Review – Big Trouble in Little China #13 (BOOM! Studios)

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Joe Eisma
Release Date: 15th July, 2015

Confession time before we start up; I’m 26 and I only just watched Big Trouble in Little China last year. I know, I know, it’s an 80’s classic and it is an incredible film, but it got to the stage that I was embarrassed to admit it. I’ve also never read a previous issue of the comic; again, too embarrassed to start up. So, with all that said, it’s a safe bet that I was pretty much an ideal candidate for this new “jumping-in” point of the series, complete with a brand new creative team.

Brief back story seems to be that Jack Burton was in a magically induced coma and has awoken in 2015, straight from the 80’s and wants his truck back. However, he seems to have brought some of the 80’s with him as the book literally has everything you’d want from an 80’s action film — except the awkward sex scene.

Van Lente does a terrific job of not taking the book too seriously. These kind of plot points are overused and have all been done before. However, Van Lente manages to handle it with humour and a self mocking manner that makes it seem like the book itself is in on the joke as to just how ridiculous it all is. From the jokes about the 80’s team that go on a pilgrimage to see an unconcious Jack (all throwbacks to the horrors of 80’s film; strong silent type, sexual innuendo robot, a MJ/Prince hybrid, and what looks like The Rocketeer wearing Jason’s mask), to the mother/daughter confusion and aging jokes. There’s also a nice callback to the film and what Jack has missed, but I’ll leave the spoilers out of this for now.

Joe Eisma’s artistic style seems to fit the tone of the book dead on. It’s comicbook-y, sure, but at the same time features such clean line work and such bold, expressive character profiles. He manages to pull off “cool guys walking away from an explosion” to perfection, too, and his visualisations of FVL’s onomatopoeia (thank you 4th year English for teaching me that one) are dead-on. I actually caught myself laughing out loud at a few of them.

There’s an interesting theme at the start of the book with a monologue from Jack basically saying that all we do these days is play with electrical devices and have lost the art of communication, which – for someone coming straight from the 80’s – would be a massive culture shock. He certainly has a point, maybe I’ll Tweet about it later.

While it may be slightly light on substance, feeling very much like an opening chapter (which, to be fair, it is), this is an undoubtedly strong beginning, and for someone who has jumped straight in I felt completely sucked into the story and hooked within just a few pages. One for the 80’s kids, the nostalgia lovers, or simply anyone that loves a good old-school action movie….in a comic.

Rating: 4/5.

INTERIOR ARTWORK
[Click to Enlarge]