Julie Malliari is a Filipino girl who is beginning her senior year at a new school. She is ostracized by many of her fellow classmates on her first day with the exception of her new friend Tabitha. A love of music bonds these two together, and a colorful night at a rock show drives the girls to start their own band. Rivalries form as Tabitha’s old band mate, Logan, challenges them in a showdown of talents. We Are The Danger is a rock teen drama that takes us on a journey back to our teenage years. Band dreams and rock concerts give off that feeling of nostalgia, and even resonate with the teens of today. The new project is being published by Black Mask Studios and releases this month. The team behind the book consists of writer and artist Fabian Lelay, colorist Claudia Aguirre and is lettered by Taylor Esposito. It’s a story laced in culture and adolescence, which builds up to an epic battle-of-the-bands.
The art is pretty exceptional and reminiscent of something you might see in a great web comic. It’s not entirely eastern or western in art style, but rather is fused and influenced by both. Considering Lelay writes and illustrates for the book it is fair to compare it to something like Prism Stalkers in terms of art quality. Where Prism Stalkers shines in coloring and its unique premise, We Are The Danger is much more average. The art is simplistic and stylish, the coloring done by Aguirre is professional and the lettering done by Esposito is phenomenal. Aguirre’s coloring is nice and doesn’t overshadow or run over Lelay’s lines. That and the detail to shading are signs of a well-practiced colorist. Esposito drives the importance the lettering; for example, the text message conversations, speech and onomatopoeias are all stylistically different. One of my favorite moments of distinct lettering is towards the end where Esposito makes the statement, “We Are The Danger” stand out. There are slight improvements to Lelay’s art style when compared to some of his previous works like Jade Street Protection Service.
The characters in We Are The Danger seem more fluid and natural.
My biggest concern with this book is its premise. It competes with the likes of other teen music dramas such as The Archies and Jem and the Holograms, as well as stories with similar themes sprinkled in, like in Riverdale and Spider-Gwen. What makes this book stand-out is Julie Malliari as the main character and the underlying themes she brings to light. She is a foreigner trying to fit in, and it’s a universal love of music that brought people to her. There is a freedom and liberation in Julie that is budding and it’s something many of us have felt as teenagers. On a personal note, I'm first generation American, and I love the awe and the curiosity my friends have for my culture. This is a theme that presents itself, and can be the differentiating aspect of this book. My only gripe with We Are The Danger #1 is the pacing. The book sets up its premise and rising action, but in it all loses a crucial detail along the way. In the last third of the book a new member of the band is introduced to us. Her guitar shredding is hot, her mouth is loud and her attitude is feisty, but she doesn’t have a name. It’s a small, but important detail that can remove some of the emersion for a reader. Otherwise, the story is solid and it’s a refreshing book that is completely different from the more dark and serious titles in the Black Mask catalogue.