Between The Panels: Razorjack Review

Razorjack – Collected Edition
Writer: John Higgins
Illustrator: John Higgins
Inker: John Higgins
Colorist: John Higgins
Publisher: ComX Comics
Price: $12.99


Indy comics. I avoid them like a virgin avoids AIDS. This horrible habit has to come to an end but my love for the mainstream superhero comics overwhelms me. ComX has allowed me to take a break from the capes and cowls and has sent me a sci-fi/supernatural/crime noir that just screams back to pulp age of comics. John Higgins takes full duties with Razorjack and does amazingly well. Razorjack follows two undercover detectives as they attempt to solve a murder case involving a satanic like cult. When deconstructed to one sentence you would think this comic would be just another half assed episode of CSI but it is far from the crime dramas that pollute the television networks.


John Higgin’s effectively weaves a sci-fi/supernatural background into a crime noir setting. With just one mini-series the world of Razorjack leaves more to be desired. Whether if this was Higgin’s intention there is a sense of a built in mythology that will leave you wanting to know more. This underlining supernatural aspect to the comic calls back to works like Heavy Metal. This Heavy Metal-esque feel attributes to the character design of the sci-fi supernatural. The creatures look like if Smurfette was blown up to our size, naked, went through puberty, and injected with adrenaline and steroids.


Razorjack is one story with three plots that weave tightly together. At the start of the graphic novel the supernatural plot and the crime plot run side by side unconnected. It is not until the climax where both plots collide head on and merge into a siamese unicorn. This interwoven plot then becomes something bigger: a hero origin story. The supernatural/sci-fi elements dominate the hero origin but by the comic’s end are stopped short. This is probably only draw back to the self contained story. The hero and antagonist stories are somewhat short lived. Higgins leaves off with the potential for more stories that I certainly would pick up.


If you can find the collected trade and need a break from the mainstream definitely pick this up. John Higgins creates something entirely different and entertaining with much more to be desired.