BOOK: Jackrabbit – Big in Japan (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Jackrabbit: Big in JapanYear: 2017Author: Ian Thomas HealyLength: 228 pages In superhero media, I’ve usually held the belief that the second installment of an adaptation has a better story because it gets past the “origin” that’s required for these heroes and can focus on a much deeper plot (the best examples of course being Spider-Man 2 (2004) and The Dark Knight (2008)). While novels are a rarity in the superhero genre, I had high hopes that Jackrabbit: Big in Japan would take the Bugs Bunny-like antics and Deadpool-ish fourth-wall breaking of Jackrabbit in a direction that would provide development for the character. Unfortunately, with a few small ret-cons that gloss over changes that happen “off screen,” Big in Japan feels more like the standard serial format of comic books instead of a larger character arc for Jackrabbit. Gone is the “partner” of Bluebird, replaced with a frog-themed herald brought in as the representative of the amphibious god that’s friends with Jackrabbit’s deity...
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BOOK: Jackrabbit (2014)

by benmweilertNo Comments
JackrabbitYear: 2014Author: Ian Thomas HealyLength: 256 pages I’ve watched a lot of superhero movies and read at least a few superhero comics, but I haven’t read any superhero books before. This changed when I picked up Jackrabbit, a book in the Just Cause universe of superheroes. The idea of a 6-foot-tall superhero rabbit was amusing enough for me to give it a try. What I came away with was a smartly written superhero story that was as much fun as it was funny. Sure, it might have been a little too horny for the standard superhero fare, but you can get away with more in a book than in more visual mediums. While somewhat formulaic, Jackrabbit is an origin story for the titular superhero—although you can’t really call them that as these characters are technically “heralds” of obscure gods like the god of rabbits. This transformation results in a super-powered rabbit man who feels like the antics of Bugs Bunny combined with...
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