The creators of the popular “Supergirl: Adventures in the 8th Grade” series is back! In a pretty stark departure from their previous works on “Supergirl” and “Batman: Brave and the Bold.” There are swears! Is it worth your money though? Why don’t we take a look?
Written by Landry T. Walker
Illustrated by Eric JonesFaced with the deadliest peril the universe had ever known, the world’s greatest heroes left the Earth to battle a nightmarish evil… and they never came back. Now only their teenage sidekicks remain. Will the Danger Club unite against this unknown cosmic menace, or will their struggle for dominance destroy them? The critically acclaimed creative team of LANDRY Q. WALKER and ERIC JONES (Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures In the 8th Grade, Batman: Brave and the Bold) reunite to tell the apocalyptic tale of these titanic teens.
As I stated in the pre-cut warm-up, this book is a pretty big departure from their earlier works over at DC. In fact, this book probably has more in common with a book like Morning Glories than it does with anything from the Johnny DC imprint. Everything from the writing to the art has been “aged up” in terms of the concepts and themes that are presented in the book. Yes, there are swears, but that’s not necessarily what I’m referring to, though. The setting is decidedly dire as opposed to anything else they’ve done, and there even seems to be a bit of a mystery weaved into the plot of the book.
There are kids once again starring as the book’s main characters. They are all former sidekicks who have had to step up after their mentors left to fight some unknown force and never returned. The kids, who more than often than not have Teen Titans analogues, have either tried to become The Justice League (for lack of a better term) or have decided that a different approach is more appropriate. The conflicting styles in these two styles of superheroics is the basis for the issue, but short of the big bad revealing themselves to be the antagonist in this issue, that doesn’t seem to be the overarching plot.
Walker and Jones, who have a lot of experience creating kid friendly books, have really tuned their talents to write “up” from their original works. These kids are probably the same age, give or take, as Supergirl, but since children aren’t the main audience of the book, it opens itself up for darker themes that aren’t used in the fare for younger kids, and shouldn’t be either.
The writing in the book is refreshing, with a pacing that steadily gains in speed up until the end of the issue, when all Hell breaks loose and the blood starts flowing. That is the strength of the book, its ability to not pull punches. Aside from the occasional wide shot, the book is pretty visceral. Kid Vigilante, the Robin analogue, is one of the more violent characters in the book, using his fists to settle the score that sets the series’ tone. Every single character’s voices, while definitely more adult than anything the creators are known for, never feel like they’re older than they are, aside from being veteran sidekicks that is. They definitely still feel like kids, just damaged kids. If there is one complaint about the book, it’s the rather…abrupt ending to the story with nary a tease of what’s going to happen in the next issue. Up until the last page, it was going really swimmingly, but then the reader is left hanging.
One of the starkest departures from the team’s earlier works is the art. Eric Jones’ art could not be more different from the art in Supergirl. In Supergirl it was very similar to Tiny Titans or Archie Comics; but in this book it’s a lot more similar to Joe Eisma’s wonderful art in the aforementioned Morning Glories or Mike Choi’s pencils in the previous volume of X-Force. Everything is polished, from the character designs to the fight scenes. It looks; pardon the pun, bloody brilliant on every page.
I try to pick up every single one of the new Image books as they come out, as Image has become the best place to explore new properties and ideas, but this book is definitely one of the best books I’ve read in recent memory. If you like angsty kids who are in over their heads, and also like to see kid bash in others heads in, you’d be doing yourself a favor in picking this book up.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
