Action Lab Danger Zone 2018
Written & Lettered by Dave Dwonch
Illustrated by Sergio Rios
Coloured by Geraldo Filho
Jason and his ragtag group of programmers have escaped their virtual reality game, “Dungeon Lords,” only to discover that they’ve let loose the game’s greatest villain into our world. To save Silicon Valley they will need help… from their in-game counterparts!
It’s been too long since the first Double Jumpers hit stands I had almost forgotten what had happened when I started reading this. Thankfully it didn’t take long to get the memories back and that seemed to really get me into this story. So naturally when things last ended it really hadn’t fully ended and now that Pilfer is in our world someone is going to need to step up and stop him. Well the opening is something that doesn’t really reveal anything either and well while it may be interesting we’ll have to see how it fits in to the story.
Dave does a nice job here structuring the book so the ebb & flow of how information is revealed keeps things moving forward. The way that we see Malificent trying to “talk” to the group certainly made me laugh and the way the group justs seemed to argue about finding Tom or becoming their characters again well it has this ring about it that feels like genuine interchange between friends and co-workers. Well with the exception of the phrase “disingenuous twat” that was absolutely hysterical to see on the page!
This leads me to the characterisation here which by the by is exceptionally well done. I love that the personalities of each individual has this chance to shine so that this somewhat large cast all have those moments is quite impressive. There are times when you just enjoy the dialogue being thrown around as folks try to figure out just what the next step should be and that’s what this is. Brainstorming can come in different ways and this one well it seems driven by conflict which is nicely done since it seems to motivate others in the group to work smarter and faster heh.
While I like and appreciate the kind of 80’s all-ages cartoon vibe that’s going on here for gods sake utilise backgrounds! That two page spread when the gang realises they are back in the game those two pages is what the whole book should look like. The attention to detail, the full use of the pages this is thrilling to see. This has the look and feel we want to see and while it beautifully separates the real world from the game world that just reinforces how much better the book as a whole can be. The game world makes me think of Dragon’s Lair and that’s pretty cool. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a nice eye for storytelling.
So far this arc is off to a raucous good time! With some of the more impressive characterisation and plot/story development Dave and company manage to deliver just the right amount of sarcasm alongside some of the more typical aspects surrounding gamers and game makers. What we get is an imaginative and creative tale that brings us to this place we’d all love to go inside the world of a video game even one gone oh so very bad. The possibilities with this franchise are endless and I really am glad to see that it’s back so jump on board and get ready to unleash your inner geek imagination!