Dolla Dolla Bin Y'all! Cloak and Dagger #4 (1985)

After a bit of a hiatus, Dolla Dolla Bin Y'all is back with its first entry of 2017! For those new to this, we take a look at some of the gems and oddities that can be found among the $1 bins available at Collectors Corners stores.

This 1985 issue was a tie-in to the Secret Wars II event and continues from Secret Wars II issue #6 where The Beyonder has taken human form and is attempting to understand and experience humanity as one of its own. Wandering into a shady part of town, he stumbles upon a group of drug dealers/thieves who attempt to give him a deadly overdose to relieve him of his possessions. Cloak and Dagger however are quick to punish these men and The Beyonder grows unhappy; having mistaken their slang for the high of drug use with the literal promise of happiness. A short scuffle erupts which ends with The Beyonder removing C and D's powers and begin a massacre where drug dealers and users are phased out of existence all over the borough. With no powers, C and D are helpless to stop him until they are able to appeal to the humanity of compassion and argue that these people may yet be saved through reform; in the process making them rethink their own methods for crime-fighting. The Beyonder relents and restores upon them their powers as well as bringing back to life all those he had struck down. 

A surprisingly deep book that touches upon religious dogma, corruption (in a B thread), and the nature of drug use and the community, this issue plays it dark and gritty with little to no action until the last act. The detailed and dynamic art of Leonardi is equal parts exciting and nostalgic as someone who loved this type of work in my youth. Mantlo's writing is able to take what could have just been a tie-in issue actually serve to provide growth to our main characters as well as their supporting cast. Cloak and Dagger themselves have perhaps some of the most important character moments in their careers; steering from brutality to a more compassionate though still forceful method. With steps being taken to achieve more legitimacy like other superheroes, this issue would help to inform the characters for many years and issues to come.

Advertisement of the Issue!

This installment has a two page ad for Cap'n Crunch cereal wherein everyone's favorite Wall-crawler is on the hunt for the missing Cap'n. Take a look yourself, I quite like that Spidey refers to The Cap'n as "my main man."