Okay seriously, Jo is fucking up every man’s life at this very moment. She has put them in a spell and every man is either doing her, killing for her, searching for her, or jacking off to her. Issue #16 is balls to the wall hard-core. Usually we follow Jo and one man who has ruined his life in order to gain something from Jo. Now we are in the mix of multiple men and multiple stories. There was so much decent I even felt dirty after reading it. When I first starting reading this comic, I felt bad for Jo. Like many other readers, I suspected that she had some sob story and that she needed one man to help her. She just couldn’t find that man. Then I justified my liking her by thinking she was an experiment and she really had no idea what she was doing. She was as innocent as every time we get reintroduced to her. Not to mention there is a cult after her death. Clearly, it took me too long to realize that this is exactly how the comic wanted the reader to think. They wanted us to love Jo and to stick up for her. I probably stayed on too long but it is hard not to get pulled into her character. Maybe because I am female I sympathize with her and all the men reading this comic saw through her lies. I am gullible what can I say. Whatever the case my thoughts have changed. I found myself enraged when reading this issue. But I seriously cannot tell you why or if you will have the same reaction. Jo doesn’t change. She is static as a balloon rubbed on a cat’s back. So even I am questioning why I feel like Jo is the guilty one now.
Jo is still claiming she has amnesia and I can’t tell if she does or doesn’t. She is still with Lance, who is clearly fallen for her hard. All the other band mates decide Jo can stay, and Lance thinks that all the guys couldn’t care less about the situation. We follow a bunch of other stories around. One involving Wulf, a cop who met Jo when he was a young boy. Now he is trying to mimic Jo through woman in his older life. He is creep and has his career to cover up his sick crimes.
Another story revolves around Gavin. He is Jo’s doctor and can probably explain her amnesia. He is searching for her but refuses to tell the police because he knows Jo doesn’t need them. The doctor knows Jo the best which shows he holds important information for the plot. He is searching for her night and day. The only public thing he does is hang missing persons posters for Jo.
The last couple of stories all follow Lance’s roommates. Skip, Jon, and Tom all have an obsession with Jo. They are trying to hide it for Lance. Their stories are all different, so it wasn’t boring to read. I have no idea where this issue will go but most of the times these stories end with a lot of blood. So I am guessing some people will die. It isn’t too hard to guess. What is harder is why Jo has turned evil in my mind. I think it is because she is fucking up a group of friends for what gain. The comic makes it looked like she is doing it in order to get the band back, but how many issues am I going to justify her before I realize that she is trouble.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.50
Release Date: 8/7/13