A new series from Boom! Studios takes readers back to the horrors and hi-jinx of trying to avoid getting hit in the most terrifying of gym class activities – dodgeball! – with Dodge City!
Dodge City 1
Written by Josh Trujillo
Art by Cara McGee
Whenever we had a rained out gym class or summer camp day and the teacher lined us up in two teams on either side of the gymnasium, it was like setting off a mini-LORD OF THE FLIES scenario. Friends turned on each other, battling for a ball and with the whip of a hard throw to eliminate members of the other team. Dodgeball is hell. I have no idea what deep, dark part of my subconscious thought it was a good idea to buy a whole comic book based around the activity. But I’m glad I did, because the first issue of Dodge City was a lot of fun, bringing back memories of being a kid without the trauma of welts all over my body.
The story centers on Tomás, a new kid in Dodge City looking for some after-school activities to keep him occupied until his parents get home from work. He gets pointed towards the Jazz Pandas dodgeball team, because the team needs an extra body to ensure they don’t have to forfeit so many games. The only problem is Tomás is terrible at dodgeball and, really, has no idea how to play. Yet, over the course of the first issue, he starts crushing on a member of the opposite team, starts to get the hang of the game and ends up being promoted to captain of the team!
Unlike the Vince Vaughn DODGEBALL movie, DODGE CITY is a fun all-ages comic centered around a “sport” most people never give a second thought to after they get to their mid-to-late teens. It’s a story about kids coming together to be a team, with Tomás serving as an everykid guide for anyone unfamiliar with the horrific game. Can the new kid raise the team’s performance up to win the championship? Can they even win a game? I guess we’ll see as the series continues.