Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Emma Rios
Colorist: Javier Rodriguez
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Mike Choi
Editor: Alejandro Arbona, Stephen Wacker
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: October 2011
Cover Price: $2.99
Having read and enjoyed Cloak & Dagger in the 1980’s, I was worried that this would be another lame attempt at bringing the duo back into the limelight. It turns out Nick Spencer has a good grasp of the characters and does a great job of making them interesting.
The issue starts off with a quick origin montage to bring everyone up to speed. We then find Ty & Tandy about to be evicted from their place of residence in Holy Ghost Church so it can be demolished. From there the duo have to figure out where they’re going to stay and how they’ll support themselves. While they’re trying to do just that, the Avengers come along to enlist their help in keeping order in the Spider Island segment of the story.
It seems like the Spider Island storyline is just a backdrop to the main story and could have been left out entirely. It does throw in some action scenes, but overall doesn’t do much for the problems Cloak & Dagger are trying to resolve.
Nick Spencer does a fine job at keeping the characters true to form. Ty being the jealous non-boyfriend wanting only the best for Tandy and to right the wrongs of the world, and Tandy just wanting to be normal, thinking that Ty doesn’t really understand what she wants. The characters’ dichotomy is presented masterfully in thought balloons that are color-coded for each character; black for Cloak and white for Dagger. This makes for a great mechanism in the storytelling.
Emma Rios does a great job illustrating the book and I like the way she has Dagger just constantly sparkling light around her. Her artwork fills every page to capacity giving the reader a sense of confinement you find in NYC and making the action scenes feel more hectic.
I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book turned out. Cloak & Dagger were spot on – the visuals and dialog flowed seamlessly. I’m hoping this series leads to the duo’s increased popularity and more Cloak & Dagger appearances in the Marvel Universe in the future.
– The Comic Book Critic
Comic Book Critic Rating: 7.5