buj's review
4.0
Went in with no expectations and was stunned by Craig's immensely eye-catching art. The character designs are fun, the page layouts are clever, and Loughridge's color choices are so stylish and creative. The story teeters on romanticizing teen angst to the point of pretentiousness and there are some narrative choices that are written purely for shock value, but at the best of times, Deadly Class is an interesting, well-paced, and action-packed look at how isolated, vengeful, and disturbed a person can feel in Marcus's situation. I ended up investing in Marcus's past and the other characters more than I expected. Excited to see how things develop.
It's very disappointing that the Syfy show was cancelled as they do a great job at developing the characters further. For example, Billy's arc with his father is much more compelling in the show as it's used less as a plot device (even though it is in both) and more of a way to develop Billy's personality and backstory as well as his relationship with Marcus. Both the comic and show hold up on their own, which is rather refreshing.
It's very disappointing that the Syfy show was cancelled as they do a great job at developing the characters further. For example, Billy's arc with his father is much more compelling in the show as it's used less as a plot device (even though it is in both) and more of a way to develop Billy's personality and backstory as well as his relationship with Marcus. Both the comic and show hold up on their own, which is rather refreshing.
greatnate008's review
5.0
This series is really violent but fun to read. I liked the cliffhanger ending.
6-2-2022: Re-reading this series. The art is great!
6-2-2022: Re-reading this series. The art is great!
iamgr00t's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
djotaku's review
4.0
That was one hell of a roller-coaster ride Mr. Remender put us through. I'll be back with a real review in the future.
rachel_cg's review
3.0
I wanted so desperately to fall head-over-heels in love with this.
It sounded right up my alley: dark, gritty graphic novel set in the 1980s about a school of assassins. But somehow, it just didn't click with me. I think there are multiple reasons why, but first let's run through the good:
- the artwork is amaaazzziinnnggg
- abundant amounts of badassery
- no gorey detail is glossed over or censored - there is hard drugs, swearing, beheadings, bestiality, crucifixion, vast amounts of blood, and much more. some people could easily be put off by this, but i personally fucking loved it
- the gritty atmosphere and rich 1980s setting
- some really quality writing, especially in the introspective scenes
- the characters (for the most part) shine on the page and have a lot of charm, even if some of them are a bit underdeveloped
- MARIA MY QUEEN I LOVE HER SO MUCH, WHAT A BOSS ASS BITCH SHE IS THE BEST
but, for the most part deadly class left me a bit disappointed. I think i was expecting a very different story, and ultimately it didn't deliver.
the bad:
- the pacing is almost TOO fast, and as a result a lot of scenes seem underdeveloped. i wish a lot of relationships and characters were fleshed out a little more
- INSTALOVE. INSTALOVE EVERYWHERE
- saya is a lowkey manic pixie dreamgirl - i know pretty much zilch about her, and i know that shes supposed to be ~mysterious~ or whatever, but she just seems like every other generic badass female lead with no actual substance, designed to further marcus's character arc
- I was promised a revenge story - where the hell is it? ronald reagan isnt mentioned ONCE after the first volume. shouldn't that be marcus's fuel, his end goal which all things lead towards? but instead, marcus is too caught up in his fucking girl trouble to even think about his revenge, and the result is that marcus's character seems very wishy washy with no actual longterm motivation or goal.
- the actual assassin school is featured remarkably little. I've never seen marcus learn any real skills that will help him in the art of killing, and there is no evidence that his education is actually helping him one bit. i wanted him to develop from a street kid into a badass experienced assassin, but alas this book seems determined to rob me of things that i want.
- some details are mentioned and then completely ignored/forgotten in later scenes. for example, during volume 1 saya mentions that she was a bit of an asshole to marcus because her gang didn't approve of him and she needed to uphold her reputation. but after that, her gang is literally never brought up again. marcus and saya start hanging out with no issue. did her gang suddenly approve of marcus? who even IS her gang? what is her relationship with them, and what function to they play? does she even ever hang out with them?? it's stuff like this that I wish was clarified more, so the assassin school and its politics would become more fleshed out.
- am i seriously supposed to be convinced that these kids are 15?? because im not. at all.
despite all that, i WOULD recommend this book for anyone who wants a dark and gritty graphic novel with great art. however, don't go in looking for a story centred around assassins and revenge, because you're bond to be disappointed.
It sounded right up my alley: dark, gritty graphic novel set in the 1980s about a school of assassins. But somehow, it just didn't click with me. I think there are multiple reasons why, but first let's run through the good:
- the artwork is amaaazzziinnnggg
- abundant amounts of badassery
- no gorey detail is glossed over or censored - there is hard drugs, swearing, beheadings, bestiality, crucifixion, vast amounts of blood, and much more. some people could easily be put off by this, but i personally fucking loved it
- the gritty atmosphere and rich 1980s setting
- some really quality writing, especially in the introspective scenes
- the characters (for the most part) shine on the page and have a lot of charm, even if some of them are a bit underdeveloped
- MARIA MY QUEEN I LOVE HER SO MUCH, WHAT A BOSS ASS BITCH SHE IS THE BEST
Spoiler
WHY DO MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS ALWAYS HAVE TO DIEbut, for the most part deadly class left me a bit disappointed. I think i was expecting a very different story, and ultimately it didn't deliver.
the bad:
- the pacing is almost TOO fast, and as a result a lot of scenes seem underdeveloped. i wish a lot of relationships and characters were fleshed out a little more
- INSTALOVE. INSTALOVE EVERYWHERE
- saya is a lowkey manic pixie dreamgirl - i know pretty much zilch about her, and i know that shes supposed to be ~mysterious~ or whatever, but she just seems like every other generic badass female lead with no actual substance, designed to further marcus's character arc
- I was promised a revenge story - where the hell is it? ronald reagan isnt mentioned ONCE after the first volume. shouldn't that be marcus's fuel, his end goal which all things lead towards? but instead, marcus is too caught up in his fucking girl trouble to even think about his revenge, and the result is that marcus's character seems very wishy washy with no actual longterm motivation or goal.
- the actual assassin school is featured remarkably little. I've never seen marcus learn any real skills that will help him in the art of killing, and there is no evidence that his education is actually helping him one bit. i wanted him to develop from a street kid into a badass experienced assassin, but alas this book seems determined to rob me of things that i want.
- some details are mentioned and then completely ignored/forgotten in later scenes. for example, during volume 1 saya mentions that she was a bit of an asshole to marcus because her gang didn't approve of him and she needed to uphold her reputation. but after that, her gang is literally never brought up again. marcus and saya start hanging out with no issue. did her gang suddenly approve of marcus? who even IS her gang? what is her relationship with them, and what function to they play? does she even ever hang out with them?? it's stuff like this that I wish was clarified more, so the assassin school and its politics would become more fleshed out.
- am i seriously supposed to be convinced that these kids are 15?? because im not. at all.
despite all that, i WOULD recommend this book for anyone who wants a dark and gritty graphic novel with great art. however, don't go in looking for a story centred around assassins and revenge, because you're bond to be disappointed.
rnbhargava's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s a book about a school for assassins taking place in the late 1980s. Even when it’s slow, there’s a lot of character and plot being conveyed. Once the action gets going it happens at a break neck speed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
This book was really good. It should be probably left to a late teen/early 20s audience to start off with despite it taking place in a high school of sorts the content of the book is extremely aggressive in sexuality, violence, race and other inequalities that can create animosities between students. I enjoyed this book a lot, 4 stars rather than 5 as the transition over to fast paced parts of the arcs could have been more gradual rather though I respect why it is more like an on/off switch in terms of action.saminaspellman's review
3.0
3.5
There's some great metaphors and phycological stuff in here but after 16 issues I was hoping for a little more character development.
There's some great metaphors and phycological stuff in here but after 16 issues I was hoping for a little more character development.
echoes01's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide
drtlovesbooks's review
3.0
What it's about: Marcus is an orphan living on the streets after the deaths of everyone at the orphanage he lived at. Marcus is saved by Master Lin, the headmaster of a school for assassins. Does Marcus have what it takes to survive in a school where everyone is deadly?
What I thought: Jeez, this is a bleak book. And the protagonist is SOOO whiny! I get that he's got a lot of cause to be disappointed, but there are just pages and pages of introspection-exposition that go nowhere.
Why I rated it like I did: See above.
What I thought: Jeez, this is a bleak book. And the protagonist is SOOO whiny! I get that he's got a lot of cause to be disappointed, but there are just pages and pages of introspection-exposition that go nowhere.
Why I rated it like I did: See above.