Is this comic a sitcom now?
Issue 2, page 1
The bickering between Locke and Paige here is a stroke of brilliance on the part of 2005 Tim here on multiple levels:
First and foremost a lesser Tim, say 2002 Tim, would have had this scene focus on the people talking. Keeping them off camera and letting Daniels' increasingly frustrated reactions sell the bit 1000 times better. It would have been kind of lame (the dialogue is a little lazy) had it not been for this P.O.V. but because of it the immaturity really works.
The ambiguity of who is talking really soars. There are a couple of hints that are obvious to me that I'd change but hopefully less so to you.
Daniels reaches final form here. He keeps this more anime bad-guy-inspired look for the rest of the series and I really like it.
And to really lay it on, I LOVE this reversed panel 7. It's supposed to convey that the room is dark but who even cares? It looks awesome and the abstract character shadows seal the deal.
Issue 2, page 2
A lot of Reckless Life fans ended up liking Daniels more than Locke and I think this is the part of the series that made that happen. Daniels is the only one here interested in keeping this a crime story while Locke and Paige are happy to turn it back into a rom-com or sitcom. For people that liked the action in this book Daniels was their guy as he was their voice. "Will you shut up and do something cool?" Unfortunately for them, the author was interested in other things.
Sorry if this page is a bit hard to read. Just to prove that 2005 Tim isn't perfect he flattened the lettering on this page so 2022 Tim couldn't enlarge it for Webtoons.
The idea behind Daniels' industrial safehouse was it was supposed to be pragmatic but I don't love that in retrospect. It's too much like Paige's. That works for her but I feel like Daniels would have a little more personal luxury. An espresso machine and a nicer atmosphere. Oh well.
Issue 2, page 3
As I've mentioned, Third Wheel was intended to be a three-issue mini so these would have been the first three pages of issue two. I think 2005 Tim did a good job of making issue one a good starting point of its own but for an opening scene of a new issue having the main characters get yelled at and then sent to bed is maybe not the most exciting start. Obviously, this scene is comedy first but in retrospect, some excitement here wouldn't have been the worst idea.
It is nice that Daniels happens to have matching twin beds in separate rooms though.
NEXT TIME: Rom-Com Recon!