Written by: James Asmus and Fred Van Lente
Art by: Kano
Published by: Valiant Entertainment
Reviewed by: Kristian Horn
In comic shops on August 20, 2014!
Last week I gave a Valiant comic book a bit of a bad review. I felt a bit bad about doing that because I really love Valiant as a company. Their comic books are some of the best being put out there these days and their track record, for me anyway, has been pretty stellar. In the end, it just turned out that The Death Defying Doctor Mirage just wasn’t my cup of tea. It just wasn’t for me.
Luckily, The Delinquents was my cup of tea. It was perfect for me. It was right up my alley. Not only was it right up my alley, it led right up my street, down my driveway, through the front door and plopped right onto my living room couch. I’m not going to mince words: I absolutely loved this comic book.
It’s no secret to anyone that’s listened to our podcasts or read any of my reviews that two of my favorite Valiant books are Archer and Armstrong and Quantum and Woody. So when you put together a comic that is basically a team up between the two properties, well, you’ve quite literally dropped your chocolate into my peanut butter.
The strength of Archer and Armstrong and Quantum and Woody is the humor behind the writing. Whenever I’ve picked up either of these books I’ve found myself smiling from ear to ear and actually chuckling out loud at times. Luckily, The Delinquents has managed to maintain the sense of humor that makes both of the comics it’s pulling its characters from so special. The Delinquents not only manages to keep the laughs going it also finds the perfect balance between the tone of the two team books. While both of these comics are funny they do also both have their own unique sense of humor. At no point in this first issue did I feel that one team of “heroes” was overshadowing the other. The Delinquents manages to sustain each comic’s unique brand of hilarity while somehow seamlessly combining the two into a funny bone tickling narrative. Writers Asmus and Van Lente are impressively successful in bringing four of the funniest action characters in comics under the umbrella of one title.
Kano’s art here is out and out fantastic. While his style may not be a flashy as some of the other artists in the Valiant stable he keeps the pages flowing and lays his comic panels out in some of the most interesting ways I’ve ever seen. Kano’s technique is kinetic and captivating. Even when figures are standing still on the page there is a sense of motion, of energy about them. Kano seems to instinctively know how to use his page space and every box is efficiently used. His artwork is professional and direct and spills over his pages with a flow that not many comic artists have.
If you are an Archer and Armstrong or a Quantum and Woody fan you will find The Delinquents a welcome addition to your pull list. Heck, even if you don’t know anything about either series, The Delinquents is fit to be a perfect introduction to both teams. You won’t have to know the history of any of the characters to enjoy it. It’s a great jumping on point for either book and looks like it could be a terrific little mini-series in its own right.
