinion of reviewers and audiences alike. Heroes and Villains covers the first two series of the DC Comics series and instead of giving a basic overview of the series, gives an overview of every major character detailing their background from before the series starts and throughout its first two series.

The book is lavishly detailed with a beautiful selection of pictures featured throughout; the shots of Queen in his costume as Arrow and Slade Wilson as particularly well portrayed and help illustrate each piece about the respective characters.

The written pieces which inform us about the characters development throughout the series are well written. While not specifying what happens in every episode, they do detail all the important events that occur which affects each profiled character. With the amount of detail that has been put into the book, it is clear that Nick Aires knows the show and how it works. The expert quality of the book is added to by the fact that throughout the book exerts from interviews with the cast and crew are given to add further depth to the book.

The only slight problem with the book is that the section that divides the Heroes from the Villains isn’t labelled well and it is easy to flick from the Hero section into the Villain section without noticing it. A minor niggle but not something that detracts from the books overall excellence.

Overall, Arrow: Heroes and Villains is a highly detailed and a resoundingly good read which delves deep into the myths of the show and is a perfect gift for both new and old fans of Arrow.

With thanks to Titan Books.