PopCultHQ received a review copy of
COUGAR AND CUB #2 from Action Lab: Danger Zone.
Available on Wednesday, February 15th,
the creative team for this series features
writing from Nick Marino and Rosie Knight,
with interior and cover art from Daniel Arruda Massa.
Here’s PopCultHQ’s spoiler-free review of the second issue of…
COUGAR AND CUB #2
Writers:
Nick Marino, Rosie Knight
Artist:
Daniel Arruda Massa
Cover Artist:
Daniel Arruda Massa
The crime-fighting chemistry has dramatically dipped following Cougar and Cub’s unexpected one night stand! With Megaville’s supervillains eager to pounce on their vulnerable prey, a trap is set at Megaville Comic Con by Norm and the Regulars. Can our feline fighters fend off this bunch of belligerent bullies?
Plus, peer into the past through a sensuous silver age story as Cougar struggles to pry her wayward Cub from the paws of a rodent interloper!
32 pgs./ M / FC $3.99 (reg.), $4.99 (var.)
PopCultHQ’s Comic Book Review:
COUGAR AND CUB #2
“Hittin’ It”
We meet our first of Cougar’s Rogues Gallery…Norm the Normal and his followers the Regulars! The bastion of blandness has targeted Megaville’s Comic Con and cosplayers beware cuz this criminal thinks your convention is crappy and your clothes are crass! Norm is a riot and makes such a cool villain in this world. Oh and the cosplayers are depicted so well and surprise you with their involvement in the story.
Though the Chaos at Comic Con is the feature of this particular issue, the series carries its running narrative from last month’s release. An uncomfortable awkwardness between Cougar and Cub after they let their inhibitions take over. Can the duo overcome this? Or will it be a distraction, their downfall, and eventual demise? I’m just going to put this out there because it’s what I’m feeling at the moment…COUGAR AND CUB makes me happy. Sure, it sounds campy, but I just get an overall sense of happiness from reading these issues. Love the team assembled on this project!
I am really enjoying the throwback story in the last pages at the end of each issue. This epilogue actually looks back at Cougar in her earlier days. A different Cub, a different era, heck even the panel layout is reminiscent of the comics of that time. And the art is so sick in recalling the days where the printing ink on the newsprint was off a touch creating an overlap that will have most adult comic book fans/readers/collectors reminiscing to those younger days of ours. This is the first comic to come along in years that I don’t want to end. Already feeling like a junkie needing my Minerva Minx medicine. To sum up what you can expect from this series, it’s as simple as three words: Raw. Entertaining. Talent.
Writing:
Nick Marino’s imagination explodes in issue two of COUGAR AND CUB. Whether it’s the mysterious underground cabal of supervillains, the students and faculty at Sidekick Academy, or a larger look at the goings-on in Megaville, this off-beat superhero romp is expanding its universe and it is beyond exciting! Marino continues to deliver the perfect blend of humor, timing, surprise, and all the adultness you could want. It takes a unique sense of humor to produce results like this and Marino is overflowing with it.
Rosie Knight’s writing in the Throwback story “No Mouse is My Master” caught me off-guard. While I really enjoyed her story from issue one, this one surprisingly started off slow and I was unsure where this was headed. But like a shock to my senses, Knight shows that not only does she have what it takes to deliver a strong story within a story, but that she has the Action Lab: Danger Zone mindset nailed down and then some. She goes from zero to bizarre to twisted to freaky all within the span of three pages. What a freakin’ glorious and unexpected ride that was! It was like putting Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch in a room and told them to produce a 15-minutes film. Just impressive writing to read.
Art:
As terrific as the writing is in COUGAR AND CUB, the illustrations of Daniel Arruda Massa contribute just as much to the laughs and overall feel for the title. Massa shows he can add comedy through his artwork, exuberance through his colors, and compliment the pace.
His characters and action scenes are overflowing with an in-your-face boldness that leaps off the pages. The decision to fill the pages of this series with such vibrant hues is one of the highlights of the book. Not only does it add to the comical nature of the COUGAR AND CUB environment, it has an uncanny ability to evoke smiling and a kid-like misdemeanor upon the reader. I was grinning from page one until after I finished it and much of that credit is to the art within. The fight scenes, and those which are a wee bit more violent, are intense and graphic, but in an animated way that is so satisfyingly perfect. Keep your day job, Daniel, for you are in your element.
PopCultHQ’s overall assessment:
There was so much story, chock-full of chuckles, packed in this one issue that the content exceeded the price tag considerably. Insanity, hilarity, chaos at comic con, awkward together moments “the day after,” caption boxes that speak like the overhead announcer guy from Johnny Bravo or Dexter’s Laboratory, jokes that’ll blindside you; COUGAR AND CUB has it all and more!
And another highlight: the centerfold splash page with its epic battle sequence is off-the-charts spectacular! You’ll definitely look over these pages again and again and just marvel at how entertainingly it’s laid out. Brilliant!
I am so glad this is an Action Lab: Danger Zone because some of the humor is definitely adult but definitely welcome. Between COUGAR AND CUB, and the upcoming AMERIKARATE, Danger Zone is bringing a new kind of funny to the comic world. I haven’t laughed so much from a comic book and with back-to-back issues too. Though only two issues in, COUGAR AND CUB continues to contribute a colossal amount of comedic content with cute characters, cunning criminals, and a crime-fighting couple, when combined, are capable of conquering crime and some crazy coitus.
PopCultHQ’s Rating:
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COUGAR AND CUB #2 can be pre-ordered now on ComiXology!
Side note: Cougar and Cub cosplay needs to happen! Fairly simple costume to create and the possibilities of how to showcase the duo best at a convention could result in the most hilarious cosplay of 2017. Read one or both issues and you’ll see what I mean!
Be sure to follow the creative team!
Writer – Nick Marino
Writer – Rosie Knight
Artist – Daniel Arruda Massa
Publisher – Action Lab: Danger Zone
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