Deadly Class #1 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Wes Craig (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist)

The Story: Living on the street kind of sucks, but being put in a rather nebulous situations with killers and cops is somewhat worse.

The Review: It’s been a really bright period of time for Image lately. With a few high-profile creators publishing their work through them, they have gained a reputation for being the place to be for many writers and artists, much to the readers delight. For those who want something new and decidedly different, it’s really a golden age of opportunities as the likes of East of West, Saga, Black Science, Lazarus, Sex Criminals and a multitude of others are still on the shelves for people to enjoy.

It’s with these kind of thoughts that I went on to buy this new series by Fear Agent and Uncanny X-Force writer Rick Remender and one of Guardians of the Galaxy‘s many artist, Wes Craig. With a certain pedigree from both creators, there was definitely something about this that I had to try. However, a nice creative team does not necessarily equate to an interesting book, as there needs to be a message, a direction and certainly a hook for readers to return for the inevitable second issue. How does this first issue manage, though?

As the opening to a series, it’s fairly solid, with a bit of a drag as far as its premise and ideas are concerned. There is a solid amount of action and a general depth to the setting that helps situate the themes and the tone of the story very well, with a certain weird vibe that brings the characters and many of the quirks fairly well on the page. The actual hook is mainly delivered in the final pages, though, so the actual feeling of the series might not actually be representative of what is shown here.