Mooney brings Half Past Danger to a reasonably good conclusion, though the whole thing just feels like a setup for a sequel series. Hopefully, if Mooney does a sequel, it won’t end with a setup for another series.

The issue is all action until the epilogue. The good guys each have their own adversary (or adversaries) to deal with before there’s the big decision about how to escape the Germans. Mooney isn’t reinventing the wheel with this stuff either, just getting it to roll well. The payoff scenes–there are multiple ones–are safe but rewarding.

But the finish is a little too thin. Mooney puts off resolving some plot lines because he’s setting up a sequel. He does have a nice moment for the good guys, however, who haven’t really had a chance to bond in a few issues.

It’s an fantastically fun comic. It’s just a little light.

CREDITS

Killing with Kindness; writer and artist, Stephen Mooney; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; editors, Christopher Schraff and Chris Ryall; publisher, IDW Publishing.

About half the issue is a submarine adventure, which is very cool. Mooney sure does figure out how to work all sorts of genres into a comic about dinosaurs (there actually aren’t any dinosaurs visible in this issue).

And then there’s a big surprise at the end, which I wasn’t expecting–Mooney does really well hinting at one surprise, but not another.

Speaking of Mooney, the sad part is his art falls off towards the end. He gives it away during the submarine sequence. The art’s really simple; the sequence works, but there’s none of Mooney’s action pacing. At the end of the issue it just gets worse; it’d be distressing but the twists are so good it doesn’t matter too much.

I’m sure Mooney will end the series well, even if he’s rushing to finish it. Half Past Danger proves the kitchen sink approach is sometimes the right one.

CREDITS

Ours Is But to Do and Die; writer and artist, Stephen Mooney; colorists, Jordie Bellaire and Ruth Redond; editors, Christopher Schraff and Chris Ryall; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Big surprise this issue. Mooney’s apparently real good at not painfully foreshadowing.

This issue is exactly how an all action comic should be done. Mooney keeps up a brisk pace and his panel compositions are complicated and sometimes breathtaking. He clearly wanted to do complex action set pieces and figured out how to best convey them. I’ve never been so fulfilled by a comic I spent so little time reading. Maybe because I can go back and appreciate his art pacing.

There’s also the matter of the good guys team structure. The scenes where the guys all fight against the Nazis together have a wonderful flow. It feels like they’ve gotten to know each other, which may be why Mooney spent the time developing their relationships. Makes the action work better.

Great ending too. Not a lot of surprises, but great cliffhanger thrills.

Danger is one heck of a comic.

CREDITS

Curiouser and Curiouser!; writer and artist, Stephen Mooney; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; editors, Christopher Schraff and Chris Ryall; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Mooney gets a little rushed on a few pages. He brings it all together for the big finale though–how has no one thought of ninjas versus Nazis before? You’d think it would be its own genre.

There’s not a lot of action until the finish, just a lot of drinking. Noble–the superman–and Flynn get drunk before their mission and Noble reveals the super-soldier story. It’s more realistic than I expected, but Mooney plays the heart strings a little much. He starts the scene with it being about camaraderie, which works, then turns it into a sad story, which doesn’t.

There’s a very amusing punch line involving the British agent. Otherwise, though, Mooney doesn’t develop her character at all this issue.

The dinosaurs and good guys attacking Nazis stuff at the end is awesome. Mooney awkwardly loses track of the ninja, but the energy keeps things going.

CREDITS

Something Wicked This Way Comes; writer and artist, Stephen Mooney; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; editors, Christopher Schraff and Chris Ryall; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Not only does Mooney up the ante with a ninja, he gives him a camouflage outfit out of “G.I. Joe.” It’s strange but cool, just like all of Half Past Danger.

Of course, he also implies the big blond captain guy is a super soldier. Not sure what else Mooney could possibly add–the British secret agent woman is the only one without some great reveal so far. And the lead’s just an Irish Indiana Jones as a soldier, but it works fine.

There’s a lot more with the dinosaurs, a lot more with the expedition to the island–it’s interesting how Mooney lifts whole sections of Jurassic Park without raising any eyebrows. Lines and everything. Then there’s a great double reference to Aliens.

The comic’s just a good mix. Mooney throws in a lot of safe, reliable ingredients, but it coming out so well is Mooney’s success.

B 

CREDITS

In Like Flynn; writer and artist, Stephen Mooney; colorist, Jordie Bellaire; editors, Christopher Schraff and Chris Ryall; publisher, IDW Publishing.

I’m really impressed. I’d never even heard of Stephen Mooney before Half Past Danger–I hadn’t heard of him so much I thought the names were separate (based on the cover credit). I’m shocked to see it’s just one guy doing this comic and one I haven’t heard of.

Danger is highly derivative. Little Sgt. Rock, little League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, little Jurassic Park. G.I.s versus dinosaurs. It works. Mooney makes it work. His art style is perfect for the kind of period piece he’s doing and he also goes out of his way to keep it unexpected.

He opens the issue with this sergeant being the topic of his men’s conversation, switches focus to said sergeant, then makes the encounter with the Jurassic tyrannosaur so crazy he’s keeping everyone in danger, even the “safe” characters.

The finale, set in 1940s New York City, is just fantastic stuff.

Danger’s great.

CREDITS

Bite the Bullet; writer, artist, colorist and letterer, Stephen Mooney; publisher, IDW Publishing.