A Comic a Day in May – Day 12: Jupiter #1

While that cover may suggest that Jupiter is split into two worlds, it’s actually a mash up of noir detective & Mexican wrestler……and that in itself sounds AMAZING!!!

After a gloriously over the top opening page with man vs giant – we’re then gifted with the line “It all started with a dame” and Jupiter’s next case is kicking off as the boyfriend of said dame is asking our detective to find his missing girlfriend.

There’s far more to our central character though as we soon find out a bit about his past – where the fame & fortune of being a world champion wrestler turned movie star was knocked on it’s head with the discovery of a mystical artifact.  An artifact that’s lead him into the world of the supernatural and detective work is how he makes his living now. While the flashbacks fill us in on Jupiter’s life the supernatural side kicks in and gets his latest case off to a flying start as Barry his ghostly ally (albeit against his will) gives him the lead he needs.

The wrestling, supernatural, mystical and insane elements are all played out well as creator Drew Askew teeters on the edge of being far to bizarre as he instead settles for the far more consistent and interesting approach with sarcastic, deadpan humour giving some credibility to our central character.  The crazy elements all make some sort of weird sense in Jupiter’s world and it’s a great piece of escapism all punctuated with a quirky artwork that manages to capture the highs of fame and the gritty real world he finds himself in…..and all within the constraints of the black & white noir style.  Fun & frantic in places but there are more than a few giggles in here that result in a cult vibe to it and you can easily imagine this becoming an animated show.

Check out this and his other titles over on the Ink & Booze website & Facebook pages.

8/10

G-Man