Danger Street #7: The Ace in the Sleeve

After a brief hiatus, Danger Street #7 marks the beginning of the second half of this 12-issue maxi-series, and oh boy, do things get shaken up. This issue immediately shows that the setup is finally over, placing this issue one month after the cliffhangers in Danger Street #6. It starts to become clear throughout the issue that every character has come up with their plan over the last month, with almost all of their motives coming to fruition by the end of this issue. The only downside to this is that there is no recap page, so if you forgot what happened, you are going to need to go back and revisit at least Danger Street #6, if not the entirety of the first half of the series.

What started as a story about redemption and fame, with a backdrop of gods and monsters, is brought full circle here. The crux of this story continues to revolve around the characters, yet; Tom King can weave in the intricacies of a universe-spanning narrative. Just when the plot grows the slightest bit stale, the setting will shift to another group of characters which brings a sense of levity to this tale that seems to have more players than it does issues. Danger Street #7 also works well as an individual story, with an equal setup and payoff within its 40 pages. All the characters get their time to shine, with the highlight going to the Dingbats, who have seemed to come up with a very mature and masterful plan throughout the one-month time skip. These characters are likely the least well-known of the bunch in this series, so it’s nice to see King give them so much depth and nuance. 

Jorge Fornes continues to deliver a tour de force with the art detailing in this book. The constant shifts between settings allow Fornes’s creative tick to flourish, with many aspects of this series referencing artwork from the 70s. This old-school flair that Fornes fills each page with gives this book a vintage feel and makes the reader feel like they are reading a classic in the making. The highlight of Fornes’s pencils is when we see brief glimpses of what’s happening with the New Gods on Apocalypse or New Genesis. The dramatic shift from small towns and cities to this otherworldly landscape serves as a nice palate cleanser but also demonstrates Fornes’s flexible art style and how easily he can convey dynamic landscapes of all varieties.

Dave Stewart excellently builds upon Fornes’s pencilsexcellently, with his subdued and washed color palate helping to convey the 70s feel that this book strives for. Stewart also interjects a great sense of vibrancy into the otherworldly characters, making them appear on the pages where regular superhero comics would not. This grounds the gods and monsters plot into reality by making the larger-than-life characters appear as the larger-than-life beings they are. This is almost forgotten in today’s comic book landscape, so it’s fresh air to see Stewart make a conscious effort with this series.

Finally, Clayton Cowles rounds off this creative team with yet another masterclass in comic book lettering. Cowles keeps the dialogue bubbles and thoughts as minimal and spread out as possible so that Fornes and Stewart’s art can pop out on each page. Cowles also makes this expansive narrative read with a relatively calm and spry pace, with each page flowing calmly and cohesively, despite the dramatic revelations and shifts that King sprinkles throughout the issue.