Spyboy: Final Exam


Spyboy Final ExamBy Peter David (W), Pop Mhan and Norman Lee (A)

Cover price $12.95. Published by Dark Horse Comics. Originally printed as Spyboy: Final Exam 1-4.

Plot: A teenaged secret agent is framed as a terrorist by his new archenemy.

Strengths: Peter David is a strong writer. Anything he does is going to be readable. So even if it’s not your cup of tea, it won’t feel like a chore to finish a story he’s written. And while there’s a lot of history to these characters since this is the seventh collection of Spyboy stories, I didn’t feel like I was at a disadvantage having never read the previous six volumes.

Weaknesses: The “teenager is secretly a hero” concept just seems unoriginal. At first I thought it was because movies like Spy Kids and Agent Cody Banks had been released so much a few years back (when this series was originally published). Then I realized that it’s because Spyboy has a lot in common with Robert Kirkman’s Invincible: the hero that can’t make it work with the girl he likes; the best friend who’s kind of a doofus; the parents that know his secret; the supporting cast made up of other heroes… it’s all been done much better in Invincible. Then again, just about anything involving a teenaged hero has been done better in Invincible than anywhere else.

Also of note: There is a very heavy manga influence in Final Exam, especially in the art of penciller Pop Mhan. And I’m not talking Joe Madureira manga here; I’m talking actual manga from Japan. There are action lines all over the place, and there’s even an imaginary embodiment of the lead character’s subconscious for comic relief. While I felt the need to mention this in the review, I don’t think it’d be fair to put this aspect as either a strength or a weakness. Manga seems to be one of those things that can excite one guy and repulse the next.

Grade: C. There’s really nothing extraordinary about Spyboy: Final Exam. Nothing’s remarkably good. And nothing’s terribly bad; it’s just been done better. Judging by the smaller trim size (6×9), I’d assumethat Spyboy is aimed at a younger audience, and the kiddies probably don’t have quite as discerning tastes as I do.