We'll get to Jack Staff proper in Sunday Splash Page some time next year, but for now, a two-week foray. Grist explains on the last page, that this was a story originally serialized in Comics International sometime earlier, and then reprinted as one big comic through Image in 2007. Grist mentions one thing he learned is that you shouldn't do a comic that's being released in 3-4 page chunks on a monthly release schedule, because it loses momentum. Weekly works better, apparently.
The story itself involves Q (really, the Q acts as the dot at the bottom of a question mark, but I have no idea how to type that), who are your sort of shadowy group that investigate mysterious goings-on. 3-person team. Helen Morgan (???), Harry Crane (ex-cop, precog), Ben Kulmer ("reformed" thief). In this case, that involves a mysterious meteorite and people being turned into walking, talking plant-folk. Grist, as was typical for his Jack Staff stuff, populates the book with other characters who feel as though their stories have just happened to intersect with Q for the night. Hints at their backstory, but nothing more. The Starfall Squad. Sommerset Stone, Gentleman Adventurer.
It works as its own standalone adventure for Q, while also letting Grist hint at a few different threads with those characters. That Helen's playing some sort of long game the other two don't grasp, and that Ben's probably not as much his own man as he thinks, with that weird claw on his hand. Mostly, it's just a nice creepy adventure. Grist uses the nighttime, woodsy setting to play with shadows and negative space, which he's pretty good at. The plant-folk are weird, but not too monstrous.
2 comments:
I love Paul Grist's work. I think he's one of the best storytellers in comics today.
I really enjoy his work when he illustrates it, especially in black-and-white. He does a great job using that contrast.
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