
Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns #1
By Sir Bert Leaman on August 21st, 2010Posted In: Blogs,Comics,Entertainment
Back in the 90’s, Disney was making a bunch of cartoons for a programming block they called the “Disney Afternoon”. Among these are classics like Ducktales, Chip N’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers and TaleSpin, but let’s not forget Darkwing Duck. The show revolves around Drake Mallard who masquerades around as the purple-clad combatant, Darkwing Duck, who runs around with his side-kick and Ducktales veteran, Launchpad McQuack. Yes, it was a bit of a super hero show but still focused primarily on comedy. Totaling out at 91 episodes, the show was canned in 1992, but now it’s back… Kinda. Back in June, Boom Studios released the first issue of Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns. Originally it was set to be a 4 part miniseries, but now it’s an ongoing series.
The first issue opens with a recount of Darkwing’s last known adventure as he fought Megavolt, a reoccurring villain from the show. This is a news broadcast relating how St. Canard used to rely on costumed vigilantes before the mega company, Quackwerks, appeared with their Crimebots and began protecting the city. We then find that Drake Mallard hung up his cape and now works for Quackwerks along with some of the villains he fought (Darkwing shares a cubicle with Megavolt, Elmo to his coworkers). He now finds that he has to keep a steady pay check, especially since he’s enrolled his adopted daughter, Gosalyn, in a fancy private academy.
Apparently, nearly everyone works for Quackwerks, and with the Crimebots around, Drake feels his time as Darkwing has passed, though he misses it to the point of zoning out while working and remembering the good ol’ days. At the end of the day, Megavolt misses the bus, due to a memo from the toy department that kept him busy, and is then grabbed by vine from a speeding van. Later, at the Mallard residence, Honker Muddlefoot, Gosalyn’s best friend, is helping her with her homework as Drake continues to miss his old life. Then, as he tries to call his old side-kick, Launchpad, Crimebots break through his walls to arrest Honker for illegally downloading a song. Drake tries to prevent the captures but when he fails, Gosalyn suggests it might be time for Darkwing Duck to make a comeback. Elsewhere, we find that the captured Megavolt has been reunited with some old friends.
This is just issue 1 and 2 & 3 have both already been released. Thus far, the story is interesting and the dialogue certainly seems to fit with the old show. The art is no different as it looks like stills from an episode. All the characters are on model, the colors are bright and I’d say the future for this series is bright as well. Now, if only Disney would make a movie based on Darkwing Duck…














