Dames. Dinosaurs. Danger. Can’t get any more fun than that, eh? Writer artist Stephen Mooney has been bringing the fun with the help of IDW in Half Past Danger as of late. The series ends this week, which means we’ve got the ending jitters over here at AiPT. Not all conclusions succeed, even for great books, so is it good?
Half Past Danger #6 (IDW Publishing)
Check out our review of issue #5 here.
Last issue ended with our heroes in a bit of a bind right with Nazis pointing guns in their faces and most of them in chains. It was also revealed who the traitor was, but I won’t ruin that for you here. All of this while atop a battleship that’s got dinosaur cargo ready to be used against the Americans. This issue was good, but not great, but let’s start with the good, shall we?
Nazi with ninja moves?
First off, Mooney captures energy in facial expressions and movement like a champ. So often comics feel stiff, the 2D image doing nothing for the energy of a sequence, but little touches can go a long way. Mooney employs small touches like small sound effects, sweeping yet subtle lines, or my favorite, really good body language. The slightest twist of a character’s hips can signify incredible energy, which you can see in nearly every panel of Mooney’s work. That goes for facial expressions too, which more often than not are very unique and genuine faces. Nothing feels bottled here, which enhances the reading experience.
Pro diver.
Mooney concludes the series rather well; therea re no loose ends and the final moments feel like a nice reunion of the heroes before we fade to black. The major issue I have, however, is how the resolution is acquired, namely characters attacking the bad guys very quickly. You never feel like the heroes are in any danger and they slip from the clutches of the bad guys so smoothly this entire issue feels like it could have been reduced to far fewer pages. The big reveal of what the Nazis really want isn’t much of a surprise either, but again, I won’t ruin that for you.
Hmm, reminds me of a certain Captain…
- The energy in this book will make you jump for joy
- Loose ends tied
- Rather boring conclusion we’ve seen before
Is It Good?
I’m not sure if this series will continue; there’s no definitive info on that one in the issue, but if it does I’ll be first in line. That said, this conclusion didn’t match the quality of the previous issues, mainly in the plotting department. It does look amazing, loose ends are closed and you get to experience these characters for a few more pages. Overall a good book, but doesn’t meet its own lofty standards from the previous issues.
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