Big Trouble In Little China: Old Man Jack #3 review: Burton ends the world
By Alex Widen
Jack Burton and David Lo Pan continue on their impromptu road trip. Yet will secrets destroy them in Big Trouble in Little China?
Big Trouble In Little China: Old Man Jack #3
Writers: John Carpenter & Anthony Burch
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Gabriel Cassata
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Road trips can make the strangest bedfellows. And it’s hard to get any stranger than Jack Burton and David Lo Pan! One is a bragging blue collar trucker with more luck than skill (or brains). The other is an ancient wizard with delusions of grandeur. Yet both of them have been intertwined by both destiny and dumb luck more times than either can count. Originally meeting in the 1980s, their current tag-team takes place in a modern day post apocalypse of their own making. As a result, the real trial is all the time they spend together!
Image by BOOM! Studios
The Asian demon Ching Dai has conquered the world, covering it in fire and horror. What few humans survive eke out an existence among nightmares. Yet only Jack Burton was protected, rewarded by Dai for an unintended boon. He was coaxed out of isolation by Lo Pan, who needed his truck to escape a pit and travel across the “plains of fire.” Old enemies have become unwilling allies, in the quest against Ching Dai. Due to this, Lo Pan saved Burton from Queen Violence last issue!
Image by BOOM! Studios
Desires Can Probably Be the Worst Enemies!
Yet the “plains of fire” may be even more of a challenge than minor demons or Queen Violence’s horde. As Lo Pan indicates, the flames not only challenge travelers physically, but mentally as well. Their innermost secrets and desires are laid bare for all. He becomes the first to experience this as the flames conjure an image of Miao Yin, the women he was obsessed with in the original film! While Lo Pan needed her as a sacrifice, he was willing to trade her for Gracie Law and “claim” her for himself.
Image by BOOM! Studios
While Lo Pan finds himself lost to the phantom of his lust, Jack Burton is more level headed. At least as level headed as he can be! Unfortunately, as the only other man in the Pork Chop Express, that means it comes time for Jack’s secrets to be exposed. Considering that Jack Burton is somehow responsible for Ching Dai’s rise to power, it is quite a doozy! Despite the consistent focus on comedy more than action or horror, this issue takes a turn into the tragic and macabre.
Image by BOOM! Studios
One by one, the ghosts from Jack Burton’s past rise. And has the old saying goes, the road to Hades was paved with good intentions. The first phantom to appear is Wang Chi, who was Jack’s best friend. What had been a simple reunion planned around Wang’s daughter’s marriage turned tragic. Yet it wasn’t ninjas or demons who had caused this, but a stray dog in the rain. The only thing Jack seems like he loved was his truck, and it was involved in the tragic death of his best pal.
Image by BOOM! Studios
Talk about a Twist!
Yet as bad as that is, the revelations only get worse! As a result of his best friend’s accidental end, Jack Burton got desperate. Or to be more accurate, he got ignorant with magic he didn’t understand. Having stolen a magical tome from sorcerer Egg Shen, Jack Burton summoned Ching Dai himself in order to bargain for Wang’s resurrection. Yet while Jack was willing to pay a heavy price, he found himself losing both an arm, and then the entire world, as a result of Dai’s trickery!
Image by BOOM! Studios
While Lo Pan never had any respect for Jack Burton, this revelation seems like it is his last straw. Throughout the adventure, it’s been Lo Pan who has been eager to make a begrudging alliance for the greater good. His zeal to avenge himself on Ching Dai has less to do with altruism and more to do with revenge, but it’s still a motive. Yet now that he sees how stupidly Burton summoned the ultimate evil, Lo Pan immediately turns on him. Can even Ching Dai save Jack from the plains’ fire?
Image by BOOM! Studios
John Carpenter, alongside Anthony Burch, takes readers on an unexpected turn. Considering the fast and furious one liners and gags, it was almost easy to forget that Carpenter is a legendary horror director. And for this issue he has chosen some golden age horror — akin to an ancient copy of Tales From The Crypt. As a result, the horror is less about the monsters or gore and more about a genuine human act being twisted into something evil, often by accident or unintended consequences.
Image by BOOM! Studios
Most of all, How Bad Can Ching Dai Be?
Behind many of the one-liners or comedic sequences is a tale of woe and tragedy. Jack Burton lost his best friend in the world due to a tragic accident. While it wasn’t deliberate, his own reckless actions with his rig in the rain were a major contributing factor. And while it’s easy enough for anyone to try to avoid responsibility, Burton literally lived in a world with magic and resurrections. While still reckless, all he wanted to do was bring his best friend back. Yet all it led to was suffering.
Image by BOOM! Studios
Ching Dai also shows more of himself here, and he remains a cruel mystical trickster. Hence, he exploits Jack Burton’s ignorance and good intentions to be reborn in the mortal world. Yet he also torments Jack in the name of “rewarding” him. He may have “rewarded” Jack with paradise, but he also cursed him with loneliness and guilt. And despite having rejected Lo Pan years earlier as his servant, Ching Dai is more than willing to rile him up again to punish Jack Burton further.
Image by BOOM! Studios
The major question is whether Ching Dai is a cheat as well. Jack Burton accuses Ching Dai of going back on their bargain, as Wang Chi was never resurrected. Yet is this true? In the previous issue, it was revealed that Queen Violence and her warriors were inspired by a mysterious figure called “the Beast.” From a painting of him, it seems like he was also a combatant. Could this be Wang Chi? A leader rebelling against an apocalypse unintentionally brought by his hapless best friend?
Image by BOOM! Studios
Mixing Laughs with Tragic Twists!
This isn’t to say that the issue was humorless. Beyond the unexpected tragedy, the issue is as much of a hoot as usual. The banter between Jack Burton and Lo Pan is fast and furious, as the rivals play off each other. An extended bit involves Miao Yin’s ghost, who Lo Pan still lusts for. While he acknowledges the phantom isn’t real, when she returns to torment Jack over losing Wang, that only starts the attraction going again! There are even one or two low brow jokes.
Image by BOOM! Studios
The art and colors by Jorge Corona and Gabriel Cassata remain up to their usual standards. Therefore, the sequences involving demonic visions and fire play up to their strengths. Ching Dai himself also looks massively intimidating, becoming larger and more monstrous at will. Corona’s style, much like that of Humberto Ramos, excels at showing emotion. He may have an illustrative, exaggerated style, but it is more about establishing mood, emotion, and pace rather than realistic anatomy.
Image by BOOM! Studios
Next: Ride with Queen Violence in #2!
Both BOOM! Studios and John Carpenter have teamed up to further this franchise before. And while the original Big Trouble In Little China had plenty of action, it was more of a comedic adventure than a stoic epic. Yet with this issue, Carpenter shows that the old master still has some tricks. The twist revelation adds an element of tragedy to the affair, with was both unexpected and adds some genuine humanity to the piece. It will subsequently make the rest of the story more thrilling!