The Pull List – The Wrong Earth: Night & Day #1
Publisher: Ahoy Comics
Writer: Tom Peyer
Art: Jamal Igle and Juan Castro
Colorist: Andy Troy
Letter: Rob Steen
The displaced dragonfly heroes are back to serve up their unique style of justice in Ahoy Comic’s The Wrong Earth: Night & Day. Following the events of the Dragonfly and Dragonflyman switching places, the heroes have slightly conformed to their new surroundings. The scowling Dragonfly has been breaking bones in the eccentric Earth-Alpha, while Dragonflyman has been trying to tame the hostile Earth-Omega. Recent events bring a chance to return the heroes to their respective worlds, but at what cost?
Issue #1 quickly sets up how each version of the dragonfly is still struggling to adjust to their world. On Earth-Alpha, Dragonfly and Stringer stop a band of thieving Pilgrims from calming a deed. On Earth-Omega, Dragonflyman and the new Stringer-Two are raiding a drug den. The scale of crimes and how the heroes handle them is just part of the fun in this story. Both dragonflies have overcome great challenges in their different surroundings, but they still feel out of place.
Dragonflyman passive nature is tested in Earth-Omega’s violent society. His gentle approach to crime-fighting leads to issues with Stringer-Two. Dragonflyman has a no murder policy that Stringer-Two does not believe in. Meanwhile, Dragonfly feels frustrated and restricted around his foes and his allies in the calmer Earth-Alpha. Even with the help of former villainous Deuce, Dragonfly feels alone in that reality. Ultimately, the option to return back to their Earths would make them happier, but would it do any good in the long run?
Night & Day continues the fun story without losing any of the momentum built up in the previous installment. The creative time of Tom Peyer, Jamal Igle, and Juan Castro construct a captivating story that plays on familiar comic tropes and fun homages to a certain bat caped crusader. The characters are bold and diverse to reflect the differences from each world. Earth-Alpha has a silly sense of evil-doing, where themed gangs do very specific odd crimes. Earth-Omega is bleak, with a morally scattered realness that makes it seem like no one is happy unless they are fighting.
This series is off to a great start with the heroes keep their head on their goals while discovering the possibility of a way back home. There’s plenty of room for the story to explore and definitely steps up the next chapters nicely.
In addition to Night & Day, there are three short stories in this issue. Writer Matt Brady explains how the mind handles a global panic in Not Required Reading: This is Your Brain on Pandemic, with an illustration by Joe Orsak. A superhero talks about his rise and missteps in A Message from Deathpunch Boy, written by James Finn Garner, and an illustration from Felipe Sobreiro. A series of memos addressing investment opportunities in Miniature Cattle, written by Mark Russell and art by Danny Schwartz.