The assassin and revenge genre has seen a lot of great content created around it. The latest to join the genre appears to be Doug Wagner and Doug Dabbs’ Klik Klik Boom from Image Comics. This new series immediately caught my attention thanks to an eye-catching cover and intriguing preview for the first issue. The series appears to hit what is so great about movies like John Wick and Atomic Blonde. Find out how the first issue goes with our advance review of Klik Klik Boom #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Doug Wagner
Artist: Doug Dabbs
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
SOLICITATION
“Meet Sprout a mute assassin who communicates exclusively through Polaroid pictures. Being raised by her doomsday-prepping grandfather in the rolling hills of Idaho Sprout has never been around other people watched TV or seen clothes outside of Army fatigues. Now she’s headed to the big lights of New York City to avenge her grandfather’s murder but will the city’s mesmerizing glitz and glam help her succeed-or be the death of her?” – Image Comics
REVIEW
Klik Klik Boom #1 is a great example of the power of comic books. A lot can be said from panel to panel without a word being uttered by a character. That is what we get here as our lead character, Sprout, only communicates through the Polaroid pictures she takes with her camera. There is a sense of confidence in their storytelling abilities as a creative team that Dogu Wagner and Dabbs showcased.
The first half of Klik Klik Boom #1 works well to sell the concept around Sprout and the mysterious revenge mission she is on. Who Sprout is, from communicating through Polaroid pictures and her combat training, is put over during this opening. Dabbs’s artwork is key in selling the concept around Sprout’s narrative. The way she carries herself makes Sprout get across how she is experiencing many things for the first time while carrying the weight of going through a lot in her past.
Utilizing how Sprout was raised by her former military, doomsday-prepping grandfather could make her a character in a world that is always connected to a bigger mystery. Even though we don’t know why her grandfather gave it does not discount her present. She is clearly motivated by who she is targeting. And the way her actions are talked about by others helps explain that her mission for revenge hasn’t made her a villain. Sprout is specific to her mission and that leads her story to be even more intriguing.
The addition of having Sprout’s hair color change to match the mood of a scene was a great choice. This complimented Sprout’s state of mind in each scene.
Because Sprout does not speak that makes the other lead character, we are introduced to have an immediate importance to the story. Her set-up into what we are seeing a lot in the last year for people that listen to true crime podcasts. Wagner gives enough time to the character to understand her motivation for getting involved in Sprout’s story but not going overboard with her approach. This in turn starts to build out the supporting cast for Klik Klik Boom.
While we don’t get a lot of action, what we do get in Klik Klik Boom #1 is a good tease of what we can expect from this series. From what we see, Sprout definitely has the John Wick badass fighting skills down. How the training she went through with her grandfather out in the countryside is put into use in an urban setting of New York will be interesting to see in future action sequences.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Klik Klik Boom #1 delivers a great example of the power of storytelling that comic books provide. Doug Wagner and Doug Dabbs create a lead character you are immediately invested in. Every action she takes or how others talk about her builds a mystery that you are looking forward to seeing how it will unfold.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10