REVIEW: Cloak and Dagger #1

Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciller: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Review: Will Dubbeld, a.k.a. Identity Crisis

I've always thought Cloak & Dagger were under appreciated characters in the Mighty Marvel roster. Understandably, from a certain point of view. A couple of superpowered teen runaways are certainly not as dynamic as Iron Man or the X-Men, and I'm not sure the book ever found its target audience. They're great characters though. Underutilized, to say the least.

There was, however, a sweet spot in the '80s that afforded Cloak & Dagger a taste of the limelight. Whether it was capitalization on the War on Drugs movement or some other opportunistic move, the duo enjoyed a miniseries and subsequent ongoing book.
Short lived though it may have been...

The premier issue opens with the pair rescuing teen girls from...
I'm unsure how to eloquently put this...
A Times Square sex shop?
You know the type. That 1970s-80s, seedy, red light district type of establishment that fits right into Taxi Driver.
"XXX GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS!", and the like.
The kind of place where you drop 50 cents into a slot and raise a curtain to reveal an undulating lady...
It's really quite cringe-worthy but not in that lowball sleaze way. In a way that forces the reality upon you of such places existing in the real world. It's a fantastic open, full of harsh reality and populated with lowlife scumbags who'd fit right in to a Frank Miller book.
I was astounded at the approach, to be honest. Mantlo makes no bones about the fact that these are underage girls working in the sex industry, not with innuendo or oblique references, but flat-out telling you they're in pornography.
I don't know if the angle was public awareness, but I'm surprised this was approved by the Comics Code Authority. In any case, kudos to the creative team.   

After busting up the child sex ring, Cloak and Dagger retire to their lair, as it were, located in a local (presumably skid row) church.
At this point the book gets really weird. Like off the rails in a good way.
To the untested, Cloak and Dagger are a big, old bag of contrast and dichotomy with a healthy dose of metaphor tossed in the mix.
Dagger is a blonde-haired white girl from a well-to-do family, and Cloak is an inner-city black teen who meet as teenage runaways. Dagger gets the power to shoot light-knives while Cloak is cursed with the powers of darkness.
Granted that's a baseline explanation, but you get the idea:  light and dark, black and white. It's almost too "on the nose", but the dynamics are there. We'll not even get into the oft-danced around interracial relationship aspect of the two. As silly as it sounds, the topic of child sex trafficking was apparently less taboo than stating the fact that these two are a couple.
Because, come on, we all know that Cloak and Dagger are hooked up. Best power couple Marvel never (or rarely) acknowledged.

Anyway, and you'll pardon the above tangent, when Cloak and Dagger return to the church things get nuts.
Cloak is, from what I understand, tormented by a gnawing hunger tied to his darkness powers. At some point Dagger learns her light powers can sate this need (speaking of metaphor...), but in this instance Cloak turns on the church parishioners. Enveloped in Cloak's darkness, the congregation is subjected to something akin to Ghost Rider's Penance Stare and are saved from the horror only by Dagger's intervention.
We close the book with Dagger unsure if she can continue partnering with Cloak due to his vicious actions.

I've always had a soft spot for Cloak & Dagger but have never read much of their solo book. Relegated mostly to guest appearances in Spider-Man, I never had the opportunity to really get to know the pair, but I'm glad I picked up this gem. Mantlo's script is far ahead of its time, dealing with some pretty mature subject matter and interpersonal relationships. Complimenting the script wonderfully is Rick Leonardi's art. I'm positive I've seen his work before in some X-book or another; X-Factor, perhaps, and I loved it. His craft is just as good here.
Tight pencils and a sense of dynamism abound; especially with Dagger. I believe Dagger, in backstory, trained as a dancer, and Leonardi illustrated that aspect perfectly when the character is in combat. She moves like a dancer; fluid and untouchable. Top notch work.

I've no idea what Cloak and Dagger are up to in post-Secret War continuity, but I hope to see the pair soon. If not, there's plenty more old-school solo books featuring these two available, just waiting for me to sink my teeth into.