Advance Review: Sam Pays The Price For His Switch In Allegiances In ‘Night Club 2’ #3
by Olly MacNamee
Summary
Sam is about to learn the hard way that with great powers should come great responsibilities. Not a way of showing off to your would-me mates. Mates who reveal themselves to be the bad guys in ‘Night Club 2’ #3. D’oh!
Overall
9/10Poor, poor Sam. In wanting to fit in with the in-crowd Sam was quick to give away the gift of immortality to his new girlfriend last issue, only to find she was playing him all along. And as a result, Sam is now facing his worst nightmare. In Night Club 2 #3 Risso and his gangster-wannabes turn on Sam and turn on him good. It’s a learning moment for Sam, should he survive this ordeal, but thanks to his thoughtless actions, led as much by his libido as it is a desire to fit in with the jocks, he places himself and his friends in danger.
Mark Millar does confrontations well. And here we have Risso and his goons revealing sadistically in their new powers and acting like big shots. This is a street-level stour featuring street-smart kids from modest backgrounds. Comics aren’t usually written about such folks. And while Spider-Man is the obvious comparison, even he fought villains often possessed of great wealth and status. Here we have street hoods elevated to megalomaniac status – minus the wealth – with their transformation into vampires. But without the grandiose plans for world domination. No, they just want the Night Club to burn. Millar thereby infuses this issue with the dialogue and energy of a high-powered battle but always against a backdrop of ordinariness. The glistening office blocks of the likes of Lex Luthor or Norman Osborn are replaced by suburban sidewalks and dark alleys, but the menace is just as powerful as Risso and company take great delight in harming others.
Artist Juanan Ramírez keeps it real by illustrating the malice, bile, and anger that run through this issue. His use of close-ups, capturing the high emotions of the various players, helps sell the melodrama of proceedings, while Fabiana Mascolo’s colours help set the mood.
It’s a tense issue from the start and only gets more tense as the dominoes start to fall and put heroes look beaten. But then, as any vampire will tell you, it’s always the darkest before dawn. And I’m already looking forward to seeing how the Night Club kick ass next issue.
Night Club 2 #3 is out on Wednesday 30th October from Dark Horse Comics.
