REVIEW: Dead Drop #1

Written by Ales Kot
Art by Adam Gorham
Colors by Michael Spicer
Published by Valiant Entertainment

A lethal virus of alien origin with the capability of eradicating all life on Earth, or any other planet for that matter, has fallen into the hands of violent anarchists. One of the mightiest heroes of the Valiant Universe, Aric of Dacia, a.k.a. X-O Manowar, is sent into New York City to track down an individual who is carrying a vial of the deadly germ. The unidentified terrorist is but one of the few perpetrators involved with mobilizing the virus using an intricate series of dead drops ”“ a method where objects are exchanged inconspicuously at public places.

The plot is quite simple to follow ”“ find the dangerous alien virus, save the world. The reader is reminded of this concept several times throughout the issue. Despite the unsophisticated scheme, this latest Valiant tale calls upon an elite character in X-O Manowar to lead things off for the series. For those of us that are familiar with Visigoth King, it instantly conveys the message that the magnitude of this extraterrestrial disease is so high that it warranted the immediate services of one of the most powerful characters in the Valiant Universe. For those of you that are not too familiar with Aric of Dacia, this story serves as yet another jumping on point with X-O Manowar and Valiant in general.

Ales Kot provided a script that set up an intense level of urgency that coincided well with the “thrill of the chase” scenarios. However, that same urgency affected the pace of the story. I read this issue in hardly any time at all, only pausing for the couple of pages where we gain a little background info on the alien virus. I’m very curious to see how the rest of the script for this series plays out with the other Valiant characters that are scheduled to appear next.

I’m on the fence with the artwork by Adam Gorham featured in this issue. Most of the panels flowed well with the light speed tempo of the story and they were uniquely presented from a variety of angles. The characters were flexible, but in some cases, they appeared to be hyper-extended. There’s no lack of action sequences with this book, that’s for sure, but for a series that starts off in Manhattan, an atmosphere where the senses can be overwhelmed, I felt that some of the background art lacked strength, as it was either incomplete, too faded or missing all together. The coloring by Michael Spicer included an abundance of blue, brown and yellow. Some of the panels looked drenched, but in others, it may have helped add depth to the penciling.

Overall, this issue was entertaining but I was lightly disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend giving up on Dead Drop based solely on this first installment. The rest of the series has yet to be released and Valiant has yet to dissatisfy”¦.will they X-O?

Until next time!

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Author Profile

13th Crusader

Real Name: Mike / Occupation: (As Mike) Classified; (as The 13th Crusader) Host of The Definitive Crusade, DC Podcast, for Undercover Capes / Known Aliases: 13, The Iron Mike, Ironhide, The Walking Human Encyclopedia, Professor M / Affiliations: Comic Crusaders / Base of Operations: The 13th Lair (location classified), often mobile / Abilities: Photographic memory (to the extent where he is capable of memorizing the comic book inventories of several stores simultaneously for lengthy periods of time), voice impersonation, acute senses (The 13th Crusader possesses an uncanny ability to track down vintage comic books, and on several occasions, with his eyes closed, he has been able to determine the exact year a comic book was published just by smelling the ink inside of it), capable of drawing sketches; however, he prefers to write. He has a substantial amount of resistance to alcohol, surpassing the levels displayed by Marvelâ€™s Volstagg and Valiantâ€™s Aram Anni-Padda â€“ combined. Multilingual (Proficient with English and Spanish, adequate with Portuguese and Italian). Above average marksman (he is capable of throwing objects accurately at high velocities), limited sword fighting skills and kickboxing techniques. / Known Weaknesses: Anything that involves the original Gwen Stacy, 2 for 1 drinks during Happy Hour, 50 cent comic book bins, the scent of 1983 comic book ink / Hobbies: Vintage comic book collecting, baseball, listening to excessive amounts of 80â€™s music / History: Little is known of The 13th Crusader. He is a man of many talents who was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He has extensive knowledge of the comic book world and heâ€™s been collecting comic books since before he was able to read. Heâ€™s a BIG time fan of Silver and Bronze Age comics, and as such, his personal collection is truly impressive. He owns books that range from the 1950â€™s and onward. First Appearance: Comic Crusaders Column â€“ What Defines A Characters First Appearance (Feb 2014)