Static Shock #4 – Review

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

The Story: Come on, Static, it’s New York—you have to expect to get shanked at some point.

The Review: These teen-centric titles tend to follow a somewhat familiar formula.  The protagonists are all various shades of breezy smart-alecks with a modest gallery of C-list/cheesy rogues, and their storylines mostly revolve around trying to balance real life and vigilante life (while having fun!), occasionally delving into mildly dramatic territory.

Static follows this trend more closely than some.  Our hero falls into tiresome trap of trying way too hard to come up with witty lines every other panel.  While a few do have some juvenile cleverness (“You’re the first woman I’ve ever seen whose legs can shave themselves.”), most are either pointlessly dumb (“…moisturizer can soften unsightly, scaly skin!”) or just plain pointless (“They’re the latest in flying fashion!”).  By the way, these lines represent a mere sample of a whole slew Static tosses in one five-page scene.

For our dose of the mildly dramatic, we have the well-worn “It’s all my fault” (which Virgil actually says at one point) guilt trip.  At least Virge doesn’t dwell in his angst, what with Frieda on long distance rebutting with the also traditional “Everything happens for a reason” bit.  This all gets followed up by a re-steeled sense of purpose as Static vows to become “stronger,” “sharper” so he “can make things right.”