Aftershock Comics 2017
Created & Written by Garth Ennis
Created & Illustrated by Russ Braun
Coloured by John Kalisz
Lettered by Rob Steen
Helicopter gunships and golf don't mix, as Jimmy finds himself proving when a quick nine holes turns into Apocalypse Now. But Nancy, who is assigned to watch over Jimmy, is not convinced that his opponents are quite what they seem — and with the real enemy still lurking in the background, our heroes find themselves investigating a conspiracy of unthinkable proportions. If only Jimmy wouldn't keep shagging everything in a skirt, the world might still be in with a chance…
I want to like this I really do but let’s face it it’s not Garth’s best work. I mean c’mon we’ve seen the spy who shagged everyone and his kids rise up before and we’ve seen it done better. Jimmy doesn’t seem to have a redeeming quality to him, his intelligence is questionable and the best thing about him seems to be his libido. We’ve seen Garth do some stunning storytelling in the past and ruffled feathers and pushed boundaries like no one else has but this feels remedial by comparison.
Sir X’s kid is meant to be something and well really it fails to be insulting or just wacky, he’s got those teeth and that lisp thing otherwise he’s a spoiled mess and X himself well yeah okay. Jimmy not thinking anyone’s after him because of what he does is kind of insulting to his profession. That Nancy sees it’s him they are after and has theories is great and all, though let’s be honest I thought she was one of his too. If it turns out she’s not then well colour me surprised with a little egg on my face.
Daddy issues are nothing new and wanting to kill the man who sired you because he’s too flippant to be bothered to know he’s got offspring meh it doesn’t ring to me. What is the real reason these kids hate him so much? As far as the book goes it’s a distraction from everyday life sure but there’s nothing about it that screams you must read me. Nancy’s treated like a second class citizen, Jimmy’s ignorant and all he wants to do is put his wanker in a vagina. The term gender fluid is supposed to be code from terrorist thing which is insulting and honestly we’ve seen Garth do better than this.
The interiors aren’t bad they give off an older 50’s kind of vibe and feel even though it’s set in the present. Those kits they are wearing to play golf for example yeah nicely done. He’s handsome and his son, don’t call me Junior, does look dead on him. The attention to detail is nice to see and the use of page layouts through angles, perspective and use of backgrounds are great.
I hate to say it but this is so sub-par from what i’m used to in a Garth Ennis book. Sure there’s innuendo and offensive stereotyping but there’s no purpose or reason other than to do it and that’s not enough for me.