YOUNG HEROES IN LOVE #13 - June 1998

For Whom the Bell Grumbles

Credits: Dan Raspler (writer), Christopher Jones (penciler), Keith Champagne (inker), Bill Oakley (letterer), Noelle Giddings (colorist)

Following last issue’s revelation, the team now debates whether or not to go forward. And if they go forward, who should lead the Young Heroes?

Monstergirl seizes the opportunity to present herself as the clam, mature voice of reason. She also kisses Off-Ramp during a transparent attempt to draw him closer to her.

Bonfire discerns Junior’s secret identity during a debate over DC continuity (apparently, it’s very important to some people when the term “meta-human” was coined).

Thunderhead is unsure about going forward, especially if it means replacing Hard Drive as the team’s “cape guy.”

Off-Ramp is hurt the most by Hard Drive’s actions. He remains unsure of his decision to join the team and requests a few days off. The team realizes that Off-Ramp is the most valuable member of the Young Heroes, due to his teleportation powers. Without a means to travel to their battles, the team doesn’t have a lot of options.

Junior accidentally tells Zip-Kid he thinks she’s beautiful. She tells him not to apologize for being nice.

Zip-Kid is upset with her boyfriend for casually dismissing her. When she returns home to have “the talk” with him, he unexpectedly proposes to her.

Frostbite views Off-Ramp as his only way home. When he tries to explain this to him, Off-Ramp thinks he’s hitting on him.

More conversations, more manipulation, and more romantic entanglements. Raspler doesn’t advance any of the ongoing storylines very far, but he’s still able to make a conversation scene worth your time. His treatise on how valuable a long-range teleporter would be for a superhero group is something I’ve never thought of before, and he’s managed to make the idea work as a credible conflict for the team members. If you really did live in a remote area of Canada, losing your teammate teleporter would have a fairly significant impact on your life. I’m not sure if he’s serious about a homoerotic subtext to Frostbite and Off-Ramp’s relationship, though, largely because Christopher Jones’ facial expressions can occasionally be hard to decipher.