Cloak And Dagger: Negative Exposure MPGN

Cloak and Dagger (Collected Editions) #8

by Dennis Hopeless

After their harrowing fight with the Gray, CLOAK AND DAGGER are fighting crime as a duo once again, but their relationship out of costume needs some work. With new romantic interests making things complicated for the both of them, Cloak and Dagger will have to answer the question of "will they, or won't they?" once and for all. This while their old foe, Mr. Negative, resurfaces, bringing with him a sinister new threat that threatens to tear Cloak away from Dagger forever!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Collections, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels

136 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2019

About the author

Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum is an American comics writer from Kansas City, Missouri who has written for Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Studios, Arcana Studio, and Oni Press.

See also under Dennis Hallum

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much telling, not enough showing. Also I rolled my eyes a lot. I loved the last run - this one, not so much.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just...love...Cloak and Dagger. And this is a much-needed improvement in their relationship from Shades of Grey—still not perfect, but more balanced, more honest.

One of my chief frustrations with superhero comics is the way characters will progress through a given story arc only to be returned to factory settings at the end, blank slates prepared for their next outing with a new set of writers and artists. I get it. I do. But it's disappointing to lose all that character development over. And over. And over again.

This happens with Cloak and Dagger too, alas, but...it's a little more believable. Because when you have a partnership that is more a symbiosis, and one of you boils with light whilst the other freezes in starving darkness, there are actual forces pulling on who you are and who you want to be that make backsliding and immaturity and painful striving for an impossible normality realistic.

Do I always agree with the way a creative team conveys this? No...and I love this duo best when they lean into the way they need each other. But I never quite feel as if the conflict stirred up by Cloak being Cloak and Dagger being Dagger—and each of them inextricably bound into the other—is wholly contrived. And I can love the tension when I know it will be resolved in a moment of connection and tenderness. (Which, come to think of it, is part of this team's factory settings.)

...Does this really have anything to do with this specific book? No. But I had to say it somewhere, and here seemed like the most compelling place. My apologies if you were expecting more of a review than an encomium.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big fan of Cloak and Dagger. I enjoyed the art and the writing. Great read!

[Jeff Richey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always loved Cloak and Dagger, so I bought Cloak and Dagger: Negative Exposure as a throwback to my days of reading them in Peter Parker, the Spectacular comics. If you are a comic book fan, you know how long ago that was. It doesn’t disappoint.

In this story, Cloak's new relationship draws him deeper into the void. Usually, his power allows him to use the void to teleport himself and, at times, others (bad guys) to their demise. However, in this graphic novel, he stays too long.

The visuals of the void, along with a relationship twist between Cloak and Dagger, and a complex and evil arch nemesis throughout, make this comic a page-turner.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a spotty story about everyone's favorite Marvel interracial superpowered couple/duo who have broken up. The art is B+ to A-, but the story has an inconsistent tone, where it's supposed to be this very personal, literally dark, story about a broken up couple trying to move on while remaining friends and super partners but has a few random moments of Scooby Doo endings where someone says something incredibly cheesy, and there's just a panel of the characters laughing like it's the funniest thing ever said.

The portion of the story dedicated to the evolution of Cloak's power, and his understanding of it, is the highlight of the narrative. The clunkiness around Mister Negative's breaking up relationships is the antithesis of that.

I would recommend it to fans of Cloak and Dagger, as they don't get too many stories these days, even though they have a TV series in its second season.

[Honora Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second dive into the crazy, mystical adventures of Cloak and Dagger, and the second foray with Dennis Hopeless as the writer. I honestly feel like he is the perfect writer to write these types of stories. I also read the increasingly dark Avengers Arena/Undercover series by this author and loved it. Hopeless is able of combining the dark and twisted storylines paired with visible character growth from all parties. I do feel a bit bad for Brandon and Viv, there roles were literally in place to just be love interests for Tandy and Tyrone while circumstances pushed them apart. But in the end Tandy and Tyrone have always been a couple of characters that were obviously meant to be and while I'm thrilled they are back together I'm happy we got to see how they react alone and broken before seeing them WORK to get back together and be partners in more ways than one.

[Tim Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll always have a soft spot for Cloak and Dagger. While X-men might be the first comic that inspired me, Cloak and Dagger was the first comic I ever read. For a while, I had taken a break from comics and this book in particular, since it seemed that Marvel was also taking a stop on them. This new edition is interesting. Cloak and Dagger ... especially dagger does not come off as great people in this book. Flawed, struggling, narcissistic, and vainglorious B string heroes trying to save the world when their powers are limited and their lives are surrounded by their own drama. But, these flaws make them interesting characters and the story in this volume is somewhat compelling in that they were mostly brought apart in previous volumes, and in this one, they try and make that work with others while dealing with a plot by Mr. Negative to swallow the world.

[¥uri ݁˖☘︎✟⚚☕︎݁˖ · Rating 1 out of 5]

The ending was yucky, and the confession scene was emotional and well-written, but the moral implications ruined it, I hate when a couple gets back together by cheating on their partners they were using as a rebound, and I especially hate when the story expects me to be happy about it (and I hate it even more when the characters are supposed to be good people like superheroes), well, at least it ended by making cloak and dagger being a couple as the status quo for future stories...

at least the covers for the negative exposure arc where all bangers...

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always loved Cloak & Dagger and their interplay with Mister Negative is great. This book, however isn't. The behind the curtains string puller made little sense and altering Negative's look or motives is the wrong move. Tandy and Ty's relationship struggles play out well here without seeming like a teenage melodrama. Overall, a decent read with some plot issues.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really enjoyable book. I can't say I loved it, but I definitely had fun getting to know these two characters who I've only ever seen as cameos. Interesting story, classic comic book action--and, of course, the reunion of this classic couple. (Because they weren't seriously going to stay broken up, right???)

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than hoped for especially since there's a horror element (not for me) but the focus on relationships was a real plus.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Nicole Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional storyline and great art.

https://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/202...

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very solid story and art. But can't say it blew me away.

[Emily Toso · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute. Solid Cloak and Dagger read, though the romantic plot was a little much for me at the end. It was cute and cheesy though so points for that.

[Logan Polk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Hopeless at his best but a fun ride

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most pointless and ridiculous superhero stories I have ever read. Here superheroes do not act like someone to look up to, but instead act like edgy angsty teens. The one star is just for the art.