Daring duck of mystery
Champion of right
Swoops out of the shadows
Darkwing owns the night
Somewhere some villain schemes
But his number’s up

(3-2-1)

Darkwing Duck (When there’s trouble you call DW)
Darkwing Duck (Let’s get dangerous!)
Darkwing Duck (Darkwing, Darkwing, duck!)

When there’s trouble you call the Justice Ducks! Darkwing is now part of a bigger team in Dynamite Comics’ third comic series featuring the characters of the 1991 classic Disney TV animated show, Darkwing Duck. Dynamite’s first Darkwing comic debuted in January 2023 and ran for 10 issues. A comic devoted to Darkwing’s nemesis, Negaduck, launched in September 2023.

Today, we will take a look at Justice Ducks #4 published by Dynamite Comics.

Release Date: June 19th, 2024

Writer: Roger Langridge

Artist: Carlo Lauro

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Editor: Nate Cosby

Covers by: Jae Lee, Roger Langridge, Francesco Tomaselli, Trish Forstner

Official Synopsis: Gosalyn makes a new friend! He’s nice, but kinda odd… maybe a little strange… OK, he’s an alien. An alien hiding out on Earth, for mysterious reasons. And when those “mysterious reasons” show up to take Gos’s new friend, the JUSTICE DUCKS are in a pickle. Do they let the authoritative aliens do their thing, or do they protect the slightly strange alien kid from evil forces?

My Recap and Review

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

Gosalyn’s new fiend, Helder, is a little strange. Helder is not from our planet, but he traveled here to learn about Earth culture and escape his overbearing mom. Helder goes missing when two hired alien bounty hunters arrive on Earth to take him back to his planet. Helder is able to be invisible thanks to an alien pendant that he took from his mom’s safe before running away. The Justice Ducks are on the case to find Gosalyn’s missing friend.

My favorite scenes in this story take place in the St. Canard Library. This setting gave Ghostbuster super fan, Carlo Lauro, additional opportunities to throw in some Ghostbuster Easter eggs and references. The two lion statues at the front of the library are similar to the statues found at the entrance of the New York Public Library where the Ghostbusters have a memorable scene. Darkwing also uses a P.K.E. Meter to help locate the invisible Helder. The P.K.E. Meter was a Ghostbuster tool invented by Egon Spengler. These references were a lot of fun. Nice work Carlo!

Eventually the two bounty hunters are convinced by Gosalyn and the Justice Ducks to leave Helder on Earth and take back the pendant that grants invisibility to Helder’s mom.

This Justice Ducks series has been a lot of fun with some great writing from Roger Langridge along with some let’s get dangerous illustrations from Carlo Lauro. I wish that it was getting extended to a longer run, but the final issue of Justice Ducks will be released next month. The five issue series will be collected in a trade paperback/hardcover. You can also get a very special exclusive collection of these stories and other Darkwing Duck stories in Dynamite Comics’ Darkwing Duck Novel Collection Kickstarter.

The final issue of Justice Ducks will get dangerous at your local comic book shop in July. Be sure to check out the other Dynamite Comics Disney releases: Negaduck, Gargoyles Quest, Lilo and Stitch, Hercules, and Disney Villains Cruella De Vil.

Let us know what you thought of Justice Ducks #4 in the comments below. What cover(s) did you get?

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