Big Trouble In Little China #3
Story by John Carpenter and Eric Powell
Written by Eric Powell
Art by Brian Churilla
Colors by Michael Garland
Letters by Ed Dukeshire
Covers by Eric Powell, Joe Quinones, Tommy Lee Edwards
BOOM! Studios
Release Date: August 6, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Welcome, my friends, to Big Trouble In Little China #3! Twenty-eight years ago, one of the finest action comedies to ever grace the silver screen was released. And apparently it was so awesome that it took this long to create a suitable followup to the film. This third issue, in what has to be one of the funniest comics around, is a worthy sequel to John Carpenter‘s masterpiece. Of course, the first issue got a wonderful review from GoD’s PS Hayes, so make sure you check it out, too.

Having spent the fist two issues seeing his friend kidnapped and pledging himself to find the three jars containing the souls of defeated sorcerers, Jack Burton, truck driver and sorcerer-slayer extraordinaire, finally finds and traverses the dreaded Black Road Of Hell. Arriving at his destination, the house of the Seven-Faced Widow, he barges in and is immediately underwhelmed by the oddities he sees throughout the expansive interior. Multitudes of statues are present, displaying the many faces of the widow, which causes Jack to recall his fourth wife; the story that ensues is quite comical, though he might have missed a few of the finer points when relating it to his companions. Of course, the wizard Egg Shen and Jack’s pet demon Pete probably weren’t listening anyway.

Meeting the Widow and dropping a few Jack Burton-styled comments (also known as insults), he finds her to be less than receptive to his needs. Of course as Jack always says: “Sooner or later, I rub everybody the wrong way.” She puts him to a few challenges, none of which turn out the way she expects, especially when he decides to just steal the jars and make a break for it. Getting away from the widow is one thing, but after running outside Jack finds that some of the denizens he insulted early on have come for revenge.

The last few pages are devoted to showing us that the plot is a little less straightforward than we thought. What happens next will be revealed in the fourth issue, so if you’re curious you’ll just have to read it next month like the rest of us.

John Carpenter has an obvious influence on this comic, though it’s Eric Powell who’s doing the writing. And what a job he’s doing! You can actually almost hear Kurt Russell‘s voice when reading Jack’s dialogue. Brian Churilla is handling the art and doing a bang-up job of capturing the look of the characters, though they are almost caricatures of the actors from the movie. This only adds to the enjoyment, I must say. It’s one joke after another as everyman Jack Burton makes his way through Hell.

I can only hope that you’ve seen the film on which this comic book sequel is based. If you haven’t, then you are denying yourself one of the few great pleasures in life. If you have, then you know you have to buy this series. It’s a story that has picked up right where the movie left off. And while this is the third issue, you should be able to find the first two easily enough (you can order print editions online: Issue #1 and Issue #2). Life is sometimes full of regrets, don’t let this one add to your list. Grab it when you can, you’ll thank me for it later.