Ten Grand #1

Joe Fitzgerald was a mob enforcer until the day he met Laura, who convinced him to leave that world behind. Before quitting, Joe agreed to one last job, little realizing that the man he’d been sent to kill was deeply involved in demonlogy. He survived Joe’s attempt and came after him, fatally wounding Joe and killing Laura. As he lay dying, an angelic force (who may or may not be what she appears) pointed out that where she is going, he can’t follow, and where he is going, he wouldn’t want her to follow. But if he will agree to work for them as a different kind of enforcer, they will bring him to life and keep on bringing him to life every time he is killed in a righteous cause. The reward: for those five minutes of death, he will be with Laura again. Would you endure an eternity of pain and death, dying over and over, to be with the woman you love for just five minutes each time you died? Most people might say no. But Joe Fitzgerald isn’t most people.

Ten Grand #1 marks the return of Joe’s Comics, the imprint by J. Michael Straczynski (who pens this series) and this first series’ tone and look, it’s as if time hasn’t passed. This first issue does what few comics today do, it gives pretty much the full background as to what’s going on in the first issue. It’s laid out for the readers, who the characters are, what the major crux is, etc. We might not know the specifics as far as how, but we know what’s going on, and that’s something I really liked. In fact, I realized how much I missed it after reading the issue.

On top of a solid start storyline, we get the awesome art of Ben Templesmith, an artist who I put up there as one of my favorites. His style fits the horror background of the comic.

The story might not be totally original, but the fact it flies in the face of today’s decompressed stories won it points in my book. Further that there’s some great writing, some of the verbal exchanges are solid, and fantastic art makes it an easy suggestion that folks should be picking this one up.

Story: J. Michael Straczynski Art: Ben Templesmith
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy

Jupiter’s Legacy #1

Writer Mark Millar has been a bit over the top lately with some of his series, filling them with uber-violence or reprehensible acts. This series comes off as almost adult for him and it’s more than welcome.

Jupiter’s Legacy intends to be the next superhero epic that all future comics will be measured by. The world’s greatest heroes have grown old and their legacy is a poisonous one to the children who will never live up to their remarkable parents.

Yes, it’s a new deconstruction of the super hero genre, and it would be just that if not for a few pages that really piqued my interest.

What I thought was really interesting was a debate late in the comic of that legacy group of heroes about their role in the world. If the series goes in that direction and ties in this newer generation, there’s some really interesting material to mine and the series will stand out to me.

The first issue though is a solid one, but unlike the above, not much is laid out, it’s very much set-up. We generally know how the heroes got their powers and the world they live in, but the series is very character focused in the issue, so not a ton happens action wise. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just different from a lot of the super hero series out there. There’s a lot I enjoyed about that.

Of course, it’s not just Millar’s writing, Frank Quitely provides the art, which is as solid as you’d expect. It’s great stuff to look at, with characters looking different and each having their own style.

Overall, the issue is really good. I’m not going to gush over it as much as others have, but it’s a solid start.

Story: Mark Millar Art: Frank Quitely
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review