Thunderbolt Jaxon #1 (of 5)

Writer: Dave Gibbons
Artist: John Higgins
Colors: Jonny Rench
Letters: Todd Klein

 

Jack Jaxon and his friends, Billy and Saf, are exploring recently uncovered ancient ruins in the English countryside when a lightning strike unearths three golden artifacts, a cross, a belt and a necklace. Each of the three friends takes one of the artifacts before heading to their homes. After doing some research on the Internet Billy discovers that the artifacts may be Saxon in origin and he calls Jack to tell him the news. But Jack has already made a startling discovery of his own, one that triggers a remarkable transformation.

Thunderbolt Jaxon is part of Wildstorm’s Albion line of comics, which offers modern reinterpretations of some long-forgotten British superheroes. I didn’t pick up the Albion mini-series (plotted by Alan Moore and written by his daughter, Leah) that kicked of this line of revamps but after reading and thoroughly enjoying Thunderbolt Jaxon I might have to go ahead and give that book a try too. This first issue of Thunderbolt Jaxon is a little slow to start, as most first issues tend to be since a majority of its pages are dedicated to setting up the characters and their environment, but Gibbons does his job well, hooking me in with the last several pages and Jack Jaxon’s discovery that there is much more to his treasure than meets the eye.

As Dave Gibbons recounts in the back of this first issue the original Thunderbolt Jaxon, a Captain Marvel knock-off, only appeared in a handful of British comics and never really became a more than a supporting character. The basic premise involved a magical belt that gave a young boy, Jack Jaxon, the powers of the Norse god, Thor. With this revamp Gibbons ditches the bright and shiny “superhero” approach, offering instead a more realistic setting, an interesting cast of characters and a healthy dose of powerful magic and mythology. The grittiness and heavy line work of John Higgins art, which can be hit or miss a times, actually suits this story quite well.

If the action picks up a bit (which I have no doubt it will) and the pervading sense of dread and danger is maintained then I think it’s a sure bet that I’ll enjoy this series all the way to the end.
 

Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance preview books for review purposes.
 

Comic Review Index