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Guys can you name all these heroes !
Zoe is a Jersey girl who just can’t seem to hold on to a guy for very long. Probably because she’s a tad controlling and more than just a little bit high maintenance. Just as the latest in a long string of men dumps her and she faces the prospect of another Christmas alone, someone new and unexpected drops into her life.
Barock and Helius hail from the God Planet of Neboron. They’re interested in the usual god type stuff: patrolling the cosmos, keeping the universe safe from evildoers and picking up chicks. When an old enemy of Barock is sent to earth to raise a ruckus, the two are sent there to keep the peace. They wind up waging a centuries-old war in the middle of a shopping mall.
I picked up the first issue of Jersey Gods on a whim and it turned out to be a pretty good time. The Mike Allred cover caught my eye and the Dan McDaid interiors kept me intrigued. Imagine if Darwyn Cooke and Jack Kirby had a baby and you’ve pretty much got Jersey Gods. It’s an otherworldly adventure reminiscent of the work of Kirby and Jim Starlin, but unlike those creators, Glen Brunswick and Dan McDaid definitely keep their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks. The concept of cosmic dieties dating earth girls is down-to-earth and out of this world at the same time. It’s pretty cool.
Cover art to Jersey Gods #1 by Mike Allred
© Image Comics
It’s pretty funny too. The heroes and villians all speak in classic 1960’s corny comic-book dialogue, but they seem quite aware of it. In fact, the villain of the story actually says “I hope my dialogue is okay” while complaining about his mission of destruction. Helius’ constant badgering of Barock to lighten up and take part in the night life on Cumulus (a city of gods) is pretty humorous as well.
The first issue gave me just a glimpse of the world of Jersey Gods and the characters who inhabit it, but it was enough to keep me interested and probably enough to get me back for the second issue. I can’t help but compare the book to Joe Casey and Tom Scioli’s Godland, which is also published by Image. Despite both being very obviously Kirby-influenced, there really doesn’t seem to be too much else in common between the two books. As a huge fan of Jack Kirby, I think it’s awesome that “Kirby” is becoming something of a genre unto itself, not just the name of an amazing talent.
So far, so good. If you dig big, crazy cosmic stuff and have a good sense of humor about it, you might find Jersey Gods to be a good fit. The letters page in the back promises a Darwyn Cooke cover on the second issue and beginning in the third we’ll get a back-up feature from Mark Waid that chronicles a bit of the history of the Gods of Neboron. I’ll be back.
How is it possible there's a comic book called Jersey gods and Kevin Smith isn't assoiated wth it. i thought I was gonna see Jay and Silent Bob in tights or wearigng utlity belts.