Review: Deadly Class #33

Things are not going so well for the freshman class at Kings Dominion School of the Deadly Arts. Saya has been kidnapped by her brother Kenji, in what appears to be some long-standing resentment for her, and Zenzele shares with us his back story and what drove him to become the evil being he feels that he is. Deadly Class #33 (Image Comics) is a brutal tour de force with a story destined for greatness.

Rick Remender has done a hell of a job with this dark saga. With a couple of parallel story lines to follow, there is not a dull moment in this comic. First, in typical evil henchman form, Kenji goes into great detail as to why he has kidnapped his younger sister Saya. Superficial as his reasons may be, they do make for a good story. I“m curious to discover how this will turn out for him, now that he has made the classic bad guy fuax pas, but he has succeeded in one thing; sending Saya into an all-out rage.

Zenzele“s back story is brutal. He tells of how he came to be the way he is and the picture he paints is not very pretty. Do take this as a caution, the trauma he faced as a child could trigger emotional responses from some readers, so proceed, but be aware that in this issue, there is no redeeming outcome provided.
In describing the artwork of Wes Craig, words like sensational come to mind. With a comic thirty years in the past, he has not only nailed the styles of the time, but does so with a keen eye for detail. His work, along with colorist Jordan Boyd is really a master class on how to draw quality, no holds barred, grown up comics. You will not find a better artistic team in the horror game today.

For fans of martial arts, horror, or simply damn fine stories, this is a book for you. There is no doubt it“s for mature audiences, but if you fit the bill, it“s highly recommended.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Rick Remender (A/CA) Wesley Craig

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Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.