Big Trouble In Little China: Old Man Jack #2 review: Tag team with Lo Pan
By Alex Widen
Jack Burton has returned for one last adventure. Yet is he willing to team up with Lo Pan?
Big Trouble In Little China: Old Man Jack #2
Writers: John Carpenter & Anthony Burch
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Gabriel Cassata
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Good ol’ Jack Burton may actually be old now, but he isn’t any wiser! Once again, he has stumbled into a supernatural mess of his own making. This time around, the entire world has suffered for his well intended mistake. Now he has a chance at redemption, yet it comes at the hands of his arch nemesis, Lo Pan. Having been conned into leaving an isolated “paradise” of beer and porno magazines, it’s time for Jack to ride the Pork Chop Express into adventure one more time!
Image with BOOM! Studios
The demon Ching Dai has taken over the world and covered it with demons and fire. It is all the result of a currently unknown mistake on Jack Burton’s part. Lured out expecting to save a buxom blonde, Jack’s instead saved a very mortal David Lo Pan. The ancient wizard is no longer in the good graces of Ching Dai, and is eager to destroy the god and save the world. Yet not even Jack is willing to buy that so easily! Announcing his moves as he makes them, Burton goes on the attack!
Image with BOOM! Studios
Burton and Lo Pan — Together at Last?
Unfortunately, it seems like this time Lo Pan is on the level. When Ching Dai was released, Lo Pan was thrilled — until the dark god expressed his disappointment in him. It seems like the demon is a fan of ironic punishments disguised as boons. He granted an unwilling Jack Burton a “paradise” in which isolation slowly drove him mad (or at least quirkier). And for Lo Pan, Ching Dai granted him the mortality he’d long since sought. Now Lo Pan needs help in getting his revenge!
Image with BOOM! Studios
While Lo Pan considers Jack Burton an oaf and buffoon — and Jack does little to disprove this — it is obvious that he needs the help. Burton’s skills are lacking, but his uncanny luck often is a power unto itself. In addition, he has the only big rig left in the universe, and Lo Pan never got his permit! Yet as a result of their past interactions, Jack leaves Lo Pan in his dust. He returns to his original love — trucking and the open road. The demonic scenery simply makes it slightly stranger for him.
Image with BOOM! Studios
As usual, Jack doesn’t get far without running into trouble — or more exactly, almost running it over. He manages to encounter a buxom blonde after all, the appropriately named Queen Violence. She’s the leader of one of the last outposts of humanity in rebellion against the demon hordes. They all serve a master called “the Beast,” who they rarely see. Queen Violence and her clan are immediately impressed by Jack Burton’s rig and mullet hairstyle, and invite him to their camp.
Image with BOOM! Studios
Just Call Them “Frenemies!”
It looks like lady luck has smiled on Jack Burton for once. Queen Violence’s buddies provide plenty of food and booze. Most importantly, the Queen seems up for whatever perverted fantasies Jack has in mind. Unfortunately, the mood is immediately ruined when one of her minions brings back a message from “the Beast.” He apparently knows how Ching Dai came to power, and in a note identifies Burton as the trucker to the apocalypse. Now Jack’s being fed to a demonic floor decoration!
Image with BOOM! Studios
Burton gets an unlikely savior in David Lo Pan. He shows up baring some magic spells and Jack’s trusty knife, which our hapless hero had forgotten. Stuck between a chatty floor demon and Lo Pan, Jack chooses the lessor of two evils. The tag team officially begins, and is dysfunctional from the start. Jack Burton can’t, or won’t, follow Lo Pan’s orders, and is willing to drive a truck while blind. Yet can the hapless pair manage to save the world before they wind up killing each other?
Image with BOOM! Studios
The original Big Trouble In Little China mixed a variety of elements. Chief among them were martial arts action, supernatural mysticism, and comedy. The comedy was the primary element in John Carpenter’s last stint co-writing the franchise, and it continues to be so here. A primary premise is Jack Burton aged to modern times going for one last redemptive adventure. Yet the secondary premise is officially uniting him with the franchise’s chief villain, Lo Pan, purely for the high jinks.
Image with BOOM! Studios
Mysteries and Satire Abound!
In doing this, John Carpenter fully realizes that David Lo Pan is almost as well known a character as Jack Burton. Closer to Skeletor than Doctor Doom, he’s a villain who often tries to be scarier than he is. Lo Pan mixes supernatural power with an overeager earnestness which often leads to a most unique combination. Plus, for a centuries old spirit, Lo Pan is no stranger to common slang. Here, he replaces Wang Chi as Jack Burton’s more competent and knowledgeable partner.
Image with BOOM! Studios
Speaking of Wang Chi, I am curious where he and the rest of the Big Trouble cast are. I suspect that “the Beast” may be directly related to them. Perhaps if not Wang Chi himself, perhaps a son or grandson? During the latter half of BOOM! Studios’ Big Trouble In Little China comic as written by Fred Van Lente, we learned that Wang had a daughter named Winona. Since “the Beast” has never been seen, it’s possible it could be a woman, such as Miao Yin or even Gracie Law herself!
Image with BOOM! Studios
In addition to comedy, John Carpenter and Anthony Burch are injecting a bit of satire into this story as well. The previous issue poked some fun at millennials, and this one pokes harder at some post-apocalyptic Mad Max style stuff. Fury Road put that franchise back on the map in 2015, but even the original 1979 flick kicked off the whole genre. Queen Violence could be a spoof of Furiosa, or simply the sorts of “wild women” who typically turn up in such stories.
Image with BOOM! Studios
Nobody Is Quite Like Jack Burton!
The art by Jorge Corona and Gabriel Cassata fits the comic tone of the script well. It doesn’t match the covers well, so hopefully some readers are not misled. Yet it does fit well with a script which is as wacky and fun as any for MAD magazine. Corona draws a great Ching Dai, and the floor demon looks delightfully mellow, too. The Pork Chop Express has rarely looked better. Most importantly are the physical scenes with Lo Pan and Jack Burton throughout the issue. They’re the main draw.
Image with BOOM! Studios
Next: Jack Burton enters his golden years in #1!
While the angle of the bumbling hero is an old one, Jack Burton is one of the best examples in pop culture. The role allowed Kurt Russell to deconstruct some of his previous parts, as well as fellow heroes of the 1980s like Indiana Jones. It hardly matters what the adventure is, so long as Jack is saying some of his trademark lines and arrogantly insisting he’s more capable than he is. Age has brought a few more loose screws, yet his exploits remain as hilarious and entertaining as ever.