REVIEW: Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack #5 (Ain’t that a kick in the… teeth)

Just remember what ol’ Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol’ storm right square in the eye and he says, “Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it.”

Title: Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack #5
Writers: Anthony Burch, John Carpenter
Art: Jorge Corona
Colors: Gabriel Cassata
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
Cover: Rahzzah
Publisher: Boom! Studios

What You Need to Know:

Jack Burton may have inadvertently doomed the world when he struck a deal with Ching Dai and damned all humanity to an eternity of hell on Earth, but that doesn’t mean he can’t renege on that deal with the slightest amount of motivation! (and I mean SLIGHT!) Initially prodded by Lo Pan disguised as a buxom blonde (it was an awkward day) and captured and further motivated by a group of mad max looking folks, then turned over to The Beast, who turned out to be none other than Jack’s old buddy Wang! Wang, being whipped up into a murderous rage by the death of basically everyone he knows (some people are SO sensitive!) has further “motivated” (not sure it counts if the alternative is death) Jack and Lo Pan to access Ching Dai’s throne of skulls and kick the demon out of our dimension forever!

What You’ll Find Out:

We Open on Wang, Jack and Lo Pan crammed in the front of the Pork Chop Express headed towards Ching Dai’s throne of skulls, as always Jack is mindlessly narrating his thoughts in a heroic fashion when he is once again shot down by Lo Pan. The two argue a little and Wang reminds them that if they don’t take him where he wants to go he’ll kill them both. Jack quiets down and says he needs to pee.

As Jack relieves himself he starts up, on his usual jabbering (pillars of heaven and so forth) while Wang stretches his legs. (jumping around with his swords) Suddenly Lo Pan sidles up to him and tells him a disturbing and startling secret; he doesn’t know where the Throne of Skulls is! Wang seems to sense something is up and demands they tell him what they’re talking about, they cover up by saying they’re talking about Jack’s favorite thing, beans. They stammer for a place they can go to gain access to Ching Dai when a bolt of lightning streaks across the sky. They tell Wang he has to defeat the Three Storms!

Despite the tornadoes and lightning and whatnot that accompany the Three Storms, they aren’t particularly easy to find, luckily Wang has a special friend, Yaoguai, Jack’s former compatriot Pete! Yaoguai is trained to find creatures of great sin, and Lo Pan has a clue, the fight with the Storms is a real shocker, and the finale sets up the final issue perfectly!

Don’t delay, act now! Pick up a copy of this phenomenal book today!

What Just Happened?

Plot:

I am still absolutely loving this series, which I would call one of the more underrated series of 2017,  I literally bought the first issue based on cover art alone and the book is so uniquely funny and great that I was instantly hooked. Anthony Burch has nailed the tone of Jack Burton so completely, and the numerous callbacks to the movie are consistently entertaining.

The setting of a post-apocalyptic hellscape does little to deter from the entertainment factor of the hilarious dialogue, and various threats often add to it, occasionally even dying in hilarious mishaps.

I’ve really been enjoying the way this series has twisted the roles making former big bad Lo Pan into Jack’s slightly more capable than he seems sidekick as opposed to Wang, who is borderline actively trying to kill Jack, who unknowingly ended the world to save Wang’s life. (Wang was dying due to an accident Jack caused, but that’s beside the point)

Art:

The art in this series is pretty cartoonish, which totally helps separate the harsh and violent setting with the madcap ridiculous jokes and actions of the characters.

The cover, while not by the talented Stephane Roux like all the main issues so far, is still pretty darn fantastic, and a huge selling point for the book.

Rating: 8/10

Final Thought:

You could do a lot worse for yourself than read this hilarious and amazing book that made my boss say “I can’t believe this exists!” (he doesn’t read comics) It is fun for most ages and abilities. Pick this book up only one issue to go!

If anyone ever wants to contact me, look me up in my group for the love of comic books , I also have several comic pages dedicated to my various true loves, Batman, Spider-man, Marvel, Oldie Goldies and Hats! (Long story on that last one haha) or on Twitter @johnbatusijack

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