Dolphin Squad II: A Death In The Pod [Part Three] - Deadstar Publishing

DOLPHIN SQUAD II: A DEATH IN THE POD, May 2018

Bringing “this seventy two page full colour, all action graphic novel” to a satisfying conclusion with the discovery and resultant rescue of the Albino Avenger, Fabian, Danny J. Weston’s narrative for the final third of this publication definitely relies far more upon gallows humour to provide its gags than it has before. For whilst Vinny continues to deliver some of the corniest one-liners ever uttered by an aquatic mammal within the confines of a comic, such as when the “giant giant panda” Ping Po rescues Laser-Eye from a polar bear’s deadly bear-hug, and the “world’s angriest dolphin” delivers the cringe-worthy wisecrack “looks like we bear-ly made it in time”, it is actually the gruesomely lethal fate of the script’s “malicious mastermind” which arguably draws the biggest guffaws.

Helfert’s unwise decision to saw through his own handcuffed hand with a well-hidden hacksaw, rather than use the toothed-tool to cut through the wooden table leg he was manacled to, is rather reminiscent of Doctor Lawrence Gordon’s grisly resolution to Jigsaw’s conundrum in the 2004 horror film “Saw”. Yet it immediately draws more than a smile from the reader due to the ‘mean-hearted’ haranguing Dolphin Squad give the now mutilated German-accented super-villain for not just simply ‘sawing through the desk’; “Vot? Ze desk..? I… Uh -- Curse you dolphin!”

Interestingly, the author also utilises this debatably grotesque scene and the trail of blood droplets it leaves behind as a plot device to provide a reason as to how the titular threesome can track down the bespectacled scientist to his “secret emergency exit to lobby” and subsequently witness his comically dark demise in the jaws of four no longer mind-controlled minions. The look on the straight-faced polar bear as he closes the door in order to stop the audience from seeing what the quartet of snow-coloured predators are about to do to their former master is wonderfully pencilled by Weston, and one can only imagine the evil professor’s final moments as the jumper-wearing carnivores ignore his plea not to “eat me” and start “licking” their meal…

Sadly, slightly less successful is “the S.E.A.W.O.R.L.D. short” entitled “The Poseidon Misadventure” written by Mark Adams and Mark Warner. Clearly designed to emulate an earlier era in Laser-Eye’s career, before Hogan became the Whalereverine and was actually the porpoise’s “big guy on the team”, this tale certainly provides an entertaining insight into some of the super-team’s former members like Campion the sea urchin, and Anna-Leigh the sea cow. But having spent so long perusing the computer-enhanced digitised drawings of “Dolphin Squad II: A Death In The Pod”, the stylised, characterfully pencilled panels of Dave Clifford debatably prove a jarring distraction from the storytelling.

‘First published on the "Dawn of Comics" website.'

Writer and Artist: Danny J. Weston

Dolphin Squad II: A Death In The Pod [Part Two] - Deadstar Publishing

DOLPHIN SQUAD II: A DEATH IN THE POD, May 2018

Lacking much of the seriousness of this graphic novel’s opening third, due largely to Laser-Eye and Vinny only occasionally dwelling upon the demise of the Pink Protector, Danny J. Weston’s script for the ‘middle’ of his publication instead focuses far more upon the fact that the “squad are back together”, and the ramifications that follow as the duo crucially confront the “vicious varmint” behind Fabian’s tearful termination. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more pulse-pounding read than the adventure the “creator of [these] comic book crime fighters” provides, with the “parachuting porpoises” not only encountering the nefarious fake moustache-wearing workers of Plumb Plumbers, “experts in leaks and taps”, but brain-washed pistol-packing polar bears, “a man-made, metal, miniature mountain”, the despicable Doctor Helfert, and a truly surreal advertisement for Crabby Ruth bars – “only the crabbiest, chewiest chocolate, tastes like crab sticks never tasted before…” 

Arguably the highlight of these “full colour” pages however, is the sense-shattering car chase between the super-team’s “turbot-charged” Marine Machine and the motor-bike riding semiaquatic rodent, Eva Kbeavil. This sequence is an absolute delight to peruse with Vinny even seemingly replicating Sean Connery’s ‘miraculous’ Las Vegas car tip trick from the 1971 James Bond movie “Diamonds Are Forever”, by steering his speedster onto just its right wheels in order to navigate a “narrow escape” down a pedestrian only walkway; “I gotta admit that’s some fancy driving!” Of course, with a mischievous moniker like Evil Kbeaver such a preposterous pursuit was only ever going to end with the dam-building delinquent gunning his two-wheeled getaway ride up a ramp and over a formidable-looking barbed wire fence. Yet, even this impressive felonious feat brings a smile to the face, as the broad-tailed lawbreaker subsequently crashes into the office of the Flotsam Supermax Prison’s warden, Robert Gunton, and is immediately arrested.

Somewhat less pacey, though equally as entertaining, is the Dolphin Squad’s tongue-in-cheek exploration of the devious doctor’s underground lair in the South Pole. Having almost literally battered this "72 page" publication's audience into submission with a non-stop sequence of eye-watering wise-cracks on board a chartered S.E.A.W.O.R.L.D. aeroplane, this infiltration of the clichéd German-sounding scientist’s secret base is just as remorselessly packed with puns, as well as notable nods to the spy-fi genre, such as Laser-Eye and the “world’s angriest dolphin” needing to negotiation some giant fan blades inside a ventilation duct, or Weston’s drawings of the devilish Doctor Helfert’s personal quarters looking as if they’d been crafted by production designer Sir Kenneth Adam himself.

‘First published on the "Dawn of Comics" website.'

Writer and Artist: Danny J. Weston

Dolphin Squad II: A Death In The Pod [Part One] - Deadstar Publishing

DOLPHIN SQUAD II: A DEATH IN THE POD, May 2018

Proudly proclaimed by “Deadstar Publishing” as a “follow-up to our best-selling Dolphin Squad: Heroes Of The Sea graphic novel”, this “all action” adventure provides plenty of simple guffaws and giggles up until Danny J. Weston’s narrative suddenly takes a surprising dive into thoughtful despair, and pens a genuinely sad scene involving the quite horrific demise of the Albino Avenger, Fabian. In fact, up until the aquatic mammal’s morbid murder, which as an aside potentially provides a notable nod to the origin of Doctor Manhattan in an Intrinsic Field Subtractor, this “full colour” publication’s plot appears to be as uncomplicated a comical yarn, as its delightful dialogue is pun-filled; “Hope you get my point, Ping Prong! Timberrr! Ha! Ping Prong, get it? Cuz forks have prongs!”

Ordinarily, such straightforward story-telling may well quickly turn into something of a chore for a reader, but on this occasion the dorsal finned crime-fighters’ creator uses the simplicity of a radioactive mutated beaver terrorising his mereswine troupe with an enraged “giant giant panda” to almost perpetually bombard his audience with wonderful witticisms and corny gags, such as a waffle-laden Vinny potentially delaying his pod’s pursuit of Evil Kbeaver because Laser-Eye won’t ordinarily allow him to eat food inside the Dolphin Mobile. These crackpot funnies really do help maintain a pleasingly fast pace to proceedings, and makes the Pink Protector’s death all the more shocking when it occurs from out of the blue.

Intriguingly, the scenes which immediately then follow the Dolphin Squad member’s terminal departure, particularly Fabian’s Central Megapolis Memorial, perhaps understandably appear to somewhat tone down the slap-stick shenanigans, and replace them with a far more tragic tone as the super-group’s leader shuts down the team, ostracises a distraught Vinny, and heartbreakingly starts spiralling downwards into a bottle or five (of lemonade). Of course Weston still imbues his work with plenty of tongue-in-cheek absurdity, as seen by Laser-Eye’s visit to the S.E.A.W.O.R.L.D.’s underground prison in order to talk to the likes of Spag-Yeti, Bearbarian and Whaleverine. But even this lengthy sequence has a stark seriousness and palpable meanness to it which wasn’t apparent in this book’s earlier, more light-hearted episodes, back before there was a death in the pod…

Adding to this graphic novel’s sense of hilarity is Danny’s rather unique-looking artwork, which appears somewhat reminiscent of the Nineties “Cartoon Network” animated cartoons “Dexter's Laboratory” and “Johnny Bravo”. Dynamically drawn, and astoundingly able to imbue even a motorbike riding beaver with an aura of utter evil, the British-born illustrator’s story-boards bring both boundless energy to his script, as well as a genuine sense of loss and utter helplessness to the titular characters when circumstances take a decidedly dire turn for the worse.

Writer and Artist: Danny J. Weston