‘Arrow’ Gets SDCC 2012 Exclusive Comic, Bag

Fans attending San Diego Comic-Con this week won't have to wait until September for their first look at Arrow, the CW's upcoming adaptation of DC Comics' Green Arrow series. Instead, they can pick up a free 10 page comic prelude to the show, co-written by the show's executive producers and none other than Justice League and Green Lantern writer - not to mention DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns.The giveaway features not just bow-and-arrow wielding vigilante Oliver Queen, but also Detective Hilton, a supporting character from the show's pilot (played by Roger Cross, a familiar face to those who followed Fox's 24 back when) who was created by executive producer Andrew Kreisberg during his brief tenure as writer of DC's Green Arrow series in 2009. According to Kreisberg, who co-writes the preview along with Johns, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, the issue is "almost like a little mini-episode after the pilot but before the next episode." Don't think of it as a throwaway giveaway, however; Kreisberg says that "to [the show's producers] those 10 pages are canon, and anyone who grabs a copy: Hold onto it and, as the series progresses, [they'll] appreciate it more and more."

The issue will feature art by Omar Francia, and a cover by classic Green Arrow creator Mike Grell.

If that's not enough Arrow for San Diego Comic-Con attendees, don't worry; the series will also prominently be displayed on one of the "official bags" for the show, DC Comics announced earlier today. "Designed by Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing, the bags feature double-sided artwork. Each will have the all-new Comic-Con 2012 official design on one side, with the other highlighting Warner Bros. titles, including TV series - live-action and animated - from Warner Bros. Television and Warner Bros. Animation, and upcoming theatrical features from Warner Bros. Pictures," DC announced, with Arrow, Cartoon Network's DC Nation and next year's big-screen reboot of the Superman franchise, Man of Steel, amongst the projects being featured.