Action Lab Entertainment 2015
Written by Jay Faerber
Illustrated by Jamal Igle
So how did Venture get his start and come into being well the story continues to unfold here. Last issue Reggie Baxter found footage on his camera of a man who has powers and he’s made it quite clear he’s looking for the man he saw. This leads to him and Joe meeting one another and i’ve got to say Jay handles their ongoing conversation throughout this issue beautifully. Reggie pushing and pushing not taking no for an answer and quite firmly stating he’ll print the story and bring what he can do to light with or without his approval or help.
Reggie after all has found the story that will make him rich and famous, put his name on everyone’s lips and is not about to let this opportunity pass him by. We really get a truckload of personality from Reggie this issue and he’s tenacious and relentless and while I guess he means well it’s really rather alarming how self centered he is in his own pursuit of fame and fortune and doesn’t really care one lick about Joe and how he feels about all this. It’s really been all about Reggie and what he wants here and while I wanna liken him to a well meaning ne’er do well i’m not sure that really fits.
You’ll have to read the issue to really appreciate the spot Reggie has put Joe in and by taking Joe to his friend Carol, a costume designer for some of the studios, to get a proper superhero costume was rather fun to see. Joe’s expression after the suggestion of getting his haircut and him actually turning into what we’d consider a Hollywood leading man well I loved seeing that, which has nothing to do that I don’t like long hair on men heh.
Jamal’s interiors throughout this book are absolutely incredible. I’m so impressed by what he’s brought to the page here it’s sharp, dynamic and extremely detailed work that really grabs the eye keeps it on the page and just sucks you into the story. Reggie and Joe, even Carol seem to be all based on real people like we’re looking folks he knows and used as reference to bring them to life. Oh and the bad guys we see this issue and their get-ups yeah the amount of detail here really takes your breath away.
We do get to see Joe’s first outing as a superhero in this issue and well while it is impressive, both written and visually, it should be read to see how well balanced the writing Jay brings is.
I loved this issue it really has everything you need to get to know the characters better. With stellar interior artwork and i’m serious about it being that good, bringing it all to life we get in on the ground floor of how a superhero can emerge in a modern day society.