Indie Comic Preview - Dead End Kids [2019] #3
This is the story of four friends...
...and what happened when one of them was murdered.
Like most stories, it gets worse before it gets better.
Much worse.
I wish I could say everything worked out in the end...
But life's not a fucking fairytale.
This is how Frank Gogol opens the final chapter of Dead End Kids (out this coming Wednesday, 9/25). Not only is he up front about what's about to follow, he's downright blatant about it: this tale that is part Goonies, part Stand by Me but set at the turn of the century, will not end well. The thing is, that even despite his explicit warning, you're still not ready for the emotional punch to the gut that he and his co-conspirator Nenad Cviticanin are about to deliver over the closing pages of the series.
This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has been picking up Dead End Kids (or to those who have read Frank's anthology collection GRIEF), he's already shown an uncanny ability for conveying deep levels of emotion in his stories (as has Nenad's illustration of them) but the fact that you're already expecting the worst and it still elicits a reaction is a testament to their talents.
Issue three is book ended by scenes in the present day, with the meat of the story taking place via a flashback taking place shortly after the events that concluded issue two. There's a great (and tragic) twist that you won't see coming, but that makes perfect sense within the context of the story. Dead End Kids is a well crafted 'whodunit?' that really nails not only the sense of support and family that Amanda, Ben, Murphy, and Tank provide one another, but the reveal and the absolute tragedy of it all.
Dead End Kids has proven to be an excellent story that I highly recommend. The first two issues have sold out at the distributor level so they may be a bit tough to find, but the first issue did get a reprint and the second issue is going to have a limited second printing that will be available at Frank's upcoming convention appearances so be sure to sign up for his newsletter (info below) to keep track of his upcoming appearances with Source Point Press.
I continue to be impressed by how just much was packed into this three issue mini-series and am very much looking forward to future projects from all of the creators involved.
If you've enjoyed Dead End Kids (or are intrigued by it), be sure to sign up for Frank's newsletter 'Caption Boxes' by visiting his website. He discusses projects he's working on, his experiences within the comic industry, process thoughts, and his con schedule (which is pretty busy, so check to see if he'll be in your area). It really is one of the best comic creator newsletters that I've seen.
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