A six part miniseries, centering on World War II, featuring dinosaurs and a pulp aesthetic? There are a fair number of ways a book like that could go, but by all counts artist and debut writer Stephen Mooney has crafted an engaging opening chapter.
Written and Illustrated by Stephen Mooney
DAMES. DINOSAURS. DANGER. Summer, 1943, and in the midst of a war waged by monsters, Staff Sergeant Tommy ‘Irish’ Flynn never expected to encounter a real one. But on a remote island in the South Pacific, Flynn and his squad come face-to-fanged-face with creatures long thought dead.
Staff Sergeant Thomas Michael Flynn and his company are already in something of an odd situation. As they execute a couple of reconnaissance maneuvers, negotiating the jungley landscape of a South Pacific island, a couple of details just aren’t adding up. And then a big detail makes an appearance, and all of a sudden it’s obvious that there is much more to this war than anybody imagined.
So far as opening encounters go, this is an excellently paced action scene, slowly building up to a big reveal and gradually raising the stakes to the highest point of suspense. However, it takes a little more energy than it probably should to puzzle out who’s who among Flynn’s company – they’re referred to by name but their faces are rarely shown, and it’s a little less hard-hitting to witness the dire consequences of the encounter for each of them when you’re not sure who is the guy who said what thing before. Otherwise, the sequence does exactly what it needs to do: present a mystery, hint at Flynn’s character by showing what kind of leader he is, and finally, give him something to prove.
Mooney’s flair for well-paced and well-blocked action is taken that one step further in a beautifully laid out bar fight shortly thereafter. There’s something to be said for slick, stylish violence, and the sheer kineticism going on here makes the scene a major highlight. And while there isn’t much room for character development in the Pacific Island sequence, what we do get in terms of character details in this scene are well-chosen and presented. MI6 agent and fairly obvious femme fatale Elizabeth Huntington-Moss gets more than her fair share of iconic moments in just a few pages, while Flynn himself is scuzzy but sassy. With the information we’re provided in this scene, it’s fairly easy to guess where this story is going to go, but there are just enough details left up in the air to keep a certain level of suspense going and hook us into the next issue.
Mooney’s art, meanwhile, is solid. The compositions tend to be a little loose, with the characters themselves constituting the focal point at all times. The strongest element is probably the facial expressions (particularly Elizabeth’s), which are appreciably noirish and wary while still retaining a good deal of versatility. A couple of unusual panel layouts and an excellent use of white space contribute to the dynamism of the bar fight, while the dinosaurs of the opening sequence are excellent, possessing obvious and tangible mass as well as a hint of personality. Some additional character sketches included before and after the comic add some fun to the general proceedings, and really underscore Mooney’s feel for era-appropriate clothing that still has something original and interesting about it.
Mooney’s colours are mostly fairly standard, keeping to realistic but saturated tones and matching the overall pulp mood of the book. As a side note, it seems Jordie Bellaire will be stepping on as colourist from issue two onwards, so that’s something to look forward to. I’m getting to a point where I’ll a recommend a book solely because Bellaire is involved, and her trademark bright palettes are bound to mesh well with Mooney’s energetic linework.
Overall this is a solid issue with a strong, simple hook, and just a couple of hiccups in the visual storytelling that don’t detract too much from the excellence of the action scenes. If you’re a fan of pulp-inspired adventure with some scales and fangs on, “Half Past Danger” should definitely be your cup of tea.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy
