Action Lab Entertainment 2017
Written by Vito Delsante
Illustrated by Sean Izaakse & Lee Gaston
Inked by Carlos Cabaleiro
Coloured by Wilson Ramos Jr.
Lettered by Full Court Press
While investigating the death of a young boy, Stray discovers the shooter is Anya Reddick, a girl from his past who was indirectly responsible for the formation of the Teenaegis, a teen version of the world’s greatest superhero team. The first members have been recruited. Their first mission has been given: Infiltrate Hoosen Academy and find out what is causing a rash of teen suicides. Or Who….
Dammit I have no idea why I love this book like I do, actually that’s a lie it’s that it feels like what we got with the New Teen Titans is why. Yeah it’s not necessarily an homage to the team but any teenagers getting together to form a team will invariably be compared to them. I’m not mad either because Vito is one hell a good writer and his ability to tell stories is spectacular. After all to understand a man’s present we must understand his past and that is what this is doing for us. Stray the early years when he was Rottweiler and just starting out on his own with kids his own age. This gives us a chance to see how young, naive and idealistic he was.
I love how the opening leads to a flashback all of which is very well done. We see that Rottweiler has been distanced from his old life and before he hung up the suit to get to a girl he had a crush on and met on a prior assignment. The tie-in works extremely well and the transition from one to the other is expertly plotted. Yeah here’s another reason I love this book, Vito’s too good a writer and he’s able to really bring us into the story in ways that surprise you.
If there’s one thing I’m going to criticise about this issue is that Sean doesn’t do the whole book. He sets a high standard here and unfortunately Lee doesn’t live up to that. There’s a definite disconnect from the opening to the main story. The whole mission has that amateur feel to it where there’s not real attention to detail and faces and bodies are very stiff and feel like there’s no movement on the page. Plus there aren’t enough backgrounds in use here all that wasted space that could be used to expand and enhance the story is just empty. Also faces change too much from panel to panel there’s no real consistency to them. Lee needs more practice to hone his craft because this shouldn’t be amateur hour.
With their infiltration of the school and learning about the suicides has made Will act upon a hunch of his own. This sets the stage that he’s as smart as Rodney and could easily lead the team, which we have already seen him do. So I like that the characterisation here includes Will and Matt as well as Rodney. I also like this trio being able to talk to one another and share information and ideas which is what makes them a team. Vito uses characterisation to also advance the story and it’s nice to see how he’s able weave that into play.
I love the mix too as Will and Matt find themselves overwhelmed by the Academy’s own team of super-powered teenagers. It’s very Hellions right down to the H on their uniforms. The principal or headmaster here takes on the role of Emma Frost and it’s really rather well done because while familiar to us readers it’s also very differently played out. Meanwhile Rodney is facing the real reason why there have been so many suicides on campus as the story comes to a climax you don’t expect.
Any fan of the teenage superhero style books and storytelling like the New Teen Titans or the New Mutants is going to love this book! It keeps the tradition alive and well and finds a way to keep expanding this world and populating it with new people with powers who may or may not be in the spandex game.