Holy Fuck! This issue is like a punch to the gut, but in a good way.
In case you are unfamiliar with Danger Club, let me provide some exposition. This is a world that once had heroes. They all left earth to fight a cosmic menace, and never returned. The heroes left their sidekicks behind in order to keep them safe. Safe is the one thing that these teen aged heroes aren’t.
Like the issues prior issues, this one opens with an old school styled page. The clue for this issue is the time machine of the fiendish Dr Tik-Tok. The next page, though already shown from a different angle in a prior issue is the sucker punch. We get to see American Spirit, President of the Global United States addressing the lost sidekicks. He tells them that youth is no excuse for the actions that they have taken and that their is a price. This price is the execution of Kid Vigilante. This is one powerful page. We get to see the decrepit form of American Spirit ensconced in the White house. He makes his horrid pronouncement while the sidekicks huddle in hovels and other abandoned places. the page ends with the grisly execution leaving no room for doubts about what has happened. Despite knowing that it was coming, it was still a shock.
After such a powerful page, I almost expect the rest of the issue to be let down. I am sorely mistaken as the hits just keep on coming. In prior issues, We have been given hints as to what has actually happened and how American Spirit is tied into it. Here, American Spirit explains what he is doing and why. All the while, he is tearing his own sidekick to pieces. He starts out on the emotional level by forcing him to kill his best friend and then literally rips him limb from limb. While this is happening, the rest of the group begins executing the plan put in place by Kid Vigilante while the they were crashing onto the deck of the battle cruiser that captured them.
Landry’s writing just sings in this issue. He juggles the two stories that are taking place with aplomb. There is no point where I get lost or am unclear as to what is going on. He kept me on the edge of my seat looking forward to what was coming next. Eric Jones’ art is well up to the task set out by Landry’s prose. It has a dynamism that pairs well with this story. His lines are clean and smooth and his character portrayals are graceful and emotive. The action sequences are full of energy and kept me riveted while the more personal sequences are loaded with nuance that beg for second and third readings. Artistically, my favorite page is the the one where everything goes to hell. The center of the page is the earth. A vortex of energy is curling into the planet, fading to white. In the upper left and lower right corners there are boxes with the heroes struggling just to say one word. The feeling of desperation and awesome power just pores from this page.
I can not wait for Issue 6!