By Dustin Cabeal

The first Half Past Danger was a decent series. It wasn’t particularly fresh of an idea, but at the time there wasn’t anything else hitting the shelves, so it was a welcomed change. That and creator Stephen Mooney’s artwork is pleasing to the eyeballs.

The problem I had with the first Half Past Danger series is the same problem I have with this series; everyone talks too damn much. It’s as if all the actors are trying to squeeze out a sag card by getting as many lines of dialogue as possible. Granted in real life people do usually get the same amount of lines of dialogue, but storytelling is different. That and this world has fucking dinosaurs in it and a guy who is totally Captain America… they even make a joke this time around about it. My point is, maybe the conversations don’t need to be as realistic.

The story picks up with Irish getting his ass kicked as per usual. His team is now just himself and John, aka totally fucking Captain America. Hell, may as well just call him the new Captain A-Town since Marvel shit every bed in the world with the real one. Am I right? Am I right? God, I want to put a gif in this review, but I won’t. Anyway, Irish gets his butt kicked, John saves him, and they find out that the operation was a bust. They’re given leave, and the rest of the damn comic takes place at a dance until the double agent/triple agent/she’s a bad guy with a heart of gold shows back up. The twist ending was predictable, but I liked it since it had a Batman vibe and made her instantly the smartest person in the book. I like when villains aren’t 100% terrible people and manage to stay one step ahead of the good guys.

The story is rather slow in this first issue. The dinosaurs are hinted at, all but one main character appears. It just very slowly eases everyone back into the story but doesn’t bother giving a lot of info about the previous series. Hell, I would have called this something else and then subtitled it “A Half Past Danger Story” that way you could just sell it as new. That said there is a two-page recap, but it didn’t particularly feel needed. Aside from being slow moving, everyone just talks way too much. I know I said that already, but it's worth repeating. There is an excess of dialogue in this comic and very little of it is worth reading.

Mooney’s artwork continues to be photorealistic and wonderful. I could stare at this book all day. It’s just a damn good looking book. It’s not just the characters or action, but the scenery, the locations, the backgrounds even the damn clouds look damn good. The coloring elevates the art, but I have to say if there was a book that I could tolerate in just black and white pre-colors, it’s probably this one. Though the coloring is exquisite, why Trina Tree Farrell’s name isn’t seen more on comics is beyond me. Perhaps I’m just missing it, but keep in mind… I read a ton each week.

I wanted to like this book more, just like the first one. I love the setting, the plot and the concept of the characters, but I don’t like the characters. I don’t like their interactions or when any of them open their mouths. I’ll likely finish the series with a review here and there, but personally, I’ll enjoy it more the first time through just looking at the artwork.

Score: 3/5

Half Past Danger 2: Dead to Reichs #1
IDW Publishing