Story by John Carpenter & Eric Powell
Written by Eric Powell
Art by Brian Churilla
Colored by Michael Garland
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
Cover by Eric Powell
Published by BOOM studios
When we last left Jack Burton, he and his stalwart companion Egg Shen were ready to embark on a journey into the Hell of the Seven-Faced Widow to complete a task for an evil sorcerer in order to free their friend Wang Chi. To get to the Seven-Faced Widow, Jack, Egg, and Jack’s lovable pet demon Pete must travel along the mystical Midnight Road. Along the way, Egg Shen stops to ask for directions from an otherworldly roadhouse, while Jack has a meaningful conversation with an old man riding a giant turtle. Some pickled eggs are stolen, some natives scorned, and an old Crone tied to a tree questioned. All in a day’s work for Jack Burton.
What’s great ab
out the character of Jack Burton is how he reacts to his increasingly weird surroundings. Burton, ever unflappable, takes in demons and magic without batting an eye. This is mostly because Jack Burton, for lack of a better term, is kind of an asshole. When faced with a an ancient entity atop a giant turtle spinning a yarn about how the world was created, Burton thinks nothing of comparing the story to his third wife. Jack arrogantly thinks that he is just as important as all the supernatural beings he encounters, and he is all the more interesting for it. How refreshing to not have a traditional protagonist who starts out a crude everyman and by the end of his journey is the hero everyone knew he could be. Jack Burton doesn’t evolve; instead, he stays that crude everyman, and we love him for it.
Having John Carpenter involved really makes this series feel like a true continuation of the film, and Eric Powell takes Carpenter’s story and turns it into a tight script.
Oddly, Brian Churilla’s art feels like it has slipped just a tad since the first issue. The pencils are still perfectly adequate for the story, they just feel a little bland this time around.
All in all, Big Trouble In Little China #2 beats the sophomore slump and proves that the first issue wasn’t a fluke. As far as movie licenses go, this one is top notch.
