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APA

Date:

October 24th, 2007 8:49 PM

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Beau Smith is Jacked Up on Phantom Jack

Bulletin:

Jacked Up On Phantom Jack

Speaking of memories, when you were a kid, did you ever wish you could be invisible? You’d be able to see the teacher’s test answers, listen in on the other team’s huddle, sit unnoticed in the girl’s shower room….okay…you get my drift. If I say anymore I’ll sound like a perverted criminal mastermind in the making.

PHANTOM JACK: DIRECTOR’S EDITION -The 200 page plus edition collects the first five issues of the Image Comics series, written by series creator, Mike San Giacomo, illustrated by Marvel artist Mitchell Breitweiser; a 23-page origin story illustrated by Brett Barkley; two Phantom Jack text pieces with full page illustrations by Sean McArdle and five other stories, two which have never been seen before, drawn by Jason Baroody and Paul McCusker.

Jack Baxter is a New York newspaper reporter with a simple, singular super power. He can turn invisible. He is an ordinary guy in an ordinary world, a place where people don't fly overhead or swing through the air on webbing.

Mike San Giacomo’s premise in creating the work was that in the real world, in our world, a guy who can turn invisible would be a pretty powerful guy. In the Marvel or DC mythos, that power would rank him up there alongside Squirrel-Girl or the Polka-Dot Man.

But imagine what a trained reporter could do with those skills? Mike being a reporter brings a very cool insider’s slant to the character of Jack Baxter.

Jack is not a superhero, but he's not a coward either. He fights when he must, using his powers intelligently. He is what you would be if you had this power, helpful and brave sometimes, but nervous the next. (Unlike me, a perverted criminal mastermind in the making) Jack is not a movie hero ready to sacrifice his life for someone else, but he tries to do the right thing. (Unlike me, a perverted criminal mastermind in the making.)

Overall, he does a pretty good job. In his first five issues, he rescued a homeless man in the park from a beating, though the man mysteriously dies anyway. His biggest challenge was using his wits and limited powers to rescue his brother, Cassidy, who had been captured by Iraqi forces at the start of the war. This just scrapes the top of some of the stuff that Jack finds himself involved in.

In addition to being able to turn invisible, anything close to Jack's body also turns invisible. As the series moves on, Jack learns how to manipulate his powers more effectively and broaden their range. He's aided by his friend and sometimes lover, Madison Blue, agent of MISCELLANEOUS, believed to be the only other invisible person in the world.

The trade is a perfect lead-in to the 100-page plus Phantom Jack finale coming out in March from Atomic Pop Art Entertainment, Phantom Jack; The Nowhere Man Agenda.

The frustrating part of this is that it doesn’t come from Marvel Or DC comics and so it ends up that not a lot of people will notice it. It’s the way this business is right now and has been for a while. My hope in talking about this book here is that some of you out there will give it a shot. It’s worth checking out and I think it’s something that most of you will relate to in some form. Mike San Giacomo adds his vast experience and knowledge of a newspaper reporter into the Jack Baxter character and his work to make this something you will not only be entertained by ,but will learn and have fun with as well.

Be different and check this one out.

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