Action Lab Danger Zone 2017
Written & Illustrated by Dan Mendoza
Lettered by Adam Wollet
In the town of Boston, a witch-hunter lurks among the shadows, but this witch-hunter is like none you've ever seen. She is Lila, a 17th century soul that has been transported into present time and into the body of a life size, ball jointed doll, created by a couple of MIT students trying to use technology and a 3D printer to create the perfect women. Join in this super-sized debut issue and learn how she came to be known as DollFace, the ball jointed witch hunter.
Well this is what happens when you take an MIT student his friend the neonomicon mix science and sorcery together to create something outrageously fun and interesting. This is an outstanding first issue and not only do we get to see Dollface, Lila, in action but we learn how she came into being as well. This is the upside of a over sized issue we get a lot of information and enough room to really establish the tone and mood of the series.
Dan really dives into this headfirst and doesn’t hold anything back. The characterisation here is wonderful and we really get a great sense of who the characters in this book are. While there are plenty of questions that arise as we read this it really does a great job in getting us interested and wanting to learn more about them. That Dollface is a construct that is seemingly inhabited by a spirit of someone has been shown to us it’s really who she was that remains a mystery. One that should be fun to see explored.
Now i’ve never read Zombie Tramp but this series is set in that world and we see her make a guest appearance in this book. It does a nice job with that crossover and garnering interest for those, like me, who haven’t read her adventures. Her connection to the Neonomicon and the origin of Dollface is brought to us nicely and that they all don’t exactly get along make for some interesting interactions.
I really like the interior artwork here. The use of page layouts utilising angles, perspective and backgrounds are fantastic to see. This is definitely a book for adults as we see the parts that are used to make Dollface. The mixture of anatomy and doll parts are blended beautifully by Dan. She really has this whole cute look about her that belies her more deadly side and that contradiction is something that’s nailed.
With an interesting cast of characters and a mission that’s vaguely promoted this is one of those stories I look forward to. There’s enough here to really delve into this world and see all the possibilities that it has to offer while still leaving so much completely wide open. The way that Dan structured this story shows some nice skill and talent in writing style and ability.
Sweet, kooky and at times completely over the top this is the kind of adult humour that we long to see. Unapologetic in its raciness and craziness it projects this whole aura of what we can expect to see moving forward.