DARKWING DUCK #3, from Dynamite Comics on March 15th, 2023, finds the citizens of St. Canard grappling with the disasters and villainy that befall them when Darkwing Duck has officially retired.
The Details
- Written by: Amanda Diebert
- Art by: Carlo Lauro
- Colors by: Carlo Lauro
- Letters by: Jeff Eckleberry
- Cover art by: Leirix Li (cover A)
- Comic Rating: All Ages
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: March 15, 2023
Is It Good?
What’s a town supposed to do when their one and only superhero retires, but the supervillains and assortment of strange catastrophes haven’t? DARKWING DUCK #3 starts to answer that question with a tale about a thorny situation developing in the gardens around St. Canard while Drake Mallard settles into domestic life.
Amanda Diebert’s script is cute and amusing but mildly disjointed. The pacing is solid, the dialog is excellent (depending on your appetite for puns and dad jokes), and Diebert’s attention to character work for Drake as a quiet civilian is intriguing.
That said, the plot isn’t as smooth or connected as it should be. City gardeners start disappearing. Then the scene cuts to Transylvania where Drake intends to make Morgana a personal proposal, and then back to St. Canard for a Drake Mallard invention gone wrong (which may or may not be connected to the disappearances). The seed (heh) of the story is there, but the fragments from each scene don’t quite come together clearly.
Because the scenes don’t connect as well as they should, it feels like you have to put in extra work to sort out the plot. Given the target audience (6 to 10-year-olds), asking the reader to put in that much work may be too confusing.
Carlo Lauro’s art is fantastic. Yes, we know. Dynamite is obligated to work within Disney’s style guide, but that doesn’t mean an artist has the chops to do it well. Lauro absolutely gets the Disney cartoon aesthetic, and this issue looks great.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our DARKWING DUCK #2 review to find out what caused Drake Mallard to hang up his cape.
We begin with a prologue scene. Gardeners around St. Canard are attacked and suddenly go missing.
Elsewhere, Drake and Gosalyn make nighttime plans during a trip to Transylvania, where Drake hopes to get to know Morgana’s family. The campfire and s’mores are interrupted by a ghost and Morgana’s father, Moloculo Macawber, before Morgana makes her macabre appearance. Despite the interruptions, Drake makes a proposal he hopes will lead to domestic bliss.
Later, Drake settles into domestic life with his memories and penchant for gadget-building. We conclude the issue with unusual kitchen recipes, a thorny development, and detention (but not for Gosalyn).
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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DARKWING DUCK #3 amusingly explores Drake Mallard’s life as a retired superhero while the citizens of St. Canard grapple with evil threats. The individual scenes are largely entertaining, and the idea of Drake trying to fit in as a civilian is a fresh take on the character, but the plot feels disjointed and confusing at times.
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