Punks Not Dead #4 Review
Writer David Barnett
Artist Martin Simmonds
Letterer Aditya Bidikar
Color Flats Dee Cunniffee
Publisher IDW
I have to start this review out with a disclaimer. Since my first review, I have been hung up on a phrase that Fergie muttered at the very beginning of the first book (I’m paraphrasing here): I’m dead, or I will be soon. I took that literally. I kept waiting for the guy to die and be a ghost along with Sid. Well, writer David Barnett reached out on Twitter and told me to stop waiting for the death. Said Fergie wasn’t being literal, just saying he was screwed and about to be steamrolled by the bully. Makes sense. That was my bad.
I may not have been that stoked about the last issue. I felt like it was kind of a filler issue to build up to a big boom in the next issue. And did this issue deliver. And with a big boom, literally.
I’ve always been amused by the relationship between Culpepper and Asif. It takes a lot from classic detective teams like Holmes and Watson, Mulder and Scully, House and whatever that other guy in House’s name was, where we have the leader (Culpepper) with the untraditional methods, and the skeptical partner. However, Punks Not Dead adds a whole other dimension to it in that Asif isn’t even sure if the Department of Extra-Usual Affairs is even a real thing, and despite the evidence he sees, he still isn’t convinced that ghosts are real. As far as he is concerned, he could be in the middle of a frat style hazing ritual, designed to make him look foolish and gullible. And their back and forth works beautifully.
Also, our questions are starting to be answered. The events in the past few issues that left me scratching my head wondering what happened, and the reasoning behind them is starting to be explained. And, we see more fully what has been said before (I don’t remember if it was said in previous issues or if it was just said in interviews with the creators as the comic was coming out) that Sid may not be who he thinks he is.
Well, that’s brought up. We don’t know where it’s going yet, but it promises to be interesting.
And like always, the artwork shines. Natural movements. Telling emotions. Unique style. It’s all there.
This comic had the perfect balance of answering questions brought up by the previous issues, and raising new ones to make sure you pick up the next month’s issue. And with the “story so far” summary at the beginning, even if haven’t read the previous issue, you can get caught up enough to thoroughly enjoy Punks Not Dead #4.
Artist Martin Simmonds
Letterer Aditya Bidikar
Color Flats Dee Cunniffee
Publisher IDW
I have to start this review out with a disclaimer. Since my first review, I have been hung up on a phrase that Fergie muttered at the very beginning of the first book (I’m paraphrasing here): I’m dead, or I will be soon. I took that literally. I kept waiting for the guy to die and be a ghost along with Sid. Well, writer David Barnett reached out on Twitter and told me to stop waiting for the death. Said Fergie wasn’t being literal, just saying he was screwed and about to be steamrolled by the bully. Makes sense. That was my bad.
I may not have been that stoked about the last issue. I felt like it was kind of a filler issue to build up to a big boom in the next issue. And did this issue deliver. And with a big boom, literally.
I’ve always been amused by the relationship between Culpepper and Asif. It takes a lot from classic detective teams like Holmes and Watson, Mulder and Scully, House and whatever that other guy in House’s name was, where we have the leader (Culpepper) with the untraditional methods, and the skeptical partner. However, Punks Not Dead adds a whole other dimension to it in that Asif isn’t even sure if the Department of Extra-Usual Affairs is even a real thing, and despite the evidence he sees, he still isn’t convinced that ghosts are real. As far as he is concerned, he could be in the middle of a frat style hazing ritual, designed to make him look foolish and gullible. And their back and forth works beautifully.
Also, our questions are starting to be answered. The events in the past few issues that left me scratching my head wondering what happened, and the reasoning behind them is starting to be explained. And, we see more fully what has been said before (I don’t remember if it was said in previous issues or if it was just said in interviews with the creators as the comic was coming out) that Sid may not be who he thinks he is.
Well, that’s brought up. We don’t know where it’s going yet, but it promises to be interesting.
And like always, the artwork shines. Natural movements. Telling emotions. Unique style. It’s all there.
This comic had the perfect balance of answering questions brought up by the previous issues, and raising new ones to make sure you pick up the next month’s issue. And with the “story so far” summary at the beginning, even if haven’t read the previous issue, you can get caught up enough to thoroughly enjoy Punks Not Dead #4.
A Look Inside
