A dark story turns ever darker in this fourth issue of “Danger Club”, with Walker and Jones upping the emotional ante at every turn. If you aren’t reading this heavy and intense superhero series already, now’s the time to catch up!
Written by Landry Q. Walker
Illustrated by Eric JonesChaos, blood, and betrayal all take center stage as tensions amongst the sidekicks rise. Meanwhile, The Magician takes a private journey into the darkness while seeking answers to the fate of the lost superheroes.
When the last issue ends on as grim a note as #3 did, you’ve got to wonder how the next chapter is going to advance things. And, while it’s certainly just as grim, “Danger Club” #4 slows down the action a bit in order to give us some insight into the characters’ inner worlds. As The Magician employs the golden serum pulled from Apollo’s veins in the last issue, we get a big helping of his backstory; meanwhile, Kid Vigilante and Jack Fearless find themselves at deadly cross-purposes when confronting a hopeless situation.
Actually, if there was one word to describe the mood of this series so far, it would be “hopeless”. Where a story like “Watchmen” — which is clearly an influence here — is definitely not optimistic in its portrayal of superheroes long after the golden era has passed, “Danger Club” doesn’t even let a windowcrack of sunshine brighten the proceedings. The young sidekicks to the older, famous superheroes honestly have no idea where their parents and mentors are, and the “cosmic enemy” that seems to have taken them hovers over the sidekicks as well. What’s more, the president of the world is after their blood, and all along, they’ve got their own despair and regret to fight against.
It’s no surprise, then, that this issue takes an introspective turn. We weren’t able to access the despair and regret that stopped Gravity Girl and Lady Bug in their tracks last issue, and with the disastrous conclusion to that issue in mind, it seems appropriate that we now get a closer look at the emotions that are troubling this group of superheroes. And, thanks to one of those expository, faux-aged first pages, The Magician’s trouble is revealed to be (in part) a question of not fitting in. At the same time, of course, he’s launching himself into the unknown in search of the lost superheroes, and more than dangerous, the enterprise looks doomed from the start.
The Magician’s journey is deftly intercut with the confrontation between Kid Vigilante and Jack Fearless, and far from being introspective, this conflict is shrouded in mystery. The big question here is whether Kid Vigilante really does have a plan, or whether he’s given in to despair just like Gravity Girl did last issue. And when a major plot point is whether or not a character has given up and is leading his comrades to their doom, it’s safe to assume that there is some nail-biting tension going on. This is one taut, well-paced encounter, largely wordless but gaining in emotional payoff when The Magician’s thoughts are laid out in caption boxes alongside the action. And whether or not Jack’s final action in this issue turns out to have been warranted, it’s sure to have some serious consequences, so in terms of story we’re all set up for another gut-wrenching issue to follow this one.
As usual, Eric Jones’ art pulls no punches. Working with smooth, clean lines, and exhibiting a feel for bold and angular page layouts, Jones’ pages are relentlessly exciting. His character portrayals are graceful as well, with his work on The Magician and Jack shining particularly brightly. You can see the regret as well as the resolve in The Magician’s posture when he goes to inject the serum, while Jack’s doubt and suspicion comes through keenly in his facial expressions.
Michael Drake’s colours stand in direct contrast to the tone of the book: they’re gorgeous and vibrant, coming across as particularly luminous in the spectral world that The Magician explores. But rather than jarring the reader out of that sense of impending doom, they underscore the emotional intensity of the proceedings, as well as hearken back to the glorious four-colour world that the Danger Club can never go back to. (That retro-looking and spot-on first page, meanwhile is coloured by Garry Black.) It’s a poignant mix, and it has the effect of keeping the pages interesting and eye-catching while selling the fundamental impact of the plot and action.
It looks like Walker and Jones are continuing to develop this story with subtlety and nuance, taking us on a dense, emotional journey that — let’s face it — is more than a little political in its implications. Oddly enough, it’s the pessimism standing at the core of this story that makes it so compelling. The determination and the resolve of its characters stand out all the more strongly for flying in the face of all evidence, and the result is one nerve-wracking and emotionally intense issue.
Final Verdict: 8.5 — Buy
