Writer: Amanda Deibert
Art: Carlo Lauro
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 15th, 2023
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Darkwing Duck #3 Review.
THE DISPATCH
Picking up where we left off, Darkwing Duck #3 finds Drake Mallard having hung up the cape, and settling into retirement to dedicate sole commitment to his fatherly responsibilities. Launchpad has left as well. In this issue, Drake reunites with his lover, the magical Morgana McCawber. Fans of Darkwing and Morgana’s romance are sure to love this issue, though if you are a fan of Darkwing Duck because of Darkwing’s superhero action, you will be disappointed. A villain is teased at the end, but no villain is seen in the issue, unless you count the obscure character Launchpad has now become a sidekick to. Fans of the show will enjoy how they paid homage to the first episode, “Darkly Dawns the Duck”, by giving all call-back to Darkwing’s “breakfast training regimen”, only this time it’s in Drake’s house, rather in Darkwing’s secret lair.
ART
The art in Darkwing Duck #3 contains several references and Easter Eggs that astute fans are sure to recognize. Drake has pictures of the Justice Ducks fighting the Fearsome Five from the episode, “Just us Justice Ducks” and Darkwarrior Duck, a time variant of Darkwing from the episode, “Time and Punishment”. You can even spot a Darkwing Duck Funko Pop! figure amongst Drake’s collection of Darkwing memorabilia. Morgana also mistakenly turns Honker Muddlefoot into pudding, a homage to the “Just us Justice Ducks” episode when she mistakenly turned Darkwing into pudding. Mayor Owlson lights the “Darkwing signal” which contains a silhouette of Darkwing’s profile, à la the Batsignal. Drake converts his gas gun into something similar to a proton pack from Ghostbusters. There’s a great full page featuring Morgana McCawber, as she makes her first appearance in the issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you’re a fan of Darkwing and Morgana’s relationship, you are sure to love Darkwing Duck #3, but if you’re expecting a lot of action, this issue is not for you. Nevertheless, they set up the villain for next issue, so mostly likely the Terror the Flaps in the Night will make his triumphant return to crime fighting. His eventual fight with this villain is most likely foreshadowed as Drake is looking through various photos of his time as Darkwing fighting villains. Will Darkwing come to the rescue? Could Drake and Morgana get married? Let us know what you think, Darkwing fans!
Nope, I’m still mad that Disney fired Aaron Sparrow and James Silvani from this series. It’s especially bothersome because Morgana got lost in interdimensional limbo during their run, and she never canonically made it back before Disney pulled the plug. (No, “Dangerous Currency” doesn’t count; that crossover was so poorly written that it got wiped from canon.) So seeing Morgana suddenly back like as if the previous comic never happened honestly seems like Disney is just twisting the knife.
I would personally consider the events of these new Darkwing comics to be set before the events from Sparrow and Silvani’s run. A couple reasons are because there’s no Quackwerks in this version and Darkwing slightly changes his outfit in the 2017 run as well. As for “Dangerous Currency” , I know they said they retconned it, but I choose to believe there’s was some magic spell from Magica, Morgana or someone else that erased it from everyone’s minds and that through that Morgana ended up disappearing.
But if this is a prequel to the Boom!/Joe Books series, wouldn’t Quackerjack NOT be begging Negaduck to tell him Darkwing’s secret identity in the flashback that was in Boom!’s third issue? ‘Cause I think he found it out in the previous issue of THIS comic. Then again, I don’t think Amanda Deibert even knows that there WAS a Darkwing Duck comic before this one…
I wasn’t under any impression that Quackerjack knew Drake was Darkwing in the previous issue. And maybe she doesn’t, but it sure seems interesting that they seem to allude to it at times. This issue had the “Darkwing Signal” which Sparrow and Silvani initially came up with, and they’ve used variations of “Dark Knight Returns” which we know is a spoof of Batman, but also the title of the first Darkwing comic story arc. I’m writing the review for the next one which will be posted in a few days, and what I think this series is lacking so far is it seems like the emphasis is more on Darkwing’s relationships instead of fights with villains. I still like it, but I agree Sparrow and Silvani’s run was far superior. If I’m reading about a superhero character, I want more action. That should be the main thrust of the story.
I think Quackerjack found it out because Drake said “That’s not how my catchphrase goes” while holding a Darkwing action figure WITHIN EARSHOT OF QUACKERJACK at the beginning of issue #2, but I guess he forgot since it doesn’t come up again even when Drake decides to retire. Also I’m pretty sure the Darkwing signal’s appearance in this issue is just a coincidence, since its appearance in the Joe Books title was the result of Gizmoduck doing shadow puppetry.