What Time is It? It's Half Past Danger (a booknote)

Stephen Mooney, Half Past Danger. San Diego, CA: IDW, 2014. ISBN: 9781613778494. (Amazon link). 


This was a rollicking fun read. It is a very entertaining action comic that has it all in the midst of World War II.

• Nazis? Check. 
• Nazis with a big secret scheme? Oh yea. 
• Spies? Check. 
• Femme fatale? Of course. 
• Dinosaurs. Say what? Yes, there are dinosaurs in this comic, and they are alive somewhere on a Pacific Island, which also brings the Nazis to the Pacific. 

So buckle your seatbelt for some adventure. When Staff Sergeant "Irish" Flynn loses his squad, it's not the Japanese. A bunch of giant monsters attack and devour his men, leaving him the only survivor. When he tries to tell his story, no one believes him. Then just when it seems Flynn is doomed to live with the bottle seen as a madman, along comes Agent Moss and her team composed of a Japanese defector and an American officer who seems stronger than most men. They ask Flynn to be their guide and take them to that island where the monsters and the Nazis may be found.  What are the Nazis doing in the Pacific, and why are they so interested in the dinosaurs? What kind of nefarious research are they conducting?

This comic combines adventure and spy action with a lost world setting reminiscent of works like The Lost World and Jurassic Park, and it is blended with a bit of Indiana Jones adventures. The comic has a fast pace and plenty of action. It also has some good intrigue as you try to figure out who is really working for who. Once you start, you will keep reading to the very end. This is the kind of story that could make a good Hollywood movie, assuming Hollywood left it as is and did not muck it up.

I am giving this 5 out of 5 stars. It was that good. I do recommend it for public libraries. Academic libraries with graphic novel and/or recreational reading collections may want to consider it as well.

By the way,  the author does have a website here.


Disclosure: The mandatory stuff I have to type to tell you that I read this as an e-book review copy via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. You know, so The Man is satisfied everything is kosher.