Darkwing Duck (2010 Series) #2

July 30, 2010

Writer: Ian Brill
Art: James Silvani
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Cover: James Silvani
Editor: Aaron Sparrow
Publisher: Boom! Kids

In the second part of “The Duck Knight Returns,” four of the former Fearsome Five have reunited, planning revenge on the most insidious jailers that have ever raised a finger against them – their gainful employers. St. Canard under the protection of Quackwerks has been tough for everyone. But as the villains regroup, so does Darkwing Duck.

Ian Brill has given the Masked Mallard a great return in his first two issues. He’s got every little character beat down perfectly, from his quips to his masterful introductions to the prolific use of alliteration as the duck investigates. Gosalyn and Launchpad, each making sort of a return to action of their own, help to flesh out the story nicely. We’ve got two groups of characters here, two groups of old friends (or at least associates in the villains’ case) who haven’t been around each other much lately, and those moments of reunion are just as much fun for the reader as they are for the characters themselves. They’re getting back together with each other, and with us.

The mystery is getting better as well. The villains have a decided prejudice against one of their former compatriots and the company that’s made St. Canard oh-so-safe in the time since the TV series ended. If there’s any real problem with the story – and this is a minor one, I assure you – it’s that we don’t really have any feeling like we’ve made progress with that mystery yet. Of course, it’s entirely possible that the clues just haven’t been obvious, and when the reveal is made, it will make perfect sense. It’s really hard to judge a mystery story halfway through.

James Silvani, the artist on this series, has spot-on nailed all of the characters in this book. Any one of them could have stepped right off the television screen. In a book like this one, having the characters so perfectly on-model is almost vital. The comic book has to feel like it’s picking up where the TV show left off, and bringing back those characters visually is just as big a part of that as getting the characterization right.

This book has completely sold me on the Brill/Silvani team. These were obviously guys to bring back Darkwing Duck, and they’re doing it in style.

Rating: 9/10