Writer: Doug Wagner / Penciller: Doug Dabbs / Colour Artist: Matt Wilson / Letterer: Ed Dukeshire / Design: Erika Schnatz / Logo: Nicole Dabbs / Collects: Klik Klik Boom (2023) #1-#5 / TP / Image Comics
Review by Paul Dunne
29th December 2023 (Released 3rd January 2024)
Watch the trailer for the first issue!
The Pitch: Meet Sprout a mute assassin who communicates exclusively through Polaroid pictures. Being raised by her doomsday-prepping grandfather in the rolling hills of Idaho Sprout has never been around other people watched TV or seen clothes outside of Army fatigues. Now she's headed to the big lights of New York City to avenge her grandfather's murder but will the city's mesmerizing glitz and glam help her succeed-or be the death of her?
Fiction has made great use of the Polaroid photo, from Christopher Nolan's Memento to just about everything featuring a crime scene ever. But here, the shots are not an aide-Memoir or evidence. They are a warning, an indication to the recipient that they are guilty. And of course, in the grand tradition of a picture saying a thousand words, they are a type of sign language for our lead character, Sprout. The story itself is a simple revenge tale, or rather a mission of restorative justice. Wagner and Dabbs don't shy away from the darkness even within our heroes. Sprout, though cute with a cute-girl hobby - because after all, who hasn't developed a crush on a fantasy girl who takes hipster Polaroids? - doesn't let you forget she's a killer. This feels like a firm middle finger at the notion of the manic pixie dream girl, an idea that was outdated and jarring the moment it landed, fully formed into the public consciousness.
Never forget the cute hipster girl with the cute-girl hobby could be a killer.
There's a social dread running through Klik, Klik... that the real terror of life is other people. The eccentricities of their behaviour could ripple out to unpredictable violence. Or just the intrusion that mental imbalance represents on the day-to-day functionality of life. But the causes of these mental imbalances cannot be taken for granted. Here war and violence are the instigators. PTSD becomes the black dog hanging over Sprout's life and she's very adept at letting the dog loose to savage others. It would be easy to lump this in with any number of kick-ass, strong female character books that are littered with heavily armed sex-bomb characters, but Sprout is a damaged person, whom it's difficult to root for - at least at first.
The True-Crime Podcaster meets True Crime.
Wagner takes care to show us that even the good guys are corrupt in some ways. The man whom Sprout is seeking revenge for has been bought off, but won't spend the filthy lucre and instead relives the era of combat (Vietnam) that scarred him. This could be a kind of late eighties period piece if not for the profession of Briggs, a woman Sprout finds herself protecting - She's a true crime podcaster, a career that feels like it could only be happening in the now.
The late-80’s DC feel.
Speaking of period pieces, Klik Klik... Has the feel of late 80s DC, a place where adult books with intelligent themes and characters giving us glimpses into extreme viewpoints where possible, and sowed the seeds for the kind of segregation of mature readers by Vertigo that followed in 1993. You can also look to the Epic label from Marvel for a similar vein of quality comics for an audience that was fast growing and fast growing up. Wagner often writes about niche sexuality and crime, but here concentrates on Sprout's journey, mapped out in blood. He tackles the fact that Sprout's voice is entirely visual effortlessly, letting her pictures transition us through past and present, the history of violence and the bloody now. Dabbs’ art has a touch of Denys Cowan's expressive, scratched style. His faces stare wide in horror. He creates a dynamic, fast-paced tableau, with Sprout moving like an angry spectre through the action panels. His characters and anatomy are great and have a real physical presence in those panels. Wilson's colours create a gorgeous, atmospheric palette that adds an electric jolt to Dabbs' art. Dukeshire filters Wagner's writing well, as you would expect from their long-running collaboration. He gives the voices an authentic sound that adds to the feel of the book, with Briggs' nervousness coming through and the Villain's almost effete snobbery grating in just the way it should. My only complaint is that I felt the book was over just a little quickly, which I guess is another way of saying I wanted another issue or two. But the speed is part of the fun. This is a fast, pacy read that's worth picking up.
Klik Klik Boom is available at your local comic book shop from 3rd January 2024
