Half Past Danger #6

by Stephen Mooney & Jordie Bellaire

With the release of issue six of Half Past Danger marks the end of this great adventure series from creator Stephen Mooney, at least for now. This last issue was just as fun and exciting as each previous one, which made this a very solid series and put Mooney on a lot of reader’s radars.

This issue deals with the last showdown between our mixed group of heroes and Oberleutnant Toht and his group of dino stealing Nazis. They still address the reveal from the end of the last issue but still leave the betrayal shrouded in mystery. Mooney has done an amazing job pacing this series, the reader just knows these characters so well that it makes the action so much smoother and keeps things moving at an engaging but brisk pace. Each issue always throws a bit of a twist and the last is no exception, there is still time to throw in one last reveal about how the dinosaurs weren’t the only thing the Nazis were after. This issue ends quite satisfyingly, most loose ends were tied up for the most part but Mooney definitely leaves room to come back because there still feels like there are more stories there.

Stephen Mooney is a force to reckon with because not only can he tell a fun story but he is also one hell on an artist. His art has a very pulp influence but every character looks very detailed and feels real, not just drawings on paper but real actors in a movie. His style of drawing people makes them come alive in our minds and probably half the reason we feel and understand these characters so well. Of course you can’t leave out Jordie Bellaire’s colors, they really help with that pulp feeling which actually does help the reader delve into this WWII story. Mooney’s art with Bellaire’s colors are a great mix, this Irish art duo work very well together. Not sure what they put in the water in Ireland but there seems to be quite a few creative people coming from there recently.

Not sure what else you could want from a six issue series; Half Past Danger brought plenty to the table and was a perfect adventure story. These days the entire genre of adventure is actually pretty rare because so many people either do it wrong or don’t know how to do it all. One hopes Mooney does return to do more Half Past Danger in the future because it’s a great series and there is room for more stories but if he doesn’t these 6 issues would be fine too. Now that I’m familiar with Mooney and like his work it will be exciting to see what he works on next as either a writer or artist. If you happen to have missed this series, now that it’s complete would be a good time to read it and see for yourself.

[Editor’s Note: Make sure you check out our interview with Mr. Mooney while you’re at it!]