Jack Staff/Great Stuff!

[matt levin]

Even with most comic books now $3, a $3.50 comic book still looks expensive.
JACK STAFF, written and drawn by Paul Grist, with Erik Larsen and Eric Stephenson painting colors is worth the extra half buck. From the front cover, as first panel, on through 30 uninterrupted pages, it’s a full-packed comic book for the price. Admittedly the newest issue (12) is a challenging place to join the story: Jack faces a chief adversary in the presence of a seer who’d predicted the outcome several issues back, while, lost in the green-and-black world, Helen Morgan, agent of Q, puzzles through past and present. #12 also features Tom-Tom the Robot Man (neither robot, nor man), a purple demon, and what could be misconstrued as Alan Moore gone psychedelic angel, and is a stalwart and fitting conclusion to this part of Jack Staff’s story. It’s concisely and convincingly written, and drawn with sharp, angular distinction.
I also continually enjoy Grist’s “Kane,” now collected in several volumes for a remarkable police drama.

Matt

[The Adventurer]

Jack Staff is one of the best comic series ever produced by man, ever. I think what makes it so amazing is described by the term (I made up) "Subtle Epic", when things happen in Jack Staff there always seems to be a gravity to the situation, like everything matters. And how a situation ends will always be A)Unexpected and B)Change everything. There are very few books that great an emotional response like Jack Staff does in me. In fact the only other one I can think of is Vertigo's Fables.

Unfortunately the book comes out all too infrequently, with only 3 issues arriving this year. But then that makes every issue's arrival that much more special.

[rick]

I have to agree.

Issue after issue Grist manages to tell an interesting story in an original way with awesome art.

It really is one of my favorite books.

I was blown away by the recent appearance of Kapitan Krieg.

Grist managed to take the Nazi villain stereotype and completely turn it on its ear, creating a likeable and totally sympathetic character and all without ignoring the evil of Nazism for a minute. It was subtle and sad and a brilliant piece of work.

[The Adventurer]

What also makes Jack Staff great is it's menagerie of characters, straddling so many different genre archetypes I hazard to even call Jack Staff a Super-Hero title in the traditional sense. Especially since 9 times out of 10 the side characters are just as important and fleshed out as the title character, infact in some cases MORE SO.

Helen Morgan, Becky Burdock, Bramble and Son, The Claw, The Spider, Detective Maveryk, Zipper Nolan, The Druid, Morland the Mystic, Tom Tom the freaking Robot Man! Most books wish they had casts as strong as this.

[ultramandingo]

i heart jack staff. also wish image would get grist to "revive" albion .what with both "staff" and albion kinda dealing with almost the same characters