Written by: Frédéric Zumbiehl
Illustrations: Gil Formosa
Coloring: Isabelle Drouaillet-Formosa
Publisher: Dupuis
Buck Danny #55 Defcon One – Comic Book Review
The previous issue of Buck Danny already treated us to an exciting story, where a war between Japan and China seemed unavoidable, before Buck and his companions found out that Lady X was behind the threat. They retrieved a lot of valuable information, but couldn’t avoid Lady X and her superiors escaping. Now that it’s clear what Lady X is capable of, the Americans will have to do everything in their power to stop her, before it is too late.
At the end of the previous issue, Lady X and her associates managed to get away, after bombing the base where they secretly developed a hypermodern Spectre. With this aircraft, Lady X was responsible for the bombing of the Senkaku Islands, which caused the current conflict between China and Japan. For Buck there is nothing left to do but to find Lady X and the others, and neutralize them. A more pressing problem occurs though, as a typhoon is about to break loose, which renders it practically impossible for the Americans to surveil the airspace around the small islands.
The typhoon is a drawback for the Americans, but Buck is convinced that it will be for Lady X too, as flying in this kind of weather would be suicide. Thus he is quite confident that, as long as the storm rages, they can be at ease. Tumb thinks differently about the matter though, as he fears that Lady X might well be flying during the typhoon, which would make them vulnerable without any aircrafts patrolling. Buck and Tumb will have to come to an agreement soon, as time is running out, and Lady X is still out there.
Just like the previous one, this issue moves quite fast and has quite a few action sequences as well. While there is a lot of text to plow through because of the fast moving story, there is still a good balance between action scenes and talkative scenes. One issue we did have with this album is that there is no introduction whatsoever. For people who missed out on the previous album, it will undoubtedly be hard to follow what is going on, as the story literally just takes off again where it left off last time. The previous album came out about a year ago, thus even for those who have read it, it will take some time to remember exactly what happened before. Nonetheless, reading the two in one go will undoubtedly make for an interesting experience.
Gil Formosa’s illustrations look spiffy as ever, which makes for quite some interesting scenes, definitely when the typhoon is raging over the sea. Isabelle Drouaillet-Formosa adds an intensity to his illustrations, especially with her skillful coloring of the clouds and the overall backdrops.
Conclusion
Buck Danny #55 Defcon One is the second issue in the diptych by Zumbiehl and Formosa. The story is still going strong, as are the illustrations, making the whole a very pleasant and intriguing experience. The only downside of this album is that there is no recap whatsoever of the first issue, making it difficult to dive right in. Be sure to read #54 Een Schaduw in de Nacht before you read this one, and you’ll be in for quite the adventure.
Buck Danny #55 Defcon One - Comic Book Review,
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