Deadly Class #45
It's 1991, and everything has changed in Deadly Class #45, by writer Rick Remender, artist Wes Craig, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Rus Wooton. It's been a while since an issue of Deadly Class, and this one is just as pretentious and fun as any other.
It's 1991, and Marcus is living in Arizona, dealing drugs, partying, and trying to forget. That's the basic premise of this issue, and it works rather well. There's not a lot to synopsize. Marcus meets a new girl, they talk, and readers get a glimpse of his everyday life, one which ends with an attack by someone trying to kill him and the new girl getting a glimpse of the real him.
Remender makes readers remember why Marcus is both repellent and compelling. For example, he and the new girl he meets get into a conversation about music, which shows off Marcus's art snob tendencies and shows that he can care about something. Marcus is very compelling because he does have convictions- he's not just some terrible shallow person. The things he loves are a deep part of him, one that makes him who he is. He can't help but judge a fresh-faced blond girl who just likes music she likes, but his love for things is so great that he can't help it. It makes both a terrible person and one who is magnetic to the reader. In a lot of ways, all the ones that don't involve the killing, he's a lot like just about anyone reading the book- an obsessed fan, defining himself through the art that he loves.
Readers don't really get clued on what's been happening since they last saw Marcus, but there are some weird flashback scenes throughout the book that give some rather cryptic clues. It leaves it all up in the air- who's alive? Who's dead? What exactly happened? These are all good questions, and Remender leaves them all open-ended. He doles out little clues- Marcus is still killing, but he doesn't reveal for who. Someone comes for him, someone with an Irish accent, but it's hard to know why- is it because of his current life or the old one? There are all interesting questions, and it will be fun to see where Remender takes things.
Craig's art has a lot of the same problems it's been having for a while now. At times, the linework is a little too heavy and indistinct. The fight scene looks great, but a lot of the art is rather muddy. Lee Loughridge returns to the book on colors, and his style is as good as ever, helping what can be some rough pencils. There are some cool coloring effects in the issue from both smoke and water that are pretty great.
Deadly Class #45 is a welcome return. The book had major ups and downs, but this new direction feels right. This is a great comic, one that sets up many interesting plot points, ones that will be fun to watch Remender explore. Craig's art has a lot of problems that it had before, but Loughridge's colors do a lot to smooth things out, and the fight scene looks good. Where this book is going is anyone's guess, but this is a good start.
