Director John Carpenter returns to one of his cult classic
films with the Boom! Studios comic book Big
Trouble in Little China Vol. 1.
Carpenter contributes the story with Eric Powell (who is the writer for
the comic) to bring the continuing misadventures of Jack Burton and the Pork
Chop Express. This is a direct
continuation of the film in which Jack is on his way out of Chinatown after he
and Wang Chi saved the world from the evil Lo Pan. He’s not more than a few feet out of town
when he realizes that he has an unwanted passenger, which is Lo Pan’s pet demon
which has now attached itself to him since he killed its master.
He decides to return the demon to Egg but this happens to
coincide with Wang and Miao Yin’s wedding day which is further interrupted by
an evil disciple of Lo Pan’s by the name of Qiang Wu who wants revenge on those
who killed his master. Now Jack and the
gang have a new evil to face in Chinatown and this new adventure will take them
beyond the gates of the imagination.
Powell does a great job channeling the Jack Burton character
and for fans of the film this will be an eye opening read as Powell delves more
into Jack’s past especially his marriages (yes, he’s been married several
times) to great comic effect. The
mysticism is here and Egg plays a more active role in the story since Wang is
absent for most of this volume due to the fact that he’s a hostage of Qiang Wu
who’s ultimate plans are far from revealed in this volume. This is a much bigger story than the film and
the comic medium allows for a lot more freedom than the movie could ever have.
Artwork is by Brian Churilla who at first glance may not
have been my first choice but after reading the volume fits the tone and story
complimenting Powell’s words nicely.
This book is a great draw for fans of Dynamite’s Army of Darkness series as both Jack and Ash have some of the same “bumbling”
hero qualities that have endured them to audiences for so long. I look forward to seeing what Carpenter and
Powell and company come up with next.
