Compilations | 1st Appearance | Origin Story | Main Publication History | Secondary Publication History | Key Storylines | Media Source Material | Key Issues
by snowbi-wan, updated Feb 2020
DEADLY CLASS is an action-thriller comic book series published by Image Comics from writer Rick Remender and artist Wesley Craig begun in 2014. The story follows the enrollment of homeless, teenage, orphan Marcus Arguello in King's Dominion Atelier of the Deadly Arts, a secret high school in San Francisco that trains the next generation of assassins for international crime families. The academy is mostly attended by the children of these crime families, but its headmaster, Master Lin, also admits others with high potential. In addition to Marcus' story--one of past deep, personal tragedy, the comic series also showcases the failure of some of the other students. The Russo brothers produced a Sony Pictures Television production adaptation for the SyFy channel beginning in January 2019, further elevating the already-popular comic series.
Compilations
In modern comic publishing, it's common (and expected) for individual comic book issues to be collected into compilations of trade paperbacks and/or hardcovers, as well as other special compilations. Unlike the individual source issues, the collected editions typically stay in print for long periods and are less 'collectible.' If individual issues are out of reach or are not of interest to you or if you just need reading copies, the following collected editions of Deadly Class comic books are the most recent in-print editions and are the perfect alternative to get started right away with Deadly Class. The following compilations are presented in a chronologically-based suggested reading order with softcover editions before any hardcover editions (unless the only in-print editions are hardcover--these are integrated into the softcover list).
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| Cover | Release Month | Series / Number / Storyline | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Quick View | Jul 2014 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 01: REAGAN YOUTH REG EDITION, CURRENT PRINTING |  | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Nov 2018 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 01: REAGAN YOUTH MEDIA TIE-IN EDITION, CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Mar 2015 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 02: KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Oct 2015 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 03: THE SNAKE PIT CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Aug 2016 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 04: DIE FOR ME CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Mar 2017 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 05: CAROUSEL CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Dec 2017 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 06: THIS IS NOT THE END CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Aug 2018 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 07: LOVE LIKE BLOOD CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Jul 2019 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 08: NEVER GO BACK CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | May 2020 | DEADLY CLASS [2014-TPB] VOL 09: BONE MACHINE CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Jun 2016 | DEADLY CLASS DELUXE EDITION [2016-HC] BOOK 01: NOISE NOISE NOISE CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon | |
 Quick View | Oct 2018 | DEADLY CLASS DELUXE EDITION [2016-HC] BOOK 02: THE FUNERAL PARTY CURRENT PRINTING | | Go to Amazon |
1st Appearance
The first appearance of a character in comic book form is often the most valuable issue featuring that character. It's a nice place to get started in Deadly Class, if it's within your budget.
- DEADLY CLASS [2014] #1 (1st appearance of Deadly Class)
Origin Story
The original presentation of an origin story or a retelling/recounting of it can be a good place to get started with a character or subject. The 'origin' of a superhero/villain is typically the event or circumstances surrounding how they gained their powers and/or began fighting/committing crime. Deadly Class does not have a typical superhero-style origin story. The basic premise of the series is established in the first story arc.
Main Publication History
Series beginnings are always great places to get started in comic books. Here is the Main Publication History for Deadly Class comic books. As with most creator-owned, Image series, the story is contained in a single ongoing series and subsequently collected into trade paperbacks.
- DEADLY CLASS [2014] #1-
- DEADLY CLASS: KILLER SET, FCBD SPECIAL [2019]
Media Source Material
If you've enjoyed non-comic media for Deadly Class, this section describes the comic book source material for some of the most popular non-comic media. The Russo brothers produced a Sony Pictures Television production adaptation for the SyFy channel beginning in January 2019. The DEADLY CLASS [2014] comic book series is the source material for this adaptation. The television series was cancelled after the 10-episode first season.
Key Issues
A key issue can be an acceptable place to get started with Deadly Class, but they are more of a collector's checklist, as they can carry high price tags. The issues listed in this section are predominantly non-variants (i.e. main covers).
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- DEADLY CLASS [2014] #1 (1st appearance of Deadly Class)
- DEADLY CLASS [2014] #2 (early issue)
- DEADLY CLASS [2014] #3 (early issue)
- DEADLY CLASS [2014] #4 (early issue)