Action Lab Danger Zone 2015
Written by Shawn Gabborin
Illustrated by Michela Da Sacco
Coloured by Yann Perrelet
Anthony has left the hospital with the gang as the new Puppet Master and they’ve returned to the abandoned hotel that is their home. I’m kind of surprised and thrilled that Anthony is still around as he’s the only one who’s made it past one arc. Granted he’s still a boy and his family history does play a large role and one that will be explored in the coming months. That along with their current servitude to Anapa which seems to be coming to a head. The coming months with this series look to be some of the most interesting yet and considering what the past year, and Shawn, has brought us already that’s saying something indeed.
This issue has a small focus on Erich, Toulon’s son. Anapa knows whose abilities will come the most handy for any given job and during this one we get some nice characterization that honestly I wasn’t expecting. See this is something that I really appreciate and notice how Shawn’s doing that. He’s an incredibly strong and solid writer and with each issue that comes out he keeps showing me that he’s growing and learning and this kind of growth and dedication that really helps this franchise be where it’s at right now.
Well at the end of last issue we saw that man go into the hospital looking for his son and then die. Well as is always the case nothing is what it appears to be. What is revealed this issue goes a long way to showcasing that and it keeps things interesting and almost pivotal to Anthony, his story and if he’s going to be around for a long time or an all too brief time. That’s another thing i’m enjoying immensely and that’s whomever seems to become involved in their lives seems to have a very short life span regardless of their intentions. So friend or foe it doesn’t really matter and that’s a huge part of the horror aspect of this franchise not knowing when any given person is going to die. Or in the case of the puppets, or Neil, not die but continue on sometimes painfully--at least emotionally.
Speaking of which the fact that death is commonplace in this series however it isn’t presented as all kind of blood and gore is another wonderful aspect of this series. Michela and Yann do this superb job of showing us the puppets what kind of devastation they can cause and gross us out without going overboard. Plus they’ve really managed to capture the essence of each character in such ways that it’s almost mesmerizing. The use of pages, panel layouts, backgrounds and the attention to detail here all spotlights some marvelous talent. Also proving that more often than not it’s the imagination of gore that’s more powerful than the gore itself. Now on a personal note I want to see Tunneler go in the back door of some dude and come out the front heh.
This series can do things the films can’t and that’s explore their personalities more, give them different reasons for doing different things and showcasing that they aren’t evil, well not usually, but generally misunderstood. There’s so much more here than a simple slasher style story and it’s that among other things like the interior artwork that keeps me coming back and getting excited when a new issue is out.
Action Lab (Danger Zone too) has really very quietly made themselves a go to company for high quality storytelling.