Big Trouble in Little China #1 – Review

By: John Carpenter & Eric Powell (Story), Eric Powell (Writer), Brian Churilla (Artist), Michael Garland (Color Artist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer)

The Story:
妖魔大鬧小神州, of course

The Review:
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” they say. In this case, however, you should absolutely judge this book by its cover. Or, at least, it’s basic, non-alternate cover, which is clearly evocative to the original Big Trouble in Little China and how it exemplifies cult action-adventure films from the 80s. From the title’s font/logo, to characters’ arrangement, to the lighting and texture and caricature, it’s a pleasingly retro homage.

Inside, the caricature continues, with the figures looking cartoony enough for a MAD Magazine story, yet without degenerating into demeaning exaggeration or stereotypes. Or at least, not relying on them. It’s an interesting choice– it helps keep the humorous tone, establishes close ties to the original movie, and, yes, even dates itself a little bit. Speaking of which, I wonder that is also supposed to be the effect of the same-ness of all the dialogue bubbles. They seem to all be the same shape/dimensions regardless of size or position, which again makes things seem more like a MAD Magazine strip but also a bit stale and undynamic.

As the cover suggests, this is a sequel to the movie, and in fact, it picks up merely seconds after the film ends. A hell-beast has followed Jack Burton home (or at least, to his big rig) but not for the reasons you’d expect, which brings him back to Little China/San Francisco where supernatural gangs continue to plague the lives of his friends. It all makes the story feel very “real” as a genuine part of Jack Burton’s story (even if it’s been many years since I’ve seen the movie) but it somewhat relies on the film to have done all the heavy lifting for its characters and their inter-relationships. A little exposition would have been nice, especially if this is to capture a feeling of “new” just as much as it’s trying to be the next chapter of “before.”

The only bit of new character/world building comes from Jack Burton’s 3-page recount of his second marriage, complete with a comicbook-style flashback that takes advantage of artistic montage. In just this brief moment, we get see/read about Mexican bikers, bat-faced luchadores, giant Día de Los Muetros heads, and Babylonian demi-gods in Nebraska. Now THAT sounds fun and offers genuinely new weirdness, but it’s too brief and quite tangential to any other plot development.

Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities and the Orm of Loch Ness #1 – Review – Draft

By: Eric Powell with Tracy Marsh (writers), Kyle Hotz (Artist), Dan Brown (Colorist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)

The Review: I think it’s a reasonable gripe comic book fans are entitled to that sometimes we get a little frustrated having to wait 30 days between chapters of our favourite books. When we do it’s for the best of reasons; the quality of titles like Saga or The Manhattan Projects is such that we want that next hit of the good stuff as soon as possible. Of course, that craving is all the more powerful when it comes to runs built off the back of mini-series. I eagerly await the next instalments of Seaguy and Luthor Strode for example, and the same’s been true of Eric Powell’s Billy The Kid’s Old Timey Oddities.

The Goon #30 – Review

By Eric Powell (story and art), Dave Stewart (colors)

The Story: As Goon’s battle with the Labrazio and the Lonely Street gang rages on, the Buzzard continues his mission to discover the secret to destroying Labrazio, but is betrayed by the Priest.  Meanwhile, Franky is challenged with a moral dilemma that has nothing to do with a knife to the eye…yet.

The Good: Ever since the release of the original graphic novel Chinatown, The Goon has matured and evolved into a more dramatic, thoughtful story; and although I first resented that change, much preferring the blatanly tongue-in-cheek humor, I have since found myself thoroughly drawn into Eric Powell’s new direction on the book.  What I love most about this title is how Powell is able to draw from so many influences and weave them into such consistently entertaining stories.

The Not So Good: Also around the time Chinatown was released, and maybe even a little before then, I noticed a significant change in the style of Powell’s art that unfortunately, has never quite agreed with me.  While Powell’s early issues were more illustrative of a typical comic book, his art now has a subdued, streamlined look that seems to want to highlight Dave Stewart’s washed out, sepia toned colors.  In hindsight, I actually think the art and color better compliments the dramatic tone of the story, but there is still a dreary look about it that I’ve never enjoyed.

Conclusion: Month after month, this is one of the few titles that I most look forward to.  The Goon continues to impress with its deft mix of sly humor, drama, and horror.  This is really great storytelling, and a perfect example of why we need to see more creator-owned titles being published and supported.

Grade: B+

-Tony Rakittke