Featuring Midnight Tiger
Action Lab Entertainment 2016
Written by Ray-Anthony Height & Vito Delsante
Illustrated by Ray-Anthony Height
Coloured by Nate Lovett
Lettered by Full Court Press
Apollo Bay has been cleaned up by Virtue. All that stands in his way are Midnight Tiger, defender of the Bay, and Stray, his new friend. They don’t stand a chance. Meanwhile Medula is ready to make his move from the shadows.
Oh my goodness what an issue this is! I love seeing the different styles of artwork that have permeated this story so far. Seeing the takes on characters by different people has been fun and it’s great to see the interpretations we get. Virtue has never looked this threatening and let’s just say evil before and it’s been nice to see. Ray and Nate have done wonders on the interiors here and with the most “superhero” style they’ve managed to really incorporate everything we need and want into this story. From the great detail, crisp clean work and even the minimalistic use of backgrounds to focus on the action it all makes for great reading.
The story here is great and that we learn that Virtue is indeed transplanted onto this Earth just goes to confirm the mystery from last issue. What does this does for the story though is wonderful as it means that Cascade has no idea he’s here and his battle for Jake well that’ll take on a whole new meaning. This is the kind of the issue where everything happens to make this story move forward in a way where you see the climax coming.
With as powerful as Virtue is even the boys recognize they are no match for him. Aside from that sanctimonious attitude of his he really is a powerhouse. Still loved seeing them take him on even if it was just more of a diversionary tactic. See this is what heroes do, how they act and even when the odds are stacked against them they don’t give in, don’t give up and continue to do the best they can. Until hopefully help arrives and in this case that is in the form of Molly Danger.
Molly versus Virtue. I’m gonna leave that right there. Oh and if you are still unfamiliar with Molly then shame on you and if you haven’t been paying attention double whammy on you. So this is a dream fight in my eyes and yeah.
So we see very little of Jake this issue until Medula comes for him with the greatest cliche of all times. I’m not as familiar with him as I should be but i’m dying to know because just a brain floating freely in a transparent helmet yeah I need more. I’m loving it but how the heck! We only see Cascade once this issue which is kind of a bummer but he’s souping up his device and plans to go find Jeff who is on this Earth with him ha. So much going to happen and so much left to see and learn it makes me a happy camper.
This my friends is how you bring a multitude of characters and fold them into one consistent universe per se. See the alternate Earth or Multiverse doesn’t have to be complicated in order to work together if done in a smart and talented way. Each creative team has surpassed the last in terms of advancing the story along and making everything we’ve seen seem so normal.
Action Lab has solidified themselves in the superhero market with real contenders here!