Danger Street #1 – Tom King, Writer; Jorge Fornes, Artist; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Tom King’s series are always a little afield of center, especially when they take place outside of or just afield of continuity. However, they’ve never felt quite so strange as this unusual tale reinventing dozens of C-list, D-list, and Z-list DC characters. What is the plot of this series? That’s been kept quietly under wraps, but we do know it involves major players like the Helmet of Fate and possibly even Darkseid—but that’s not who we meet first. Our first introduction to this world is through a quartet of 1950s-style preteen hooligans called the Dingbats of Danger Street, who make themselves known by riding ATVs through the streets and arousing the ire of a police officer they condescendingly call “Lady Cop.” While she deals with their latest disruption, right-wing talk show host Jack Ryder is taking a break from his nocturnal activities to audition for a new show—one that could get him his reputation back after a recent breakdown.
But the linchpin of this series seems to be a trio of heroes—Metamorpho, Warlord, and the blue-skinned Starman—who have gotten ahold of the helm of Fate and intend to use it to make themselves legitimate A-list heroes who will get the Justice League’s attention. It has the same energy as those Coen brothers movies where the hapless con artists put together the perfect heist. You know it’s going to go sideways, but you don’t know how yet. There are other players here as well, including a Manhunter being sent on a ghastly mission and a tragic giant named Atlas, but the main characters seem to be so radically different that you can’t imagine how they’ll intersect. And then they do, in tragic and brutal fashion when you least expect it, and it’s clear this is not going to be like any Tom King story before. This might be Tom King at his most unleashed on DC characters, and it’s not going to be for everyone—but it definitely has me hooked.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
