Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Wes Craig
Published by: Image
With each passing issue, Deadly Class becomes increasingly more difficult to read. It’s not because the writing is bad – in fact, it’s actually the opposite. If the writing were poor, then reading Deadly Class would be fine, because it wouldn’t come with some heavy emotional baggage. But ever since the beginning, Remender has taken characters we care about (namely Marcus, but others as well), and destroyed them. To the point that, by the end of this issue, it really feels like there’s no way for Marcus to come back from anything that he’s been through. And that’s tough. It’s tough because of how much I care about the characters in this book. I think that I speak for the entire readership when I say that the cast Remender has crafted is one that is easy to become invested in. It’s the kind of cast you want to spend time with.
Much of this storytelling is owed to Remender’s writing, but it would be remiss to ignore Wes Craig’s massive artistic contributions to the book. This issue is an especially effective show case of his talent, as we move from the real world into Marcus’ head after getting high. The visuals in these sequences convey his emotional state better than any line of dialogue could.
The best panels in this book are the ones that utilize the maximum potential of both Remender’s writing and Craig’s art. One character may be saying something that matters, but that character’s lines are just as important as the facial expressions and postures of the other character(s) in the panel.
I think what impresses me most in this issue of Deadly Class is the inner monologue that Remender provides for Marcus. Not only is it a perfect lens into his emotional state, but it also hits very close to home for me, and probably for many other readers as well.
There’s a bit of smart social commentary injected into it, and this comes back later in the issue. Of course, this series is no stranger to impactful social commentary, but it’s done better here than it has been anywhere else in the series.
Deadly Class is consistently one of the best books hitting the shelves. It should surprise no one who’s reading it that this issue doesn’t break the trend of excellence that Remender and Craig have established. For those who aren’t reading the series, it’s impossible for me to not recommend it, unless you react violently to watching characters you’ve come to like completely fall apart. Fifteen issues really isn’t that many, so if you missed the train when this book began, well… it’s not too late!
