By Owen Craig
Jersey Gods
Written by Glen Brunswick
Art by Dan McDaid
Image Comics, 2009
Sometimes a book comes along that you just want to give a boost to. It could be because you make an instant connection with the book, it could be because you see a lot of potential in it, or…a third…thing.
In this case it’s both the first and the second. Jersey Gods is my kind of comic. One of my favourite kinds of story to read/watch are the ones where the everyday interacts with the fantastical, so the second I heard of this comic — about a woman from New Jersey dating a god — I knew I had to get my hands on it.
I could only hope that the work itself would live up to the premise. Boy, does it ever. Glen Brunswick’s characters are wonderfully written to contrast each other in the most amusing possible way; Zoe (the female lead) is worrying about her job and her love life while Barock (the male lead/god) is taking part in epic battles. The romance is only just getting underway (we are but two issues in), but already I am completely engaged in this story. Somehow, a man wondering how long he should wait before he calls a girl is way funnier when that man is flying between planets.
Dan McDaid is the perfect artist for this story, a whimsical mix of Jack Kirby and Darwyn Cooke (who provided a cover for the second issue, go figure). The characters are filled with expression and the fight scenes are striking. As I mentioned before, only two issues of this series are out so far, so it would be easy for anyone to catch up. The first issue got a second printing, so even if your local comic book store sold out you still have a shot. Check it out, you won’t be sorry.
Cool, I didn’t know this was out yet, I was definately looking forward to this comic.
It seems a lot like Noble Causes, but hopefully without the soap opera sinister characters involved.
Damn, Isaac beat me to the “Noble Causes” comparison.
You can’t see it, but I’m actually doing that thing where you pretend you just fired bullets from your fingers, and then blow across where those imaginary bullets would have come from, and then holstering my finguns into invisible holsters.
Cause I’m a regular quick draw.
Apparently with a mental image.
Interesting…I’ll keep an eye out for the trade, when/if it comes out.