Writer: Jeff Parker
Art: Ciro Cangialosi
Publisher: Dynamite comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 13th, 2023
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THE DISPATCH
The first issue in a spinoff series about Darkwing Duck’s arch nemesis, the nefarious Negaduck! Negaduck #1 is fun and exciting. Those expecting to see Darkwing Duck fight his foe may be disappointed as he does not show up in this issue. Nevertheless, it still contains several of Darkwing’s villains and presents them very true to form. Jeff Parker, known for his work writing Batman ’66, Future Quest and others, certainly communicates to the readers that he understands the characters he’s writing very well.
It is easy for readers to imagine Jim Cummings voicing Negaduck’s lines. Those who enjoy Darkwing’s extensive rogues gallery will not be disappointed, as this issue contains several classic Darkwing Duck villains, several of whom never actually interacted with Negaduck on the show, so it is fun to see Negaduck’s commentary of the various villains vexing St. Canard. This comic is still enjoyable, despite Darkwing’s absence, just by seeing Negaduck attempt to come up with a crime to compete against his fellow criminals. Darkwing isn’t really needed here because Negaduck provides enough entertainment on his own.
ART
The art in Negaduck #1 is very good and consistent with the animation style of the show. A lot of it is very brightly colored, despite the fact that it’s a comic about a supervillain focused on gloom and doom. The artist remodeled the Hamburger Hippo restaurant, seen on the show, which doubles as one of Negaduck’s hideouts in this issue. It looks designed differently, but it is still recognizable as the same restaurant, even though it isn’t named as such. For the coloring sticklers there is an error a couple of times where Taurus Bulba’s hand is purple instead of gold since he’s a cyborg now, but generally the characters all look on point.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you’re a fan of Darkwing Duck’s rogues gallery, then Negaduck #1 is definitely the comic for you! It features several sinister citizens of St. Canard and it’s a very funny story, as Negaduck seeks to compete with his fellow criminals. It also showcases Negaduck’s resourcefulness, despite many of his plans ending up being copied by others. He shows that he is a good parallel of Darkwing Duck. Just as Darkwing’s ego is big and he wants to be praised by the city, Negaduck’s ego is so big that he can’t handle any criminals stealing his ideas. He wants to be sole villain for St. Canard to fear. What new surprises are in store next issue? And if not Darkwing, who will defeat Negaduck this time?