Writer: Amanda Deibert
Art: Carlo Lauro
Publisher: Dynamite comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 27, 2023
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THE DISPATCH
In Darkwing Duck #9, the Justice Ducks reunite…sort of. Darkwing isn’t exactly fond of working with a team, but he begrudgingly realizes he needs some help in order to locate his kidnapped (or ducknapped) best pal and sidekick, Launchpad McQuack, who went missing at the end of last issue. The most frustrating thing about this is that it has now been 3 issues and there’s still no villain reveal. Some stories try to plan the long game, but there isn’t even much of a clue as to who the villain is. There might have been a slight clue in the first issue of this arc, but nothing was added to it along the way to make the reader more interested as the issues progressed.
This series is unfortunately proving to be a definite downgrade compared to previous Darkwing Duck comics, or even the new Negaduck spinoff series. Dynamite just announced an upcoming Justice Ducks spinoff comic in December, so this could lead into that, but it feels like they’re dragging out the storyline way too much and not really adding as many thrills and surprises to keep readers on their toes. They did capitalize on Darkwing’s egotism, but it seems to be exaggerated too much, to the point where he’s attacking and accusing random citizens. Yes, Darkwing had a big ego on the show, but he was still a likeable character. To some extent, this exaggeration of this aspect of his personality in this issue is making him a bit more annoying and even less heroic. For the titular hero, that shouldn’t be the case.
ART
The art in Darkwing Duck #9 varies in quality. It still is the same artist as in previous issues, but sometimes Lauro seems to draw the characters in a way that feels “off” compared to other panels. Obviously, it’s supposed to have a more cartoony look, but sometimes the characters look less like their animated counterparts than other times, drawn in a bit more exaggerated way. That being said, there are still some great panels, such as a full page of Darkwing swinging off into the night sky of St. Canard. Steggmutt looked great and consistent with his appearance on the show.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Darkwing Duck#9 , for the most part, is frankly disappointing. The Justice Ducks arc is being drawn out too long focusing more on in-fighting and personality clashes that any sort of fight against villainy. At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if there ends up not being a villain. This story arc is lackluster at best compared to previous Darkwing comics. It’s disappointing because with more heroes, you’d expect a greater threat worthy of their combined forces, and they’ve just been bickering amongst themselves for three issues in a row without a trace of any villain in sight. Hopefully the story will improve, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Agree to disagree, but I’m already enjoying this comic immensely more then they last~ I’m glad they’re setting up the characters before jumping headfirst into a story, and the characters are actually written like the show.
Darkwing has the biggest ego and this writer is keeping to canon. Unlike in a 30 minute episode or a two parter 60 minutes, comics are allowed to explore more and expand their pacing. I like seeing the justice ducks come together again and care spent on them.
To say the series is wrong for taking it’s time is bizarre. If we were to follow your advice, all comic arcs would be boringly short.
Considering that this storyline comes to a rather abrupt end in the next issue, I’d say that Batfan1992’s criticism of this issue is perfectly valid. Yet another reason Disney should not have fired Aaron Sparrow and James Silvani from this series.