Static Shock #3 – Review

By: Scott McDaniel & John Rozum (writers), Scott McDaniel (penciller), Andy Owens (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Even gangsters can’t resist the allure of electronic gadgets.

The Review: Besides the various diversity issues that all comics publishers have to grapple with, one area the DCU infrequently explores is the urban setting.  By and large, most of our heroes operate out of middle-class suburbia, the gentrified cityscape, or in outright luxury.  Even though the Bat-family fight crime in the worst cesspools of Gotham, they eventually return to rather extravagant abodes, so we don’t really see characters rubbing shoulders with the less-privileged.

So it’s intriguing to think of Virgil not only working his vigilantism in the Big Apple, but also living in the less glamorous parts of the city.  Unfortunately, the first couple issues kept almost strictly on point with the crime-fighting plot—as it should, but it would’ve also been just as entertaining to see Static dealing with his home, school, and work life as well.  That was half the fun of his solo series, both in comics and on television.

This issue has Virgil applying real street sense to get a lead on his current target, the Slate Gang.  Any gang has its leaders and followers, and the facts of life are that the followers tend to be of school age.  Virge uncovered one of these would-be delinquents last issue, and here he smooth-talks his way into Quentin’s favor in the time-honored fashion of all teens: tall tales of extreme exploits (“You rocked at Paris Island, son?  What’d you pack?”  “Snub-nosed revolver.”)