Deadly Class Vol. 1: Reagan Youth Kindle & comiXology

This graphic novel was so bad that I removed it permanently from my Kindle library.The plot revolves around high school age kids who are in a school where they are being trained as assassins. We don't learn much about this school or its training. There are a few scenes where the students are trained in poisons and other deadly crafts. This all seems pretty empty compared to being trained at, say, the Shaolin Monastery in Kung Fu.The kids in the novel are all dysfunctional stereotypes. There's the preppies, the jocks, the stoners, etc... The main character is trying to fit in somehow. Without family he'll do anything to fit in somewhere.Apparently all this is inspired by the author's high school experience. Perhaps I could not relate, because this was not my high school experience. But in any event, who wants to relive that time, even in a fictional context.One thing that I knew in high school was that it was a way point that I had to pass through to get to where I really wanted to be, which was college and the adult world. High school is ephemeral and there is no reason to take it too seriously. But this graphic novel does. It's like the jock who scores the critical touchdown in a high school game and this becomes the high point of the rest of their life. Which is pretty sad. What ever happened in high school, hopefully there will much better things in the future. Unfortunately, however bad an experience was in high school, there will be worse ahead in life as well (divorce, job loss, death).A good story can make up for mediocre art and great art can make up for a weak story. This graphic novel has neither. The whole graphic novel is weak in every dimension. I'm surprised that it got such great reviews.

I looked into this series a little bit and I liked the overall premise of the book. I was excited to read it and wanted to get invested in the story. Having a school where you learn to be an assassin sounds very interesting; however, the characters at times broke my immersion. The main cast doesn’t have too many defining traits. They have a few screws lose in the head; they all have rough backgrounds for the most part, and they make decisions that are legitimately bad and it’s hard to sympathize with them because they’re all crazy. The main character you follow tries to have this almost Batman like inner monologue and it falls flat majority of the time. I really wanted to like this. Maybe the problems I have with the first book go away later on but it’s tough to keep reading to find that out. Overall an okay book with an interesting world but weak characters.

Always heard good things about it so I finally decided to buy the first volume and after I finished I immediately bought all volumes that were available. Remender does a great job setting the stage in this volume and has created a host of interesting characters. Highly recommend and I promise you won’t be disappointed

I'm still fairly new to the comic book world having only read marque titles such as The Watchmen, Y: The Last Man, Old Man Logan, Fables, and others. Interesting characters, a cool story, good pacing - these are characteristics that Deadly Class possesses, but what stands out to me is the style as a whole. The art is fantastic, the characters have well-defined and interesting personalities, the way the panels progress and actually influence the mood of a story beat on each page is flat out awesome.I should admit that the story of a school of assassins isn't the most original, but it's mostly a backdrop as Remender focuses on these teenagers finding their way in the social hierarchy of high school, coping with their past, naively planning ideas for the future, and (of course) love triangles.Deadly Class drips with style, is violent without being ridiculous, and is outstanding in every aspect a comic can be. I can't wait to read more.

If I had bought only the first issue, I'd never had continued reading this title. As it turned out, I bought the first volume. And I'm mostly glad that I did. The first arc ended up being considerably better than the first issue on its own.This is certainly a different story than the super-hero books I've been reading recently. But, Remender still knows how to tell a good story. Slow start, but successful in the end.

This is a good book, although I finished it feeling a little flat, the characters didn't have any great back story to them. A panel or two each telling about what gangs or families they came from, but not a whole lot about each one. Maybe they're planning to do a back story in each book, as in this one you get the truth about what happened with the gangbanger and how he got to the school. I don't think I will be buying any more of the books solely because I am already to far into other series, but I may come back to this once they wrap up the arcs I'm reading now.

Having been a skater and a punk in the late 1980s, this comic really brought me back. Although some of the characters start as stereotypes (and isn't that what high schools are full of as a person starts to form his identity), they take on a realism that is refreshing. It is a very violent comic, usually too violent for my tastes. But it is a violence that is trying to go above violence for violence sake (I think, I hope). The bigger theme of the comic is how our environment influences us, especially during those critical adolescent years.The art and colors are first rate. Unique and original, yet they feel familiar.Lots of allusions to 80s pop culture is an added bonus to an engaging story. Looking forward to starting volume 2.

Fun read.

Set in the late 1980s Deadly Class sees teenage street urchin Marcos Lopez given the opportunity to hone his burgeoning killer instincts at King’s Dominion High School for the Deadly Arts where the world’s deadliest crime syndicates send their new generation of killers to be schooled in all things assassin.At first I wasn’t overly impressed as things seemed to click into place a little too neatly to allow the story to progress and the actions of some of the main characters, even allowing for the subject matter, seemed clichéd and over the top.However reading on (and delving a bit more into the past) you begin to understand why certain things happened and why certain characters did certain things leading to a highly enjoyable read.The final third of the book, a road trip to Vegas, is some of the cleverest and funniest writing I have experienced for some time.Whilst the writing is very good and times great it is the fantastic, almost surreal artwork and colouring that boosts this book into the graphic novel stratosphere. Whilst some graphic novels go overboard on the colour and the detail the stripped back illustrations offer an exhilarating and emotional ride through the lives of the young assassins.All in all this is one of the best new titles I have read this year and I highly recommended it.

Whether you're an edgy teenager, or someone who can remember growing up in the eighties, this book should really tap a nerve.Emotionally gripping and always surprising, this is the tale of a kid with a brutal past, thrown into a cutthroat class of similar outsiders, all of whom have similarly murky stories to tell. Friends and enemies are quickly made, all under the watchful eye of a mysterious principal who appears to be pulling all the strings...It's exciting, violent, nostalgic, occasionally very funny and altogether quite touching.

I loved this so much!!!! I found the show first and loved it so much that I bought this! Now I just need to persuade someone into buying me the rest 😭😭But I definitely recommend to anyone who likes a bit of realism mixed if psychopathy and the pure torture of being a teen... even if you don’t like comics/graphic novels, it’s a masterpiece!

I brought this comic on a whim as I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it but I was very wrong! It hits current topics such as mental health whilst being interesting, exciting with a fun element of being set in a murder school!!

Did it make me read it in one sitting, yes.Did it make me chuckle and laugh out loud. YesDid it deliver a story full of energy and pace YesDid the art work demand each page to be really looked at. YesDid it have lay the foundations of potentiallygreat series. YesAm I now waiting for the next collection in may, oh yes..