Dub Trub 2: The Peacemakers

Posted: Wednesday, April 20, 2005
By: Amos Simien

Cover of Dub Trub 2:  The Peacemakers Creator(s): Carter Allen
Publishers: Candle Light Press and Warning Comics
From: 52240
Price: $9.95 (USA) #163;7.50 (GB)

Indy creator Carter Allen sends his trouble (for aliens)-making duo Agents Red and Black back into action in the black and white graphic novel, Dub Trub 2: The Peacemakers, the first sequel to last year's Dub Trub: Our World is in Danger Now. Red & Black are Earth's hottest (looking) and best alien fighters, claiming untold numbers of dead Voyd to their smoking guns. The Voyd are an alien race who travel the universe conquering and killing, and, of course, they have allies, a space opera version of the Axis of Evil, that join them in destroying worlds. In this new volume, Red & Black are on the lookout for The Peacemakers, who, according to their interpretation of a communiqué stolen by the dynamic duo, are a new Voyd ally. Things are, however, not so simple. The Peacemakers turn out to be more than they appear, and they've visited earth before now.

The Peacemakers is every bit as fun as Our World is in Danger Now, if not more so. Dub Trub is a mix of pulp sci-fi, post-Star Wars Hollywood action movies, arcade game violence, and superhero comics with a touch of poignancy. Allen's scripts are surprisingly nimble, and reading this little graphic novel (or giant-size comic) is like reading a summer potboiler - it's a page-turner that demands you keep reading. I could see this as a video game or on some Cartoon Network block of action cartoons.

My one quibble (which may seem strange) is that Dub Trub is ready for the big time, meaning an upgrade in publishing format. A breezy, escapist fantasy like this deserves to be published in color, with a variety of comic book illustrators providing art. Allen's art gets better with each book, and he clearly understands how to tell a story in comics' sequential format. He has a good sense of design both in storytelling and in visual flair, but Dub Trub cries out for that next big step. Mr. DeMille, Agents Red and Black are ready for their close up.

In a Word: Explosive.



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