Danger Street #4 – Tom King, Writer; Jorge Fornes, Artist; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Easily the strangest King series yet, this crime/cosmic hybrid doesn’t make itself easy to nail down thanks to its sprawling cast. Sometimes it’s a gritty crime and revenge story, and other times we’re rocketing towards a cosmic showdown. Literally—Orion, the son of Darkseid raised by Highfather, is shooting across the cosmos towards Earth. At the same time, a mysterious Manhunter, who seems like a robot but is actually anything but, is beginning his hunt—targeting members of the Green Team with ruthless precision. The portrayal of this team of child billionaires has been anything but flattering, but that seems like a pointed subversion of one of the oddest character groups in DC’s history. We know that there’s some cosmic struggle and the potential return of one of the most powerful characters in existence, but King hasn’t quite let us in yet on how it all connects.
This would be a problem—if it weren’t for the various Earth subplots being so compelling. The main one, of course, being the Dingbats of Danger Street being out to avenge their fallen member. As this brings them into conflict with an officious librarian, the two men responsible for setting the death of Good Looks into motion are on their own increasingly desperate quest. As they try to retrieve the boy’s body for their mad resurrection quest, King does an amazing job of making them tragic and sympathetic even as they become more and more pathetic. Then there’s Jack Ryder, whose alter-ego as The Creeper starts coming face-to-face with the consequences of the propaganda he spreads on the radio—and realizes he may be too far gone. This is a unique comic that doesn’t always 100% make clear what it’s supposed to be, but like just about every other King comic, it’s a fascinating ride.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
