Jack Avarice is The Courier #2
Written by Chris Madden
Art by Chris Madden
Colors by Chris Madden
Letters by Chris Madden
Designed by Chris Madden
Covers by Chris Madden
IDW Publishing
Release Date: November 9th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Wow. I don’t know about you but when I read comics, I like to have fun. Jack Avarice is The Courier delivers that at a level I haven’t seen in YEARS. This comic should have been published a long time ago, because it’s something that’s been lacking in the comic market for a long time. At its heart, it’s a fun spy-action book and so much more. Let’s get the obvious comparisons out of the way. This book is NOT Danger Girl without hot women, it’s NOT Chuck, it’s really unlike anything that I’ve come across before. But, what it is, is pure 100% AWESOME.

Writer Chris Madden starts off by creating a character that each and every comic book fan can identify with. Jack Avarice has spent his whole life watching movies and waiting for it to be his turn to play the hero, the spy, the daring archaeologist. But, when the role is thrust upon him, he does what we all would do in that situation — he freaks out knowing full well that he is WAY in over his head. The pop culture references are fun, not distracting, and they’re timeless. In five years when you’re rereading this comic, you won’t go “Who is that supposed to be?” like when Betty Ross was dating Freddie Prinze, Jr. in The Ultimates.

Artist Chris Madden is just as fun as writer Chris Madden, but on a totally different level. Yes, there will be comparisons with J. Scott Campbell, but it really works for this book. The man knows how to lay out a page, and as both writer and artist, and doesn’t scrimp on the action. Again, there’s a few homages to classic movie scenes, but they never take your concentration off the book. As a bonus, in each issue there’s a mock ad for a fictional product and so far, both have been pretty hilarious.

Normally, I get nervous when a company decides to release a series weekly. To me, it seems that they don’t have faith in it, and just want to get it out and printed and rushed to trade. But, in this case, I think it’s a brilliant decision. This book is chock-full of cliffhangers, and in my opinion waiting a month between issues would be a mistake. I can’t recommened this book highly enough. It’s got something for everyone, so DON’T wait for the trade! Treat yourself to a really fun and entertaining comic book each week this month, you won’t regret it. And, with not one but TWO Magnum, P.I. references in this second issue, this might just be my favorite comic this year!