For those of you who missed Sunday’s update, I found the reading order I wanted, release dates rather than someone’s prefered timeline reading order. I decided not to stop this comic on a crossover and give it one more shot.
“This isn’t the elevator!”
The Solution #5
Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (January, 1994)
“It’s A Hard World”
WRITER: James Hudnall
PENCILER: Alan Jacobson
INKER: Larry Welch
COLORING: Moose Baumann (guides) & Foodhammer!
LETTERER: Dave Lanphear
EDITOR: Hank Kanalz
Baby kidnappers want a ransom that the mother can’t pay, but sadly she can’t pay the Solution’s fee, either. Dropkick is the only one willing to work pro bono but other members do offer him a hand in finding the baby and offering him extra protection via Darkmage’s spell cards. After a lot of trouble he finds and rescues the baby.
What they got right: We get very minor glimpses into Dropkick’s past, hints of some of his traumas like talking about another kidnapped baby who became an Ultra (presumably himself) and bad memories brought back by the happy pictures at a kid’s party theme restaurant that’s a front for the kidnappers.
What they got wrong: I want to say the others not taking part, but they kind of due. I understand needing to take jobs that pay the bills, and they do offer Dropkick aid in various ways even though he goes on the mission solo. So I’ll just complain about the art occasionally going all 90s on us, ask why babynappers would go through all this trouble to stop any rescue attempts (and are they actually using kids to make drugs–what the hell?), and move on.
What I think overall: I’m glad I gave this issue a shot because it was actually an enjoyable read. Hopefully it stays on this path going forward.
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