We are the danger by Fabian Lelay

Illustrated by Fabian Lelay, colored by Claudia Aguirre, lettered by Taylor Esposito.

This is a really cute story about an up-and-coming band as they work their way through a Battle-of-the-Bands competition. After overhearing Julie playing her Filipino songs in an empty classroom, drummer Tabitha invites Julie to a show for her band, Lipservice, which Tabitha quits that night.  Julie and Tabi decide to form their own band, and they bring on a bassist and another guitarist.  With Julie's skills as front woman, the band, We Are the Danger enters into Battle City, a competition to land a record deal with Fuze Studios.  Unfortunately, Tabi's former lead singer, Logan, wants to ensure We Are the Danger fails, and does everything to ensure it with her powers of a record-producer's-daughter.  Along the way, the band gathers a rag-tag team of supporters, and some of the members even find love.

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This story was really positive despite the nasty things Logan does to the bandmates. The budding relationship between Julie and Simon is pure and lovely. Tabi her girlfriend DeeDee are also sweet and super "shipable," as Julie would say.  I appreciated the lyrics "projected" behind the bands in the panels where they performed, so I could come up with my own rock song and imagine the band playing.  This is sometimes something that can get lost in comics about music. One thing that bothered me was that school was left behind completely even though Tabi and Julie met at school, and I didn't know Julie was a senior in high school until I read the back cover.  Lelay's illustrations are simple, clean, and impressive.  The detail on up-close facial expressions, as well as the rocking-out scenes, capture the humanity of each character and their interactions. Aguirre's colors are vivid and aptly express the vibrant atmosphere of rock concerts, but are also served up well during normal conversations between characters.

Black Mask's rating for this title is Teen Plus.  The only element elevating this from Teen is the use of profanity.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher.

Tags: Rating: 8/10, High School, Comicbooks, Music, Realistic Fiction