Product Description: IDW continues their re-presentation of the entire First Comics GrimJack saga, in order. This eighth volume covers issues #47-54. Written by creator John Ostrander and drawn by Tom Mandrake.
Best Colorist ever! What is forgotten here in the previous review, is the beautifully and moody hand color work by one of the top colorists of the time, Julie Sczesny! She breathes life into the Demons of Cynosure, like no one else ever has since. Along with the funny bowling scene previously mentioned, it was made alive, with her excellent brush strokes, and her different tactics on each Munden's Bar.
She painted many graphic novels, until computer coloring laid waste to those who had the delicate touch. But even those couldn't match her diversity of textures. She moved into writing, drawing, and still paints beautifully, as far as I know. I'm voting her in, for the awards she never received!
CloneJack! The Dancer! KALIBOS! CADRE! FutureJack! All this and DEMONS too!!! The original HARD-BOILED barbarian is back, fresh from his death and resurrection, this time. In the ever-shifting city of Cynosure, the nexus of all realities, this merc /detective series contains the private-eye anti-hero of pulp fiction mixed with the fantasy of Robert E. Howard. GRIMJACK a.k.a John Gaunt, as published in 1983-84 series, issues 47 through 54 are re-presented here, again without the backpage MUNDEN's BAR shorts, unfortunately. The good news is that the Munden's Bar tradepaper vol. 1 will be available this month.
The stories here climax the final battle between Gaunt and his nemesis of his pitt-fightin' days, THE DANCER, who has been methodically manipulating things in Cynosure for many stories now, including the re-animation of Gaunt's own dead to use as an assassin in the last trade paperback the LEDGEND of GRIMJACK #7. So now, back in the body of a clone John Gaunt rallies his forces and friends to take on his old foe to not only stop him from unleashing Hell on the city, literally, but to avenge himself upon Dancer for forcing Grimjack to turn his back on Heaven, also literally. Not only are things coming to a head with Dancer, the killer human-skin wearing KALIBOS, the super-secret CADRE, but the rest of this trade paperback deals with setting up the future direction the series would take for the remainder of the comic's run (see LEDGEND of GRIMJACK #9)! FUTUREJACK is introduced and the origin of Cynosure, the pan-dimensional city, itself. Also introduced Grimjack's "DOOM," or the curse & consequences for walking out on Heaven, as noble as his intentions were, there is still a heavy price to pay.
Stories by co-creator John Ostrander (Star Wars comics) and Tom Mandrake does all of the art for these collected issues, for the last time. Mandrake's younger CloneJack, is some of the best art up `til this point in the series, better than even, sorry Tim, the series co-creator's (Truman's younger work is pretty raw, which is part of the edge, but compare to the new Grimjack story arc in Grimjack: Killer Instinct, where you can see Truman's beautiful mature artwork). One problem with this collection is the missing Crossroads #4 issue that ties into "When Titians Bowl" a uncharacteristically funny story with Mike Baron's (Nexus) Judah Maccabee. The story is actually an epilog to an adventure that isn't in the book.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
