Comic Book Review - Crocodile Black #1

A strong start to this new series from BOOM! Studios…

Crocodile Black tells the story of Danny, a youngster who’s struggling with his own mental health in a world that’s currently in the tight grip of the COVID 19 pandemic. A chance encounter during a routine delivery job then sees Danny’s world forever change as he becomes the titular Crocodile Black. Now a murderous and quite effective killer, Danny takes his fight to the criminal underworld clad in a pair of black crocodile skin boots.

It’s not every day that a comic is grounded so far within the real world. Here Phillip Kennedy Johnson wastes no time in taking us back to 2021 when the world was still in the throws of COVID 19. From mentions of empty fast food restaurants, to having to wear a mask during a trip to the grocery store, the world of Crocodile Black is very much part of our own. It’s this framework that also makes lead character Danny quite relatable too as we see him attempting to keep some sense of normality in a world that’s forever changed. 

During this opening issue Johnson spends a lot of time with Danny. We delve into his home life, and learn a lot about his own struggles with his mental health (he’s lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and has hallucinations). His mother and sister seem to be very protective of him, while his father is a bit of a jerk. There’s nothing outwardly unusual about the family dynamics and it’s something that’s been replicated many times on television and in written media. However I can’t help but think that there’s more to it. On a couple of occasions Danny hallucinates the figure of a small child. While this could simply be the personification of his mental health, it could also be a past trauma attempting to break the surface. 

As lead characters go, Danny already has the potential to be quite interesting. While Crocodile Black #1 opens to a glimpse of his murderous alter ego at work, we’re also given glimpses into his own insecurities and personality traits. On the surface he’s a typical teenager who’s attempting to “carry on” in an unpredictable word, and yet just underneath the surface is a complex character who’s mind is capable of going to some dark places. It all comes together to give Johnson a lot of scope to not only develop Danny as a character, but also to take him to some unexpected places. 

Artwork comes from SOM whose moody and detailed line work is a great fit for this book. Each scene oozes with plenty of atmosphere which switches from the gruesome opening, to the rather bright setting of Danny’s home. This darkness doesn’t stray far as SOM (and colourist Patricio Delpeche) takes us into Danny’s psyche with a rough drawings of his hallucinations that are bathed in vibrant red. Personal highlight for me is when Danny discovers Leo Black. I won’t spoil the scene but the tension culminates into a highly detailed full page that leaves nothing to the imagination. 

All in all, Crocodile Black is off to a good start. Phillip Kennedy Johnson uses this opening act to introduce us to Danny while keeping a lot of the youngsters character firmly in the dark. That said, there’s a lot of potential here with the character where we could go to some very interesting places as the series develops. Throw in page after page of detailed artwork from SOM and Crocodile Black is worthy of being top of everyone’s pull list. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social