Comics
Review: ‘Deadly Class’ #4
Marcus and Willie recover from their adventure into the city by way of a hallucinogenic quest to Las Vegas to kill Billy’s Dad. “Deadly Class” #4 is one helluva trip, man!
WRITTEN BY: Rick Remender
ART BY: Wes Craig
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: April 30, 2014
We should all take a moment to revel in the fact that Rick Remender consistently delivers insanely paced issues of fun and madness month to month on four separate books without a slight dip in quality. Yet, you can’t help but think a little of Dr. Mindbubble from Captain America beld into this issue of “Deadly Class.”
Turns out last month’s murder wasn’t justified. At least not in the eyes of the school. So the punishment is sitting in solitary confinement for a month, only according to the other kids at the school, no one actually does that shit. So instead Willie is rescued and taken to Las Vegas with a bag of drugs big enough to make Hunter S Thompson jealous.
With his new reputation as a stone cold killer in place, Willie is looking to make a name for himself. So naturally he does this by taking way too much acid. The young mind and drugs don’t seem to mix that well, and the result is a wild trip down a sun soaked highway with a bunch of teens tripping balls. It’s rowdy, fun, and bound to have serious consequences. Remender reminds us by having someone tail the kids the entire issue, and moves around in time to show us that this wasn’t a good idea at all.
Wes Craig is left alone to play this month, and succeeds with literal flying colors. His style warps and waves around the page playfully demonstrating the effects of the many drugs being used. He also takes time to pay around with the conventional paneling of the book and lets the lettering fill the negative space left open by his art. The entire experience is a feast for the eyes that plays around with the conventions we’ve come to expect about page layout. It’s beautiful and thought provoking.
Craig really shines in some larger crowd scenes this month. He is able to articulate a vast group of people and juxtapose it with panels of intimacy between two characters sharing secrets as they push through a sea of people. I was actually so stunned I had to go back through the page a number of times just to take it all in.
The overall story is pushed forward ever so slightly, but it is really Willie that takes the spotlight here. We get to see how he deals with death, and what it’s like to be behind a murder. Its still unclear as to which way he’ll fall, and if this will become a regular thing, but the cracks in these kids are becoming more clear with each passing month. None of them are who they said they were, and none of them are the resident badass they want to be.
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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