The very first original series from Acclaim after they purchased Valiant in the mid-90s, Troublemakers was exceptionally good, especially given that the 90s aren’t exactly fondly remembered for strongly character driven comics.

Troublemakers was never afraid of touching on pretty controversial topics either, such as teen sex, childhood terminal illness and much more besides. In issue 12, the topic of gun violence pops up, and rather shockingly, one of the team of super powered, teenage heroes is dead before the first page begins.

What follows is an investigation into what exactly happened, who was responsible, and why they did it. There’s a slight awkwardness to the police interviews, the art makes it a little hard to figure out the sequence of events and it feels as if things don’t quite add up by the end, with the truth discovered somewhat conveniently (for the most part) too. The exaggerated, cartoonish artwork that the series uses isn’t an ideal fit for the subject matter either.

That said, it’s admirable that writer Fabian Nicieza even attempted to tackle this issue, given how politically charged gun crime can be in the US. It’s a real shame that we’ve lost a Troublemaker so senselessly and suddenly, but I suppose that’s part of the point, ultimately.

Hi! I’m Jason, and I write for midlifegamergeek.com, every single day. If you’re interested in supporting original, regularly published, human created content (which has never been plagiarised or otherwise copied from the hard work of other writers), you can donate and help me to keep this site running.

Not only do I earn no income from my writing here (though I may earn small fees from affiliate links posted on my pages; as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from these links), but it seems that my work has, at times, been stolen and re-used by lazy, morally bankrupt idiots.

There’s no pressure of course, but I’d be truly grateful for any support that you could offer – and it’s easy to do so at either of these links: Ko-Fi.com/geekmid or PayPal.

Any donations are truly appreciated – and I also appreciate you taking the time to read my articles. Remember: this whole article was by Jason Brown, and appeared on midlifegamergeek.com. Take that, Skynet!