JACK STAFF #15

Review by: Tad

What did the
iFanboy
community think?

18
Pulls
Avg Rating: 3.9
 
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Size: pages
Price: 3.50

Dang!  My first review and the stars are against me.   Literally.  I meant to click on four stars and thought I had to do it a star at a time.  But BOOM!  WHAM!  Suddenly I’m whisked back to the pulled page with a rating of one star!

But in this case, that might be appropriate.  Sorta.   But not really.

Here’s the deal with Jack Staff.  Paul Grist does some of the most inventive storytelling in all of comics but reading his stories is like looking at a world through a fractured window pane.  Although the comic is named after a single character, Britain’s greatest hero no less, the comic follows what seems like a dozen characters including a vampire reporter, a robot hero, a psychic investigation squad, vampire hunters, a couple of time/dimension hoppers, a police detective…. I’ll stop there.  Each of these are cool creations with all sorts of potential but we only visit them for a couple of pages at a time.  Those visits are even shorter in the more recent issues.

Maybe Grist doesn’t want to wait to explore all the ideas in his head so he tries to do everything at once.  This guy could populate an entire comics line.  So, considered as a single issue, maybe this comic only deserves one star because if you just tried to pick up the issue, you’d risk cracking your neck from all the head shaking.

BUT, if you stick with it or pick up the existing trades, you’ll find characters filled with dry wit, and stories packed with hugely imaginative ideas.  I really enjoy this comic.

Grist belongs to the minimalist school of comic artist along with Mignola and Toth.  I love the feel of it and how he uses panel shapes and negative areas to make a statement.  Not for those whose tastes run to Jim Lee or photo referenced layouts.

Pick up some trades and step into the world of Jack Staff.  It’s a great ride even though the destination isn’t always clear. 

Story: 3 - Good
Art: 4 - Very Good

Comments

  1. I have to agree with you that Jack Staff has too many great characters and all of them are severely underused, but to even suggest that the book could, even at a stretch, receive one star is more than a little unfair.

    Granted you need to have read most of the past titles to have some idea of what is happening but this issue like every other is a good introduction to Grist’s story telling abilities and style. I personally like the clean art and find all the narrative tight and each character appearance has an impact. I do like reading snippets of different stories in each issues knowing that it will all come together in the end.

    My main grip is that every issue is too short and the book still isn’t shipping on a monthly basis. Also I don’t have any problems with the Burglar Bill material at the end but I think that it does belong in it’s own book.

  2. well written review – you make me want to pick up an issue to get a better look.

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