Monday, March 7, 2011

Comics Review: CHIP AND DALE'S RESCUE RANGERS #4 (March 2011, Boom! Studios)

Leonel Castellani's artwork snaps back to top form for this concluding issue of the "Worldwide Rescue" arc, but Ian Brill's scripting doesn't come along for the ride. The net result is a rather muddled, vaguely unsatisfactory experience that simply doesn't live up to the glowing promise of issues #1 and #2.

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Almost right out of the chute, we learn of the chain of reasoning that led Chip to conclude that Fat Cat has been behind the misuse of the Animal Rescue Signal... and a gossamer-tenuous daisy-chain it turns out to be. "There were lots of security cameras around, therefore Fat Cat must have done it, because he owns a casino"? With that kind of logic, Chip could also have indicted (animal) bankers, (animal) department-store owners, and the slightly unsavory critters who run (animal) parking garages. I have a horrible suspicion that Brill got the idea for this explanation from the opening flashback sequence in which we learn how poor Professor Foo-Foo fell into Mr. Fat's clutches (not to mention how Mr. Fat suddenly gained the power to teleport -- a gimmick which is virtually thrown away here but could be put to very menacing use in future stories, should Brill choose to do so).

Beginning with the Rangers' arrival at Fat Cat's lair, the never-very-sturdy storyline breaks down completely. It's thoroughly in character for Fat Cat to want to watch the Rangers destroy themselves, but c'mon... even Mepps (especially the apparently slightly more intelligent Mepps of this title) should know better than to eat a huge piece of cheese within sniffing distance of an "otherwise distracted" Monterey Jack's nose. The cheese, of course, knocks Monty out of his A.R.S.-addled trance... and then, Monty breaks the spell over everyone else by SHOUTING? Sure, the Rangers are tight with each other and all that, but that earned a big old eye-roll from me. A convenient connection between the A.R.S. and the teleportation device then lands Mr. Fat and crew in a bad spot, from which the Rangers will "deal with" the bad guys in a manner that's never shown or described. Even the grateful Foo-Foo's "gift" to the Rangers is somewhat less than impressive to anyone who can recall how often the Rangers traveled to exotic locations in TV episodes.

The best part of this chapter actually turned out to be the Rangers' recovery of the final piece of the Super-Key, because (1) it got the Rangers back together with Monty's parents Cheddarhead Charlie and Camembert Katie, if only for a moment; (2) the Rangers' "whipped-up-in-a-jif" anti-crab armor was an inspired idea, drawn, in a very real sense, from the best moments of the TV show. An authentic touch like this makes me optimistic about the future of this title... though, in light of how Boom! is handling the DUCKTALES book, perhaps the company ought to consider identifying a "Ranger-focused" writer and turning him or her loose on C&DRR. Brill is a talented writer, but having him script both DARKWING DUCK and C&DRR may not be the optimal use of his abilities.

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