Synopsis
The team is despondent following the near apocalypse created by one of their own and the death of their beloved mentor Pogo. So it’s a great time for another catastrophic event to rouse the team into action. Trouble is, each member of the team is distracted by some very real problems of their own. The White Violin is bedridden due to an unfortunate blow to the head. Rumor has lost her voice – the source of her power. Spaceboy has eaten himself into a near-catatonic state, while Number Five dives into some shady dealings at the dog track and The Kraken starts looking at his littlest brother as the key to unraveling a mysterious series of massacres… all leading to a blood-drenched face-off with maniacal assassins, and a plot to kill JFK!
Review
I’m so glad that I made time to roll right on through these after my rewatch of the show (you can read my series review here). And be sure to check out my review for TUA 0 and Apocalypse Suite!
As season 2 is my favorite, I was particularly excited for this.
After the cost of their “win” in Apocalypse Suite, each of them is a tad off balance. They’re separated, even those not split by distance, and there’s once again something brewing. Luther is drowning himself in sweets, Diego is too steadfast for his own good, so convinced he’s onto something, Allison still can’t speak, Klaus is now kind of famous and fine?? (which is actually atypical), Except for the run-in with death, of course, Five is doing some racetrack betting (and worse), and Vanya is bedridden, barely having survived. Will they be able to reel themselves in, to save the world again?
This is pretty similar to the events of season two, however, in a somewhat different order. The Commission and the Temps Aeternalis are heavily involved in this one, and we even get Hazel and Cha-CHA! With their masks, they really make a splash on the page, and they easily steal the show. The other Commission workers are much more colorful in the comic, popping off the page in stylized yellow and reds. And it makes for a more comic villain feel for sure…and of course, it’s even more wacky.
I always thought the show had Luther stuffing his face because of his giant physique, but he often does it when he’s stressed, so maybe it was actually a nod to this volume and his weight gain. I wonder why Hazel and Cha-Cha were introduced in S1, and they decided to have only Klaus take a stint in Vietnam. I enjoyed how, in the comic, more than one of them was there and how Diego took the reins. It was a bit strange to have the crew all over the place, but this felt like them spreading their wings.
While Apocalypse Suite introduced the gang and their personalities, Dallas felt more matured and lived in. It may be its own sort of alt-history, but it’s still a commentary on the hyper-violence in American history. It also felt like a step toward building into something that could run for quite a while. I’m excited for more.
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