Obviously when I saw the cover for this issue, I asked “what the hell is going on here?” Some nasty wolf slash mutant is behind Jack. Then my second thought was “damn this is about to get real good.” Jack Hammer has hit hard with issues 1 and 2. He lives in a world where superhumans are among us. Action Lab is definitely taking a new approach on the detective comic. Jack, an under radar detective, solves more than just your average case. You can’t help but get hooked into the superpower aspect of it all. Each issue jumps off base with the first page. Oh and I did mention that Jack himself is a former hero. He understands the ins and outs better than anybody. Last issue, Jack discovers Eddie Newman’s body... dead. He is suspicious that superhumans have done this deed and now wants to solve the case. In doing so, he gets caught up in a double cross and now faces two choices: Either solve the case of Eddie Newman, a man who died all because of superhumans, and join some sort bad guy gang or leave and possibility be torn to shreds by our friendly little mutt. My choice would be to avoid the shreds of Fang and move on. But at last, Charlie, Jack’s cop friend, has come to save the day. Now it is a matter of solving two cases. The gang and the murder of Newmen. Jack doesn’t seem to have many friends, but Charlie is a good one. Although Jack refuses to call him his friends. The two have a long history I am sure.
We see Jack go all around town trying to find information. What I love about this comic is that there really isn’t the big action scenes, but the issue feels intense through the whole read. I don’t need huge explosions or massive battles. Just a good story with some mystery will keep me check. We only get a tad bit mentioned of Technotrends Co. These are the guys hired Jack in the first place to find Newman who had gone missing. This company has way more to do with the whole situation than any of us know. I am actually quite curious myself. I can’t decide if Fang and his gang, including Howizter, are playing a Magneto and just want superhumans to rise against the rest, or what the deal is. We also don’t have a ton information on their leader. He, for right now, lurks in the shadows. Seems like a normal guy, but then again so does Jack. I wonder why Jack doesn’t suspect this company, especially the way they treated him last issue. Although maybe Jack just likes cold hard evidence and not gut feelings. Could just be gas.
As you can see the comic has a lot of questions, but honestly the most interesting question I want to ask is Jack’s story. This guy most likely has the most difficult story of all to tell. You don’t get any insight into his past, so maybe we will never know. I hope that isn’t the case. The only thing we know is that Jack was a superhero and now he isn’t. He also has tons of connections which could come from him being a private investigator, but I think there is more to the story. As for now, I am totally on board with this comic. Action Lab has done it again and brought out an awesome series.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Brandon Barrows Artist: Ionic Publisher: Action Lab Entertainment Price: $2.99 Release Date: 2/26/14