Jack Staff (UK) 12

Jack Staff (UK) 12
Dec 2003

Time’s Up
By Paul Grist

Jack Staff, Charlie Raven, D.I. Maveryk, and the mysterious woman (who killed Charlie’s friend in Jack Staff 10) are all stuck in a bank vault. They were forced in there by a couple masked bank robbers. The vault is on a time lock. It won’t open for another 13 hours but there’s only 6 hours of air left.

The mysterious woman is revealed to be (as I suspected) something other than human. She is a time leech that unintentionally assumed human form. After she locked Charlie up in box and buried him in her garden she got knocked down and forgot who she was. She started to age and grew old. She was the old woman at the nursing home that John and Becky came into contact with in the last issue. The reason why Jack felt so woozy after touching her is because she stole some of his energy to return her to her youthful form.

Becky Burdock is also at the bank when the robbers lock the others in the vault. The robbers think she will make a good hostage. They thought wrong.

Maveryk is as usual very skeptical of Jack Staff and super-heroes in general. Charlie Raven figures out how to get them out of the vault and Jack makes it happen.

There was a big gap between the publication dates of this and the previous issue, about 15 months, which explains why the opening page is a recap page. Based on my research it looks like this issue didn't get published until after the first 4 issues of the 2003 series (which was published by Image) were published.

I wasn’t so sure how I would feel about the ending to this series but I like it, a lot. It is a little open-ended. Nothing really gets tied up neatly with a bow. It is the sorts of characters, the way they interact, and the way that Grist chooses to tell his story that please me the most. I’m not as concerned with the plot.

I love this series. I can't recommend it highly enough although I can see how the manner in which the story is told, the way it jumps around, might turn some people off.

Jack Staff (UK) 11

Jack Staff (UK) 11
Oct 2002

Origin of the Claw
By Paul Grist

Parts of this issue don’t make much sense. They seem to contradict things that have come before. There are lots of little vignettes, which is nothing new for a Jack Staff comic book.

Earlier in this series Ben Kulmer was presented as being part of the Q. One of the other members of the Q is Helen Morgan. He meets her in this issue but now they don’t seem to know one another. I don’t get it unless story is supposed to take place before the earlier one. There is no clear indication that it is the case.

The story of how the Claw came into Ben’s possession is told but it still isn’t clear who he is or what his goals are. Is he is now supposed to be a thief or was he a thief before he joined the Q?

There is more John Smith and Becky Burdock, more Charlie Raven, and a little more of Maveryk. I enjoy all the bits and pieces, and the way it is drawn and told visually but it doesn’t all make sense.

I'm not sure what to expect with just one issue to go. I doubt that all the loose ends will get resolved. I've enjoyed the story so far but as I have said on numerous occasions it is Grist's visual storytelling and the way the characters in this comic book interact that appeal to me the most. The plot is a little here and there.

Jack Staff (UK) 10

Jack Staff (UK) 10
Aug 2002

Open the Box! Take the Money!
By Paul Grist

Becky Burdock’s boss at the World’s Press puts on a show with the box that John Smith and Becky found. It has yet to be opened. A number of experts have been invited to come and guess the contents of the box. There is a £10,000 prize for the first one to guess correctly. Becky Burdock does not approve of the show.

Doctor Spex (The Man with X-Ray Eyes) takes a shot at it but claims he can’t see into the box because it is lined with lead. Morlan Mystic isn’t successful either but he claims that’s because there’s a psychic veil which is too strong for his powers to penetrate. Becky gives Marlan some grief and calls him a charlatan. Marlan’s psychic abilities seem real even though he can’t tell them what’s in the box.

The Claw, a disembodied gloved hand, shows up and causes some mayhem. The lights go out. It breaks Doctor Spex’ spectacles. The Spider tries to run off with the £10,000 but the Claw gets the drop on him and takes the money for itself. Charlie Raven shows up out of nowhere, which presumably means that he was in the box. The chapter ends with the reveal that Ben Kulmer is the Claw.

Not a lot happens in this issue or at least it is much more focused than other installments in this series but I like the way that the story is told visually. I like the characters and the way they interact. I love the way Paul Grist uses black regions to highlight and shape. I don't know how else to describe it. This is a series that doesn't have much in the way of gray tones but that would not benefit from being coloring.

Jack Staff (UK) 9

Jack Staff (UK) 9
Jun 2002

Out of Time
by Paul Grist

Charlie Raven, escapologist of the Victorian Age, is approached by Henry, a friend who has aged unnaturally quickly. Soon thereafter he finds Henry dead in the street with an address card in his hand. He is warned against investigating the death of his friend by (Inspector?) Bullstrode. Raven ignores the warning and investigates the address on the card. He finds the person who killed his friend. She might not be human. She invites Charlie to be her consort. He refuses and finds himself paralyzed by something she put in his wine.

Ben Kulmer is falling, that’s what it says, it’s not entirely clear what that means. The issue opens with a ringing phone and closes with Ben picking up a ringing phone. I liked that.

I’ve got a feeling that Ben and Charlie are going to cross paths. They are living in different centuries but the proximity in this issue makes it seem likely that their lives (or deaths) will intersect in someway.

Becky Burdock (Vampire Reporter) and John Smith (Jack Staff) cross paths. She slugs him for hanging up on her, last issue. Their moment in this issue ends abruptly when one of John's coworkers finds a coffin. I’m guessing that either Charlie or his mysterious host will be in the coffin. Charlie might appear in the present as a ghost.

Lots of mystery, not a lot of answers but I’m intrigued. I continue to enjoy the way Paul Grist tells stories visually. He use of shadows and panel arrangements are a visual delight to my eyes.

Jack Staff (UK) 8

Quotations
By Paul Grist
Feb 2002

Jack spends a little time in jail. Maveryk has questions for him but before their questioning gets very far Helen Morgan shows up. She has evidence that the Spider left behind, evidence that Maveryk destroyed, further proof of her special abilities.

A bodybuilder is murdered. Maveryk and Morgan are both investigating the case. There's something weird about the murder. The victim's muscles have been removed but there's no evidence of incisions. The victim had a copy of The Jigsaw Man by Iain M Angel on him. The book is a novel about a killer who removes past parts from his victims.

Maveryk jumps to the conclusion that the author must know something about the murder of the bodybuilder. There's a book signing that day in Castletown. Maveryk goes, asks Angel a few questions, and then arrests him for murder. It's pretty clear that the author was being sarcastic but Maveryk takes him at his word.

John has a couple dreams about Betsy. One of them involves the Shadow Man. He gets a visit from Helen Morgan who seems to use the opportunity to cast a spell on him. She clearly knows that he's Jack Staff even though he denies it. He blacks out and changes into costume after her visit. He attacks a man on a bus who is reading Jigsaw Man. It's clear that Jack isn't aware of what he's doing. He gets arrested by Maveryk once again and thrown back in jail.

Reading between the lines it seems like Morgan wants him there because she anticipated a conflict with the killer at the police station. That's exactly what happens as the supernatural killed materializes. Jack fights him but it is the Druid who saves the day. The dimension hopping sorcerer doesn't stick around very long and in yet another 4th wall breaking moment he is sent back from where he came.

This issue is a little longer than the rest. Part of the story is told through prose, which is a new twist and something not seen before in this series. One of the 4 prose pages is a transcript of Maveryk's interrogation of Angel. Maveryk is this throwback character who prefers the old ways. He seems to screw a lot of things up and get beaten to the punch because he is hung up no doing things the way he's always done them. There's no room for innovation in his book. This is clearly played for humor.

I continue to enjoy this series. The art really does it for me. I also love the mix of action with the supernatural. Grist doesn't explain everything. I can see that turning some people off but it seems like he gives me just enough to keep me satisfied and leaves just enough unexplained to keep me hungry for more.

Jack Staff (UK) 7

Chase of the Thrill
By Paul Grist
Jan 2002

Jack Staff teams up with the Spider to try and find the guy who stole the Spider's other suit. Things don't exactly work out for Jack. They catch up to the bloke who took the suit but then Jack gets framed. The Spider knocks him out and leaves him with the other thief for Maveryk and his latest partner, Detective Sergeant 'Zipper' Nolan, to find.

Becky Burdock escaped from the Hounds of Hell using her vampire superpowers. They don't give up. She hides in a graveyard, almost eats a mouse, and tries calling Jack but he is otherwise occupied (see previous paragraph). Harold Bramble rushes in to save Becky. The shadow man laughs at Brambles interpretation of what's going on. Based on what Becky's pursuer has to say it seems like he wants to recruit her for some sort of war, which presumably involves supernatural forces.

I love how Grist draws the action beats. There's nothing real fancy about it but it really works. If I had to pick one moment out of this issue it would be the one where Jack deflects buckets with his staff. I'm also partial to the way the shadow man is drawn toward the end of the issue when he starts to lose his physical form.

Jack Staff (UK) 6

Quick and the Dead
By Paul Grist
Aug 2001

The chapter opens with an introduction to Unit D that was was formed in 1962 to deal with super criminals. A number of characters (all part of Unit D) are quickly introduced by name and specialty. The whole thing seems to be a way to introduce another character who isn't part of Unit D, a super criminal, the Spider. Young Police Constable Maveryk shows up briefly. Unit D was disbanded in 1986. The Spider was never apprehended.

John Smith (Jack Staff) shows up in the even numbered segments of this chapter, initially in his civilian identity. He is at the home of Alfred Chinard, an elderly gentleman. He's there to do some work construction or remodeling work. The elderly gentleman isn't all that he seems. He has what looks like one of the trinkets that the Spider stole. John walks right into a trap, falls a great distance into a pit, and is knocked senseless.

When he wakes up, he is in uniform. He's Jack Staff. The old man seems to have known it all along. There's no real explanation for how or why he came to be wearing his uniform. Chinard tests Jack a bit but that seems to be all that he wants to do for now before he introduces himself as the Spider.

In the first of two interludes Harry Crane chats with Helen Morgan. She's not a ghost. She did die but Q brought her back to life, and it wasn't the first time they've done that. She tells him about a stone crystal known as the Valiant Stone. It grants the wearer immortality and a shard of it helped bring Helen back from the dead. She encourages Harry to return to Q and then leaves him to his thoughts. I love the thought bubbles in this segment.

Betsy Burdock returns in the other interlude with a new moniker. She is now the Vampire Reporter. She has endured a lot of ribbing over her vampiric experience, all from men. Against her better judgment she talks to a guy who turns out to have some demonic friends. Things don't look good for Betsy but it's unclear what this guy and his hell hounds wants from her.

Once again top notch stuff. Really love the way Grist parcels out the bits of story.

Jack Staff (UK) 5

Police Investigation
By Paul Grist
May 2001

Harry Crane used to be a police detective before he joined the Q. His partner was D.S. Maveryk. Crane and Maveryk were investigating an apparent suicide which might have been a murder. Crane was getting weird premonitions about what did or might have happened. Crane narrates the opening part of this story. Maveryk narrates the second part.

Helen Morgan of Q arrives unannounced. Maveryk is suspicious of her right away. She is there for the Twisted Mirror. Maveryk gets pulled through the mirror but manages to escape by unintentionally shattering the mirror.

In the present Harry Crane comes home to find Helen's ghost, she was killed by Templar Richard in the previous arc, in his apartment. She is there to recruit him to return to Q. The book ends with him saying the same thing he said at the end of the first things. Sometimes I see things. Love the callback.

There is a weird interlude with a new character who calls himself the Druid. He talks directly to the reader. He insists that he needs the reader's help to "rectify a cosmic imbalance". The interlude ends with him getting dragged away and sedated by the orderlies at the mental institution where he lives.

Tom Tom the Robot Man's alter ego, Patricia Carthy, makes an appearance in a 6-page interlude. She is in a wheelchair and still recovering from the fight with Templar Richard. She is approached by one of her nemeses, Doc Tempest. He can control the weather. He tries killing her by whipping up a storm. She is thrown from her wheelchair. She is saved by Doc Tempest's overconfidence. He isn't paying close enough attention and gets hit by the wheelchair. The interlude ends with him getting carted away, possibly paralyzed but still alive.

There is something about the way that Paul Grist uses black that feels different from other artists. Quite often black and white comics that aren't shaded with gray tone look flat. Grist doesn't shade but somehow he achieves an effect that keeps the images from looking flat.

I enjoyed this issue so much that it didn't occur to me until just now that Jack Staff wasn't even in it.

Jack Staff (UK) 4

It's All Just One Big Lie
By Paul Grist
Dec 2000

The opening sequence is a bit muddled or at least it seems like there are two stories being told with the same characters. It isn't the first time that has happened in this book but before it was pretty clear that one story was set during World War 2 and the other was in the present. Here that doesn't seem to be the case and the stories don't exactly jive.

The location seems to change place from Castletown to the Castletown Caverns fairly liberally. All the players get involved. At the center of it all is a fight between Jack and the vampire who used to be Jack's friend, Sgt States. Jack gets some help from Tom Tom the Robot Man who swoops in after getting a call from Harry Crane. After it is all over Tom Tom is in bad shape and some of his secrets are revealed. After it is all over Inspector Maveryk wants to arrest Jack Staff for the murder of Betsy Braddock. It is a bit unclear if she is still undead after the vampire has been defeated.

What is clear is that Sgt States was an agent of the US Government and that the US Government was aware that he was a vampire. After Jack Staff seems to have destroyed the vampire a team of US G-men swoop in to clean up the remains before Albert Bramble, the vampire hunter, or the British authorities can do anything to what's left of the vampire.

Despite the confusion early on I really enjoyed this chapter of the story. There are some definite parallels between this story and the Baron Blood stories in Invaders 7, 8, 9 (from 1976) and Captain America 253, 254, 255 (from 1981). My enjoyment of this story clearly is based in part on the fact that I have read and enjoyed those stories. I like the alternate take on Captain America in this book.

Visually this story is very different than either the Invaders or Captain America story, which each have their own distinctive look. As I read it I saw similarities between Grist's art and that of Guy Davis. I really like how Grist uses negative space. I liked the mix of characters and the way the story is layered together. I went ahead and bought Jack Staff Vol. 1: Everything Used to Black and White which collects all of the initial run of Jack Staff and look forward to reading more of Grist's work on Jack Staff and possibly other books he wrote and drew.

5/2

Comic Book DB: http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=99013

Jack Staff (UK) 3

The Killing Night
By Paul Grist
Oct 2000

I'm a little confused but I'm still enjoying the book. Betsy Braddock finds Jack Staff and Sgt States but then a vampire finds her. He kills her, or so it seems. The two flag wearing heroes go looking for her.

The vampire hunter, Albert Bramble, shows up at the morgue, ready to drive a stake through Betsy's heart. In flashback, Albert's origin story is told. He met Jack Staff and Sgt States when he was just a boy. His mother had been killed by a vampire, Templar Richard. He saved Jack Staff's life when the vampire was about to bite him. Templar Richard was killed by a falling stalagmite. Now I am left wondering who the vampire is in the present. Is it Templar Richard? If it is then how is that possible?

I really wish this book had clear demarcations where one issue ended and the next one began. A fun read either way.

---

I bought the collected edition that includes all 12 of the black and white issues of Jack Staff. It is a little easier to tell in this version where one issue ends and the next begins.

---

Betsy wakes up and stops Albert Bramble from driving a stake through her heart. Albert's son is there with him. Albert and his son argue over how to deal with Betsy now that she had been bit. His son's judgment might be clouded by a romantic interest in Betsy.

The trio returns to the Bramble home. Betsy sees a picture of young Albert with Sgt States. She's believes that he's the one who killed her.

Jack Staff and Sgt States return to the cavern where Templar Richard was killed years before. They find the body of the vampire just where it was left in 1940. Jack is confused. Sgt States is not as he reveals himself to be a vampire.

So glad I read a little more after figuring out where the issue ended. This ending is a cliffhanger but so much more satisfying. I can't say enough good things about this series. I'm really loving it.

4/25

Comic Book DB: http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=99014

Jack Staff (UK) 2

Questions
by Paul Grist
Jun 2000

I'm at guessing at where this issue begins and ends. Considering how the issue is broken up into little unnumbered chapters it ain't an easy task.

Betsy confronts Jack Staff and takes a picture of him as he stands over the body of Helen Morgan, Agent of Q. Jack protests that he's innocent and that he's just there because he heard a scream. Tom Tom the Robotman shows up but he isn't very receptive to Jack's story. He grabs Jack by the neck and starts squeezing. He doesn't let up until the police show up.

I love how some of this chapter is shown through the eyes of Tom Tom and how that looks different from the regular 3rd person perspective. I wonder what if anything will be revealed about who or what Tom Tom is?

Inspector Maveryk doesn't have time for Tom Tom's nonsense. It isn't until after he threatens the metal man with disassembly that he releases his grip on Jack Staff. The police confiscate the film in Betsy's camera and are ready to take Jack in for questioning when Harry Crane of the Q shows up and claims that he has jurisdiction in this matter and will be taking Jack Staff into custody.

This all happens very quickly, over the course of a couple pages titled Photo Finish. I love the way this is all put together and how it flows. It looks like it is supposed to be a series of photos taken by Betsy Braddock just before her film is confiscated by the police.

Crane doesn't get very far with his questions before he gets interrupted by Sgt. States who is there to spring Jack. Like Jack he doesn't look much older than he did during WWII.

Betsy argues with her editor who refuses to print her story without some sort of corroborating evidence, or so he says. Betsy suspects that he may have another for not printing her story.

Finally another flashback to 1940 which picks up where the previous flashback left off. Sgt. States fell into the Castletown Caverns after the bats came flying out. The other Freedom Fighters descended into the caverns where they found him and what looks like a Vampire who calls himself Templar Richard.

Wow! This story is great. I love the way the various pieces are pulled together to form one story. I love the art. Grist does a great job with the thick-lined, minimalist way he draws the story. Less is definitely more.

4/12

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/293754/
Comic Book DB: http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=95906

Jack Staff (UK) 1

Jack's Back
By Paul Grist
Apr 2000

This seems like a riff on Union Jack from the Invaders but it is much more than that. The main character so far isn't Jack Staff but Betsy Burdock, Girl Reporter.

I really like the look of this book. I especially like the way artist/writer Paul Grist uses negative space in this black-and-white comic book. The art reminds me of of Tim Sale, Mike Mignola, and Guy Davis.

A lot of characters have been introduced so far, many of them super-heroes. The glue that ties them together is Burdock. She wants to write a story about Jack Staff. Instead her editor tells her to write a story about the murder of a couple women. From the looks of it they were killed by a vampire.

The killer, vampire or not, is being hunted by a trio of investigators (Helen Morgan, Ben Kilmer, Harry Crane) known collectively as Q. They chase a man who holds up a woman with a knife but I'll bet even money he's not the killer. He almost gets away but Tom Tom the Robot Man steps in and lends a hand.

There is a flashback to World War II. The Freedom Fighters (Jack Staff, Sgt States, Blazing Glory, Tommy Twister) are digging through the rubble of a bombed out building. Instead of survivors they find a heavy metal door. Sgt. States pries it open and a swarm of bats comes flying out. This feels like foreshadowing.

Burdock goes out to take pictures of the place where one of the bodies was found. Something foul, a dark cloud, is sneaking up on her when she meets someone. The cloud quickly retreats. The someone is Albert Bramble, Vampire Hunter. She doesn't take him seriously. They part ways. She hears a scream, runs towards it, and finds Jack Staff standing over an unconscious woman.

There's a lot going on here and so far I like it all.

As I understand it this collection is of the first 4 issues of the 12 issue series that was published in the U.K. Unfortunately there is no clear delineation of where one issue ends and the next begins. There was another series of Jack Staff published by Image. I think that was new material. This is my first time reading Jack Staff.

3/29

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/293753/
Comic Book DB: http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=124493