More hints of uncertainty.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ray Fawkes
Art: Marco Failla
Colors: Stefani Rennee
What They Say:
Nothing is as it seems when the con artists of JACKPOT! are introduced to the hidden keys of the universe. But will any of them survive the mind-bending, reality-shattering result? Some of them are already starting to die…and return…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Considering how much I enjoyed Fawkes’ run on Gotham by Midnight, I ended up coming away from the first issue of Jackpot really wary of the book. There was appeal in the visual design of it and the quirky factor related to the con artists and how they were pulling things off, but it also felt like we were coming into it in the middle of a far too complex story that was a throwaway story against a much larger one that’s being teased out in a very small way as a subplot. I got in a print copy from AfterShock for the second issue and I’ll admit that it wasn’t a series I was going to follow up on personally in trade form as there was enough in that first issue that just made me wary of the investment even with the talent involved.
Sadly, I feel that’s even more reinforced now that I’ve got a look at the second issue. The book is definitely put together beautifully with a fantastic cover design from Brian Stelfreeze that’s eyecatching to say the least, and I like the flow of the artwork within from Failla as he has to capture and convey a lot of things with the cons and heists that are going on. The problem is that the cons and heists aren’t all that clearly laid out. This issue takes place a month after the first issue on the yacht and things have been in a holding pattern of sorts since nothing has truly changed. Dominique isn’t feeling so great after what happened there and Felicia feels like something went down that’s unnerved her. Along with the guys, they’re doing a hotel heist to get something, but the something isn’t clear at first and that minimizes the investment.
When the heist goes wrong along the way with people where they shouldn’t be, it turns into a lot of action. But it also puts into motion another piece of the bigger story as Dominique gets her hands on a piece of paper with code on it that seems like it begins to change her, initially in a trance and then just kind of out of it as everyone else works to get out, helping her along the way. There are teases of what may be going on but you can only guess so much because so little is offered. We get a little more from the mysterious power players in a dark room talking about larger plans and that offers its own tantalizing aspects, but there’s just not enough of a hook here amid the other confusing and unclear elements to really get you to invest in it. Which is unfortunate since this is a pretty strong set of talent working it.
In Summary:
The first issue of Jackpot was something that I struggled with but kind of hoped that it would all come together as it went along. While there are books where you sense it’s worth the investment in figuring it out, Jackpot in its second installment ended up just being a bit more muddled and teasing without giving enough to really connect with. There are interesting ideas in here and the characters have potential but it comes across in such a haphazard way that it doesn’t feel accessible at all. I’ll probably revisit the book at some point simply because I have to believe that Fawkes has something bigger in play here based on his past works and I’ll want to see more of Failla’s artwork as he definitely has some very fun stuff in here.
Grade: C
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: May 11th, 2016
MSRP: $1.99
