Today, we will take a look at Negaduck #5 published by Dynamite Comics.

Release Date: May 1st, 2024

Writer: Jeff Parker

Artist: Ciro Cangialosi

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Editor: Nate Cosby

Covers by: Jae Lee, Trish Forstner, Drew Moss, and Ciro Cangialosi

Official Synopsis: The thing about Negaduck is, he’s not just a one-trick villain. The can lie, cheat, cause chaos… but what he’s really great at? STEALING! So great, in fact, that his mastery at thieving gets him noticed by a super-duper secret collective of burgling bad guys that not only want him to join their group… they want him to be their leader! 

This issue’s action figure variant cover features two of Taurus Bulba’s henchmen, Hoof and Mouth. Neither of these characters appear in this issue, but it is still a cool action figure cover to add to the collection.

My Review

*STOP READING HERE IF YOU WANT TO AVOID ALL SPOILERS*

This issue is titled “The Invitation” and begins a new story arc as the King Midas gauntlet story concluded in the previous issue. The story starts off with Negaduck racing down a mountain in a snow mobile. He is getting chased by a rhino and lizard also riding a snow mobile. They are trying to retrieve the Azh-Mar crown that Negaduck stole from their queen. Negaduck uses all of his high tech gadgets to escape his chasers, but a falcon swoops in and steals the crown from him.

It turns out that the Falcon belongs to a trio of mysterious bad guys that are monitoring Negaduck to see if they want to invite him to their hideout. The mystery trio rewatch the scene so we get to see all of the trouble that Negaduck had to go through prior to the issue starting when he stole the crown.

Negaduck eventually arrives back to his hideout on top of a Hamburger Hippo. The pesky falcon followed him home and delivered a puzzle that he must solve to get to his shadowy admirers’ headquarters. That puzzle leads to 10 pages worth of other puzzles and treacherous travel to get to the invitation’s final destination. Negaduck has no idea who the invite is from, but he guesses it could only be Darkwing Duck because no one hates him as much to put him through all of that torture. We get a great Darkwing Duck, Launchpad McQuack, and Gosalyn cameo on a beach showing that they are on vacation and definitely are not Negaduck’s mystery invitees.

We have to wait for the next issue to find out the identity of the mystery trio, but we are left with a note that it is “Not What You Expect!”

Something that I do expect with each issue is that I will enjoy Trish Fostner’s cover. For Negaduck #5, Negaduck is surrounded by plush of his pal…Darkwing Duck. This is my favorite cover of the series so far because it is funny and you can tell that Nega hated every moment of it.

The next issue of Negaduck will release in June 2024. Please make sure to support the other Dynamite Comics Disney releases: Justice Ducks, Gargoyles Quest, Lilo and Stitch, Hercules and Disney Villains Cruella De Vil.

Let us know what you thought of Negaduck #5 in the comments below. What cover(s) did you get?

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