“The Good Guys” is another wonderful comic book series and Defiant continues to prove at that era in time, they could create wonderful stories.
TITLE: The Good Guys Issue #1
YEAR: November 1993
COMPANY: Defiant Comics
Created by Jim Shooter
Developed by Jim Shooter and Janet Jackson, David and Maria Lapham, Clark Smith, Deborah Purcell, Ed Polgardy and Grey
Characters developed by Jim Shooter, Janet Jackson, Deborah Purcell, Grey, Jan Childress, Mike Barr, Ed Polgardy and Rafael Guiteau
Written by Jan Childress with Jim Shooter
Drawn by Grey
Art Assistance by Alan Weiss & Adam Pollina
Colorists: Tom Ziuko, Tim Perkins, Janet Jackson, Benjamin Jung and Su McTeigue
Lettered by Agnes Pinaha and Mike Deledine
Edited by Deborah Purcell
Quite often, comic books makes a child dream and think “what if I had a super power?” and “what kind of power would I have?”.
Defiant’s “The Good Guys” is an entertaining comic book about that.
The series begins with brothers Matthew and the youngest Zack. Matthew wants to earn money to get a signing by Rob Liefeld at Mile High Comics in Anaheim.
His mother tells him he has to bring Zack, who loves video games and playing the character of a sorcerer.
While collecting money for the newspapers, Matthew meets a woman who has to pay him but goes crazy on him and said that she has been lonely for hundreds of years and her lover gave her a present that is supposed to make wishes come true, but her wish has never came true. She gives Matthew the money for the newspapers and the gift.
Zack overhears the conversation and tells his older brother that he better do what she says but Michael brushes it off.
Meanwhile, we are introduced to Laura and her father, Dan Neale. Laura has been working out and her father is shocked to see his daughter buff (as she started bodybuilding). Her father wants to stop by Mile High Comics.
We are then introduced to more people who are all headed to or are shopping at Mile High Comics.
As for Matthew, he puts his backpack (containing that gift from the woman inside there) and Zach sees a kid trying to steal it. As the kid tries to make a run, Matthew chases after him and is able to get the backpack but the gift flies out in which Zach tries to catch it and prevent it from opening.
Unfortunately, the gift hits the ground and it is opened and Zach nearly collapses. As a group of people try to help young Zach, he says it opened and the magic has come out. Not knowing some other kid has picked up the box and takes off with it.
Zach knows they must get the box immediately and everyone thinks the boy has hit his head. Zach then tells everyone that he’ll create a doorway like in a video game and watch as he runs into the lighted door. Matthew, Laura and others follow and are transported into what looks like a video game with a huge scorpion.
That is when these group of youngsters discover they have special abilities and whatever superpower they wished for, they got.
Meanwhile, the boy who found the box has changed and starts shocking everyone at the El Segundo Plant as she shows him his power and that he can kill them, forcing everyone to work for the evil kid.
What happens when these group of youngsters must work together and become superheroes to get back the box of magic from the evil kid?
I have to say I love this issue. It has a vibe like “The Goonies”, young people coming together, no matter what differences they have and working together in an adventure to find the magic box and take on the evil kid (perhaps a kid possessed by an evil entity?)
Needless to say, “The Good Guys” is another wonderful comic book series and Defiant continues to prove at that era in time, they could create wonderful stories.