Reviewed By Taylor Hoffman –– Valkyrie @ Black Cat Comics, SLC // @taylorcheckers
We Can Never Go Home #3 diverges from the first two issues of non-stop action to take care of some important character development amidst the madness. It’s an incredibly smart move to slow down the pace for everyone to catch their breath, re-focus, and get ready to kick more ass. “Big Mouth Strikes Again” is the third track on the epic mix tape and we really see how desperately Maddie and Duncan want to take their place in the human race, but there’s no safe space for them to rest or play for very long. After a few days on the run and a few more dead bodies later, Duncan and Maddie have a ton of cash and the police on their backs. Naturally, it’s time for new clothes, cotton candy, and more blood.
STORY BY: Matthew Rosenberg, Patrick Kindlon
ART BY: Joshua Hood
COLORS BY: Tyler Boss
LETTERS BY: Jim Campbell
COVER BY: Michael Walsh
PUBLISHER: Black Mask
COVER PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE DATE Jun 10th, 2015
There’s more sweetness mixed into the chaos as the obvious lovebirds do their weird teenage mating ritual while hitting up more drug dealers for money. There’s a clear Kill Your Boyfriend vibe, but it’s not just Duncan running the show. Instead, Maddie takes charge of herself and her surroundings when faced with conflict this time around. When police knock down the door to their motel, she doesn’t hesitate to prove to be the real threat against authority figures.
While Duncan’s huddled on the floor, she’s taking out enemies one by one. Between throwing cops onto the roof like that pizza in Breaking Bad and teaching a cat-caller a very important lesson in basic human communication, Maddie’s real strength shows in her conviction to not taking shit anymore. The creative team spends a few pages on Maddie finding a new uniform that is an apt sneer at the ridiculousness of costumed heroines often in impractical “weird bathing suit” garb. It’s not just a jab at those designs and more a remark about individualism without being overdone. It’s pauses like this and a scene in the cleverly Black Mask Studios themed amusement park –– someone better start building that Space Riders roller coaster –– that help round out the world and the characters.
While her laser eyes and incredible strength might qualify Maddie to be part of the A-Force next to She-Hulk, this issue reminds us that being a superhero is not the point. The powers are only tools for our characters and so far they’re as inexplicable and brutal as the tools featured on the cover. It’s something more than hormones and something less than supernatural that makes all these power dynamics work together.
Duncan’s cursed with the power of thought and having the ability to kill anybody instantaneously, but he doesn’t. It’s about how to use a given strength for good. Sure, they might be hurting people, but they’re hurting the people that hurt them and other innocents. Maybe there’s some plausible karmic balance if not justice and revenge. There’s something so strangely beautiful and simply punk to this book that you’ve just gotta root for these two to kiss, blast “Damaged Goods” by Gang Of Four on repeat, and take over the world. Neither bullies nor bullets can stop them now. Isn’t anyone looking for them, though?
Let’s all hope that “Girlfriend in a Coma” isn’t playing up next.