Video Jack - Issue 4

[David Swan]

Summary of Issue 4

 

Jack and Damon are still in the jail cell in the Andy Griffith show when they witness, what they previously thought was Otis, killing Deputy Fife with Fife's own gun. He turns it on the boys but Lucky for them Barney Fife only ever loaded his gun with a single bullet. The serial killer runs off deciding that a one on two fist fight wouldn't go in his favor. Jack and Damon head over to Floyd's barbershop to search for Kojak who previously swallowed the remote. Floyd had given Kojak a haircut and demands payment but is cut down by the serial killer who's now wielding a chainsaw prompting Kojak to press the remote sending them into another reality.

 

Intermission

Comic books are very much a visual medium but there are rare writers who can create masterpieces regardless of the artist. I'm thinking of Alan Moore with stories like V for Vendetta and From Hell which had art that I can't even pretend to say I liked. Then there are writers who aren't good enough to overcome really bad art. On page 9 the drawing is taken over by "guest penciller" Joe Barney and it's like all the energy drains out of the series. I cannot express what a jolt it is moving from Giffen to Barney but for me the series in one page went on life support.

 

Jack and Damon find themselves in a sci fi film and Damon runs off with the remote. Turns out they are on the Nostromo in an Alien film. Jack finds Damon who is now paralyzed with fear and held in place by some goop. Looming above him is the queen Alien/Serial Killer whose eggs are hatching revealing Damon faced alien spawn. Jack flees and manages to open an airlock sucking the Serial Killer as Alien to a static demise. Yes, they really just killed what I thought was the main villain of the series and his death was really really bad. The remote is now shown being held by a rotting hand which presses a button sending Jack and Damon into a generic sitcom featuring Jack, Damon and Jack's mom.

 

Here we get our second guest penciller Stephen DeStefano. Besides the ever present laugh track things actually don't seem that bad for Jack and the shadow is now gone from Damon's face. Jack just accepts the new reality but things begin to go downhill quickly. Jack's mom is getting increasingly surly and the shadow is starting to come back to Damon's face. As time goes on Jack's mom turns to drinking and the house becomes a mess of dirty dishes, smashed furniture and garbage. Jack's mom flips out when she catches him eating a cookie and slaps him across the face before leaving the house in nothing more than her underwear and fishnet stockings telling Jack the house better be clean before she gets back or she's kicking him out. The final page shows an angry Uncle Zach, with rotting hands, pounding on the remote to change the channel while looking at it as if he's terrified.

 

I can only speculate that the series was not selling well and Keith Giffen decided to move onto other projects. Another possibility is a case of creative differences between Giffen and Bates. I'll note that the scene where the serial killer is killed is also when Giffen stopped doing the art. It feels as if maybe Giffen wanted the serial killer as the main villain and Bates wanted Damon. Personally I preferred the dynamics of the first three issues with Damon as more of a confused soul and the Serial Killer as the one truly evil character. Killing him was, in my opinion, a very bad move. As to Uncle Zach, is he dead or alive? This storyline also seems rather confused as will become even more evident in the next issue.

 

A series that started with a ton of promise was fading fast and it's all downhill from here.

 

See more journals by David Swan

[surfer99]

OK, am I the only one that sees the Brood attacking Wonder Man?

 

 

[SW3D]

So true! I do see that!

 

 

[SW3D]

Dear David,

 

Great journal as always!

 

I have to agree with you... something must have happened creatively to alter the course of the storyline.

 

I will say... the oddball and zany nature of the story would make for a terrific film adaptation... like a cult classic film. I'm thinking along the lines of the Rocky Horror Picture Show or Shock Treatment, minus the musical numbers.

 

Due to the bizarre nature of the book, I bet Giffen sprinkled visual subliminal messages throughout... I got to pick up the series and check it out.

 

Looking forward to your next installment (gotta know how it ends).

 

SW3D

[David Swan]

I agree. I think the concept is fantastic. There was so much they could have done.

 

Here is the entire series for $11.79 with shipping although it's negotiable.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Video-Jack-1-6-VF-NM-complete-series-KEITH-GIFFEN-epic-comics-set-2-3-4-5-lot-/380593353048?pt=US_Comic_Books&hash=item589d21b158