Nowhere Man Vol 2: Jacked Up
Publisher: Forward Comix
Writer: Jerome Walford
Artist: Jerome Walford
Cover: Jerome Walford
While picking up several months after the first volume with Jack hospitalized as a result of his sacrifice, Jerome uses this time to explain Zade’s connection to Jack and his abilities. What is also great is that Jack’s girlfriend, Rose, gets the spotlight in some very well written sequences that opens her character to more than who she started out as. There’s also more info given about Jack as we take a look at the past but it’s in the present where the story is really moving. Jack is on the run, Rose is discovering new abilities, and people are getting punched in the face into aquariums!
Now, as much as Walford reveals in this story he does add several more layers of mystery and intrigue to keep you on edge. The pacing is pretty fast but even when things slow down he keeps an air of tension around. There’s also the fact that even though there is a heavy sci-fi element to this story Walford doesn’t let the tech overshadow the characters and is committed to giving you solid people to read about.
The artwork that was so vibrant and eye catching in the first volume remains the same here and in some cases even better. There are several really stand out sequences and it’s nice that they’re not all during big action scenes. Rose staring at the device is a prime example as everything visually is just in sync here. The colors are excellent and you can practically here the hum and small crackle of electricity coming off of the device. There was another sequence that was enjoyable but because of the visual shift it was a bit jarring at first. However, things do return to normal pretty quickly and you’re right back in the story once more. To break up parts of the chapters Jerome also gives you detailed pages of cross sections of the suit, helmet, and weapons, that help give a better understanding of the tech used in the story. It’s along the lines of those old Handbook of the Marvel Universe comics and a nice bonus in these books.
Once again, Nowhere Man continues to impress and stand out in a medium where we get a lot of the same thing over and over again. So if you’re into sci-fi and some police drama with some assassins thrown in you’ll want to pick up the Nowhere Man series!
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