Following his punishment, Marcus and his fellow outcasts sneak off to a Grateful Dead concert to make some quick cash selling drugs outside the venue. The second half of the story sees Marcus and his “lab partner” Willie fail their first assassination assignment when Marcus murders a homeless man who did not fit the instructed criteria. Marcus is the embodiment of the outcast kid in a school where not fitting in could mean much worse than being stuffed into a locker or cornered into a schoolyard fight.ĭeadly Class Vol 1: Reagan Youth collects issues 1-6 of Deadly Class. Not to mention these kids don’t attend math or science classes but rather lectures such “Assassin Psychology”, “Hand-to-Hand Combat”, and “AP Black Arts”. The big thing to keep in mind though is that the schoolyard bully here won’t just push you around and take your lunch money he could also dismember you six different ways. The first half of the book follows Marcus through his first day at his new school with some close calls with jocks, bullies, and the outcast stoners hanging out at the back of the school. Marcus soon finds himself recruited to enroll at Kings Dominion School of the Deadly Arts, a highschool that trains its students to become the world’s most feared international hitmen. There are no super powers, aliens, or interdimensional space travel instead we follow the story of Marcus Lopez, a homeless teenager living on the streets of 1987 San Francisco. Deadly Class is more grounded within the realm of possibility than anything else I’ve read from Remender. This series is also a big step away from his usual over the top sci fi style. Deadly Class however, might be his best work since his acclaimed run on Uncanny X-Force.

He has been on fire lately with Black Science, his work at Marvel on Captain America and Uncanny Avengers, plus his upcoming series Low looks very promising. I must admit that I wasn’t sold on the concept of this book when I first heard about Deadly Class, but I’m glad I gave it a chance it was a reminder for me not to doubt Rick Remender.

Deadly class comic volume 1