Jericho Season 4: Issue #5

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT): As the final issue of the Season 4 mini-series begins we see an ASA soldier sending a false report back to his superiors as dictated to him by Hawkins assuring them that all is proceeding as planned.  Jake and Emily then approach as Hawkins gives them an update on Valente, but Jake warns that Smith has gone rogue and has his own agenda.  Cut to Palmer in the interrogation room with Major Beck and Heather.  He threatens to kill Heather with a toxin that will make it look like she died of a heart attack.  Palmer leaves the room to let them stew on his threat and Beck tells Heather that he is almost free from his ropes.  She claims she is too, but we see that is a lie.  Back to Jake, Hawkins, and Emily who are trying to figure out where Beck and Smith are.  Emily warns that Smith is trying to get to Valente in order to avenge the death of his wife, and they are interrupted by a soldier that tells them there has been an explosion at Smith's house.  They decide they have to move Valente to a different location, and Emily suggests that she help with the search for Smith because she believes they have developed a trust.  Jake and Hawkins are against it, though.  Cut to Stanley's farm were Dale is negotiating with the Texas troops that have overtaken it.  Stanley and Mimi think that Dale is selling them out, but he is negotiating for supplies and medicine in return for their use of the farm as a base to prepare their attack on the ASA troops.  We then cut to Smith breaking into a store to get the supplies he needs for his attack on Valente.  Emily arrives (having seen the light from outside) and tries to convince him not to do it.  Smith starts seeing his wife in place of Emily, and she appears to realize that and uses it to her advantage to try and defer him from his plans.  Cut back to Stanley's farm where the leader of the Texas troops is trying to convince them that they only want to use the farm temporarily for its strategic value for their upcoming attack.  The leader also seems to know a lot about the people of Jericho and he reveals that he has brought with him Hawkins' daughter Allison.  Cut back to Beck and Heather as Eric sneaks in from the window to help them.  Eric starts helping them to get out of their ropes, but Palmer returns before Heather is loose.  A confrontation ensues and Palmer fires on Heather who is still bound to her chair.  But Beck steps into the line of fire and takes two bullets.  Eric draws on Palmer who gets shot once before fleeing.  Cut to the location that has been set up for Valente to give his speech confessing the involvement of the ASA leadership and Jennings and Rall in the nuclear attacks.  Jake thinks they should wait until Smith's whereabouts are known, but Hawkins tells Valente to proceed and stick to the script that has been given to him.  We then see his speech being broadcast around the town as he confesses and promises that Jennings and Rall will be dissolved and the Cheyenne leadership will step down.  During this, we see Major Beck dying in Heather's arms.  As the speech ends and Valente assures that the ASA will come to an end, Smith arrives with a bomb in hand.  And thus ends Season Four with the promise: "To be continued in Jericho Season Five".

Review/Commentary: I know it has taken way too long to get this synopsis/review posted, but after reading this issue I found myself completely deflated.  This series has been so good up to this point, but the last issue of Season 4 unfortunately took a turn for the worse.  While the writing from the previous ten issues (Season 3 1-6 plus Season 4 1-4) has been strong--if maybe a little rushed--and remained very close to the best episodes of the series, the comic really derailed with this latest issue.  It resorted far to often to copy and paste dialog ("Think about what she would have wanted for you", "I didn't know we were expecting company"), and the death of Major Beck was pointless and forced.  It's bad enough that they reprised the age-old shot of someone jumping from the side to take the bullets intended for another.  But they made it worse by killing off an essential character for supposed "dramatic effect" even though it just falls flat.  It reminds me of what NBC's Revolution does on a regular basis as they kill off major characters to allegedly create drama when they really just don't know where to go with the story.  If Netflix does eventually produce new episodes of Jericho, I'm hoping they will go a different direction with the Major Beck character.  On top of all that, the issue just crammed too much in.  That has been common complaint with this series because they don't have a lot of space to unfold the story, but it really felt forced this time around.

Still, one clunker out of eleven issues of what has otherwise been an excellent series is not a reason to give up on it.  A fifth season is promised at the end of the issue (any chance they can get it on a regular bi-monthly basis?), and I will stick with it in hopes that they turn things around (and maybe reveal that Beck isn't really dead).  It would also be nice if they could get a stable artist on the series.  The writing team has remained mostly constant, but they keep changing up the artists.  For this issue, Andrew Currie returns to the penciling chores and does a decent enough job.  There's plenty more story to tell in the Jericho world, and hopefully they will keep it going and return to the quality of the previous issues.  Stay tuned . . .

Jericho Season 4: Issue #4

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT): As this issue begins, Valente is talking on the phone with Palmer telling him that he is approaching Jericho.  We then see that Palmer has Major Beck and Heather tied up and he informs Valente that he will interrogate them to get the location of Smith and that he will use their feelings for each other as leverage. Next, we see an airplane landing in the desert from which Valente and a full accompaniment of armed troops disembark.  Switch to Jake talking with Emily who is still trying to digest all of what Jake revealed to her about Smith.  Jake mentions that he still needs to get more information from Smith, and Emily suggests that she try and talk with him because she believes that Smith will confide in her.  The scene then shifts to Mimi and Stanley’s farm where the Texas militia member Benji has Mimi and Dale at gunpoint and explains that Texas is trying to take down the A.S.A.  He takes them back up to the house where they discover more Texas militia troops who have Stanley at gunpoint.  Switch back to Palmer who is interrogating Beck and Heather but gets interrupted by a call.  As he leaves, Heather tells Beck that he better not reveal Smith’s location because he is their best chance to bring down the A.S.A.  However, Beck says that he would rather live with the A.S.A. than without her.

Shift to Smith’s house where Emily is talking with him on the porch over coffee and muffins.  During their conversation, he gets a text from someone named “Sergeant” that Valente’s plane has arrived, but he does not visibly react to it.  Emily asks Smith about what happened to his wife and he tells her about the J&R soldiers that broke into their house in Afghanistan and killed her and that they were never brought to justice.  Meanwhile, Jake is reviewing he computer files he took from Smith finding information about Afghanistan and tries to contact Beck, but gets no answer.  Switch to Palmer who is informing Valente that Beck has given up the location of Smith.  Valente is pleased, and then he heads into the detention center outside of Jericho where Hawkins is being held.  The two meet face to face and Valente approaches Hawkins rather smugly only to find that his prisoner has broken free of his handcuffs and outside the guards have been overcome.  Hawkins then informs Valente that he will make a full confession about J&R’s involvement in the September attacks and that it will be televised.  Back at the farm, Mimi confesses to Stanley that she helped Benji because she thought he was from the Eastern states and felt it was the right thing to do and she thought they have a responsibility to make the country better.  Dale then tells them that he thinks he can make a deal with the Texans saying that “for the right price, your enemy can become your ally”.  At Smith’s house, Valente’s A.S.A. troops storm in only to find a booby trap the blows that entire house as they enter it.  Switch to Jake telling Emily that he found some of Smith’s files about a J&R project in Afghanistan that went bad.  Emily connects this to what Smith was telling her, and they do some more digging in the files.  The issue closes as they find evidence that Valente had given the order to have Smith’s wife killed and everything Smith has done since has been his attempt to get revenge.

Review/Commentary:  So they actually got this issue out on time (and I'm not running too late with this post either), and what an issue it is!  The book keeps up its relentless pace as it continues to unfold its many twists and turns while also delivering an engaging story.  Part of me would like for them to slow it down a bit and not take the fire hose approach to telling the story.  But then again, we’re not getting any filler here, just a lot of what made Jericho a great story to begin with.  The artist for the series changes again, with Claudia Balboni stepping in to do the pencils this time.  But the change is pretty much seamless, and she does a good job with the character renditions.  Kalinda Vasquez is still the main writer, with series scribes Dan Shotz and Robert Levine still getting story credit as well.  Issue #4 is another solid entry in this series that continues to stick close to the spirit of the television series while also broadening the story.  If you are a Jericho fan and you have not been reading this series book, I highly recommend you jump on board (the TPB collecting all five Season 4 episodes is currently scheduled for a October 2013 release).  Issue #5 is set to wrap up the “Season 4” arc, but I expect another mini-series to follow on the footsteps of that one.  Or maybe they will do the right thing and just make this an ongoing series.  TFAW.com has the due date listed now as October 9th, but I think that is a bit optimistic.  Still, I expect that it should hit the stands at some point in October and I will be eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Jericho Season 4: Issue #3

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT):The issue begins with Major Beck arriving at the local J&R detention center in Jericho allegedly to interrogate Hawkins.  He is actually getting Hawkins up to speed on what is currently happening and he tells him that Tomarchio and Valente want him interrogated but are concerned about trying to transport him to Cheyenne.  Instead, they have decided that Valente will come to Jericho to interrogate Hawkins who seems please by this development and asks if Major Beck is ready for Phase 2 of their plan which involves beginning the coup.  Meanwhile, at the school, Emily talks with John Smith and apologizes for Jake's behavior the previous day (see the prior issue).  Smith tells her not to worry about it and instead to be supportive of him because he is just trying to protect her like Smith tried to protect his wife.  Smith then returns to his house and is jumped by someone who injects him with a needle.  We see that it is Jake and that he has injected Smith with sodium pentothal in order to interrogate him which he will have no memory of later.  In a flashback, we see that Jake and Hawkins planned this before the latter was arrested in an attempt to get the access codes for the Precipice.

The scene switches to Stanley and Mimi's farm with Dale confronting Mimi about helping the Easterner, Benji.  She confesses to it and claims she was doing what she thought was the right thing.  She asks Dale not to tell anyone and he agrees on the condition that he gets a chance to talk with this person.  Switch to Palmer talking with Valente and telling him that he believes that Heather in is tight with the resistance and that she is also close to Major Beck and thus his assumption that Beck is himself sympathetic to the resistance.  Then back to Jake questioning Smith and the former has placed a suggestion that Smith is still back at J&R in an attempt to get trick him into giving up the access code.  This seems to work, but Smith also mentions that he has a backup plan that may have dire consequences.  Hawkins had previously warned Jake that he only had fifteen minutes before the sodium pentothal would wear off, and he runs out of time to uncover the truth about this backup plan.  He then puts Smith asleep in his bed who wakes up later and seems to have an inkling of what happened to him.

The scene then switches to Dale and Mimi with Benji as Dale has brought guns for the Easterner to take back with him to help defend against the ASA.  They are only handguns, though, and Benji was hoping for assault rifles.  Dale then starts questioning Benji on what route he came from and his answers don't seem to add up.  Benji then pulls a gun on the two and reveals that he really came from Texas and then tells them to head back to the farm where he will reveal his true story.  Switch to Heather coming home where Major Beck meets her with a passionate kiss.  Outside, though, Palmer is watching.  Then Jake returns home where he expects Emily to be upset because he missed dinner.  She's not, though, and she tells him about her talk with Smith and how she trusts him.  Jake then decides to tell her the truth about Smith (which Hawkins had previously warned him against), and the issue ends with her look of shock and surprise.    

Review:  Yeah, I know that I'm way behind on getting this review posted, but just got side-tracked with vacation and other things.  Issue #3 came out within a reasonable amount of time, only about two months after Issue #2 (and I'm a month behind with get this post up).  Let's hope they can keep that schedule for the next two installments of this mini-series (and beyond).  And this issue definitely had a lot going on.  They are having to cram a lot within the covers of each comic, but they are managing to do it without feeling overly dense or jumbled (though with the extended gap between issues, its probably best to go back and read the previous synopses).  Kalinda Vazquez again handles the scripting chores from the story that she and the Jericho writing team put together.  The dialogue rings true to the characters that we know from the TV series and carries the story along quite well.  Erfan Fajar steps in this time to take over the artwork, and I thought he did a decent enough job with the character renditions following closely enough to the original actors.  I consider this yet another solid issue in this fine series and just hope that they can get in on a regular schedule and also turn it into an ongoing series instead of a progression of mini-series.  TFAW.com shows August 14th as the due date for Issue #4 (pre-order at this link), so let's hope that's pretty close to when it actually hits the stands.  And you can still order the current issue at this link.

Jericho Season 4: Issue #2

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT): The issue begins with Jake helping Emily to fix dinner while she tells him about how much the kids like John Smith (aka David Reynolds aka his new cover in Jericho Patrick) as a teacher.  Jake is not happy about Smith working so close to Emily, but he appears even less amused when Smith shows up to join them for dinner.  Meanwhile, the A.S.A. soldier Palmer is being worked over by Jericho people, but he divulges no information.  Major Beck decides that he is just a "harmless grunt" and gives the order to let him go.  Back at Emily's house, Smith and Jake have tense words while she is out of the room and Smith turns on the television to show Jake the breaking news about a breach of security in the A.S.A. prisons that he has orchestrated.  The two come to blows when Jake insists that this is a bad move, but Smith assures him that it is an integral part of his plan to destabilize the A.S.A.  This means that if any A.S.A. enemies are caught in Jericho, they will be held in the local jail and not sent off to a government facility.  Jake realizes that Smith is referring to Hawkins and runs from the house to warn him.  Meanwhile, Dale meets with Mimi about the possibility of her and Stanley supplying his store with goods from their farm, but she turns the offer down cold.  Dale is confused because Stanley previously seemed interested in the proposition and feels sure something else is going on. 

At Hawkins' house, his son is playing but hears the approach of soldiers.  He runs to warn his father but is too late and Hawkins is taken into custody.  Palmer informs Valente that Hawkins has been arrested and also that he believes that the A.S.A. troops in Jericho are cooperating with the resistance and Major Beck may even be involved.  In the evening, Dale follows Mimi who goes out to the barn with food for someone that she is harboring and working a deal with to send supplies.  Dale overhears her entire conversation.  As the issue ends, we get a flashback to earlier in the day where we find that Jake and Hawkins had planned to have Hawkins arrested and they did this without Smith's knowledge.  Jake also knew in advance about the prison riots.  The two have their own agenda that they plan on following without involving Smith.

Review: So it's been what now, three years since the last issue of this comic book came out?  Okay, it's more like six or seven months, but that's still quite a gap between issues.  But the second installment of the Jericho Season 4 comic book delivers as expected as it continues to move several plotlines forward with what looks like an all out conflict with the A.S.A. not far on the horizon.  We get a little bit more character development from the Smith character with him proving a good teacher and also remembering his departed wife.  And we see some further development with Jake and Emily's relationship and Dale's continued expansion of his enterprises.  But I would certainly like it better if they would get this comic book on a more regular (and frequent) schedule.  Humorously enough, the closing page shows the cover of Issue #3 with the words "Next Month", but I'm not holding my breath.   Still this one is another good issue with a quick-paced script from Kalinda Vasquez (the story is by her and writers from the TV show Dan Shotz and Robert Levine).  And I'm also starting to warm up to the artwork by Andrew Currie.  Let's just get those upcoming issues out a lot quicker because these extended delays are making this a very frustrating series to follow.

Order Jericho Season 4 Issue #2 from TFAW.com

Jericho Season 3 - Civil Wars: Issue #1

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT!): The issue opens with six military jets from the ASA infiltrating Texas airspace in preparation for a sneak attack. Then we cut to Jake who is recalling the events that brought him to Texas to assist in a stand against the ASA's attempts to spread their yoke across the entire country. He recalls the nuclear attacks on 23 cities that brought the nation to shambles and isolated the town of Jericho from the rest of the country. Then we see Hawkins' recollections of his involvement in what has transpired previously. He had worked as a double agent who's job it was to infiltrate the terrorist cell and he had taken and hidden one of the bombs intended for the initial attack. Their recollections come together as their thoughts drift to the ASA which wants to control the entire country and is currently on the verge of civil war with the eastern states with Texas as the wildcard. Then we go to a meeting at Lackland Airforce Base between the Texas leaders and representatives of the United States. It seems that the US is not quite ready to stand up to an attack from the ASA and they need Texas on their side (they claim the state is still part of the union). They also need "something else" to help stand against the ASA, though they do not know what that is. Hawkins may have an idea though, as he gets a message from John Smith asking for help. At that moment, though, the ASA fighters arrive at Lackland and launch their attack, destroying the facility as well as the nearby oil fields. ASA leaders communicate with each other applauding the success and plan on contacting the existing US government in Columbus Ohio with an offer of surrender. We then switch briefly to the town of Jericho where Major Beck is monitoring the information on the attacks. He receives a message on his cell phone then passes information along to the resistance leaders in the town that Jake and Hawkins are still alive but they are not coming home yet. The issue ends with Hawkins telling Jake that with Texas crippled from the attack, they must head into New Mexico (ASA territory) to free John Smith who is apparently a captive. Jake asks why and Hawkins explains that they will need him because he helped build the beast that is the ASA and now he can help dismantle it.

Comments: The comic book reads very much like an episode from the series, in fact the first issue may be too much like an episode. I found it a bit confusing to follow at times and had to reread several pages. I can see where the script here would work well as a television episode, but it does not flow as as well in comic book format. Still this is a relatively minor quibble and did not detract too much from the story and I believe the writers will correct this as they get more accustomed to writing for comics.  All in all, issue #1 gives us a strong start to a series that should have a promising run and that will carry on the story of the television while maintaining the level of quality that fans will expect.

Jericho Season 3 - Civil Wars: Issue #2

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT!): Jake and Hawkins enter a refugee camp at the border of Texas and Mexico intent on passing into the Allied States of America. They know that if they go through the normal channels it will take a week or more and they can’t risk waiting that long because they could be recognized since there are posters all around proclaiming them as terrorists. They befriend a Native American boy who puts them in contact with a man who can produce forged paperwork for them. This man recognizes Hawkins because he has been monitoring all of the recent activity and notices from the authorities. He agrees to help, even though Hawkins has nothing to trade for his services, because the man's wife and kids live back east and he does not want them involved in the impending war. He gives Hawkins the papers hoping that he and Jake can help avert the looming conflict. Unfortunately for Hawkins, Jake and the boy become involved in a bar brawl which brings the attention of the authorities in their direction. They head to the bus leaving the camp hoping they can still slip on, but find it too closely watched. They still manage to escape from the camp, though, by sneaking underneath the bus and holding on as it drives out. And even though they managed to get into New Mexico, news of their movements makes its way it to Thomas Valente in the ASA.

Meanwhile, in Jericho Major Beck and his co-plotters are monitoring the other ASA military divisions stationed in Kansas and weighing their options for convincing them to withdraw their support from President Tomarchio. A Major Patrella of the ASA is arriving in Jericho that day and he is highly respected in the new country’s military. Beck believes that if they can convince him to stand with them, then many of the other divisions would follow. Patrella comes to Jericho to see what methods Beck used to quell the resistance in that town. He interviews several of the locals and also asks if they know the whereabouts of Hawkins and Jake. During his interviews, Patrella talks with Dale Turner and asks how he has managed to keep his supplies coming into the store; a conversation which makes Dale feel threatened. During all of this, Stanley and Mimi also find out that she is pregnant. As Patrella’s interviews continue, Beck decides it is time to show him the evidence of the conspiracy that caused the nuclear attack. He has Patrella called away to his office where he shows him the information about the original plot. Patrella then decides to leave Jericho but tells Beck that he will think long and hard about what he has seen. On the outskirts of town, Patrella’s vehicle is stopped by a truck blocking the road and he is shot dead. We then find that it was Dale who had him killed.

Comments: Issue #2 continues from the setup established in the inaugural issue of the series and packs in a lot of story across its 22 pages. Hawkins and Jake are still on the run and Jake is still attracting trouble wherever he goes. Meanwhile the people of Jericho are still plotting against the ASA in the hopes that they can convince the military operations in that area to stand down from using violence. This issue really had the feel of an episode from the series and delivered a more satisfying story than the first issue which seemed to pass through its 22 pages too quickly. However, that issue was necessary for setting up what would follow in the current issue and beyond. This issue also flowed better as the writers appear to be getting more comfortable with the comic book format. I enjoyed this installment (though I found the escape method Hawkins and Jake used a bit far-fetched) and have high hopes that the series will manage to maintain its level of quality.

Jericho Season 3 - Civil Wars: Issue #3

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT): Jericho Thread: Eric and his mom await the arrival of Emmett Green, her brother  and his uncle, who is coming to town from the eastern states for Eric’s wedding. When he arrives on the bus he comments to the two about the number of ASA checkpoints he had to go through to get there. Also arriving on the bus is Skylar who had gone to New York looking for her parents with no success. However, she tells Dale that she managed to work a deal for some medical supplies that he can sell at a huge profit while still undercutting J&R. We then see Emmett and Gail reminiscing about Johnston while paying respects at his grave site before switching to the wedding where Stanley is standing in for Jake as Eric’s best man. The wedding goes off without a hitch, but during the reception Emmett stands to make a toast and instead berates the people of Jericho for accepting the presence of the ASA. This nearly leads to a brawl, but Gray Anderson steps in to diffuse the situation. Emmett leaves with Gail and he tells her Johnston would have never stood for this, but she rebukes his criticisms and tells him he does not understand the situation. Emmett tells Gail that the people of Jericho have gotten too comfortable and that “it comes with a cost.” Then we see someone hanging up a recruiting poster for the ASA army.

New Mexico Thread: Jake and Hawkins, who had jumped a train, arrive in a deserted town. There, they meet up with Chavez, Hawkins’ previous CIA contact who has been working undercover in the ASA military. He reveals a helicopter which they will use to break into the facility where John Smith is being held captive. We then see the helicopter approaching a military prison but it fails to acknowledge a radio summons. It then crashes and as rescue vehicles with military personnel arrive on the scene Hawkins and Jake and their team jump them. They use the ambulance to enter the prison as Hawkins holds the driver at gun point. Once inside, they immediately focus on the task of freeing John Smith as quickly as possible. They force their way into the control room and determine Smith’s location but alarms begin to sound indicating their presence has been detected. Hawkins then flips a switch opening the gates to all the cells allowing the prisoners to escape and provide a distraction. Hawkins and Jake make their way to Smith’s cell and as they burst in he quips that they must have received his message.

Comments: Yet another excellent issue and I have to say that this series has really exceeded my expectations so far and has done a magnificent job of carrying on the feel of the television series. As each segment plays out, I can just see and feel the original actors leaping off the page. In fact, this issue really made me regret once again that CBS cancelled the show because the hour long format would have allowed them to expand on the stories relegated to only 22 pages in the comic book. Still, the writers make the most of those pages and cram in a ton of story while also succeeding in not making us feel they are throwing too much at us at once (like what we saw with the second season because they were trying to get too much into only seven episodes). And Alejandro F. Giralbo’s artwork continues to excel as well. He does a fantastic job of capturing not just the likeness of the original actors but also the mannerisms of the characters they portrayed. I just can’t say enough good about this series and if you are a Jericho fan who has not started following it yet, it’s time to jump on board.

Jericho Season 3 - Civil Wars: Issue #4

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT): This issue gives us the backstory for John Smith, the man who masterminded the terrorist attacks on the United States. Smith is being held in the maximum security prison known as Loomer Ridge, and as Jake and Hawkins break in to free him, we get flashbacks to Smith’s past. The issue begins with a woman from the prison interrogating Smith and using various psychological tricks to throw him off balance. It does not work, though, because he informs her that she is using the manual he wrote. As the interrogation progresses, an alarm goes off as Jake and Hawkins break into the prison and Smith knows they are coming. We then flash back to five years previous as J&R gives a presentation to Senator Tomarchio and Director Valente showing how they can step in and help out the U.S. Military which is currently “stretched too thin”. The company gets the contract with the government, but Smith is concerned because he says that J&R is growing too fast and many of the new recruits have criminal records. He is assured that this will not be a problem, then he is sent to the J&R compound in Afghanistan to monitor things there. However, his worst fears are confirmed and he grounds a platoon of J&R operatives almost right away because he believes they are out of control. The mercenaries turn on him, though, angered for being sidelined, and they kill his wife and injure him. As he recovers, the doctor tells him that he has cancer which vastly changes his perspective on life. He starts to see that J&R is a cancer itself eating away at the United States and must be stopped. He returns to the States and starts to collect information on nuclear bunkers and materials for building warheads that J&R had been previously involved with illegally. He then contacts fringe groups who want to lash out at the United States and sets the stage for the terrorist attacks which he hopes would shake up the country’s foundation and basically allow it to cleanse itself of the cancer. However, deep inside he believes that J&R will uncover his plot and stop him which would ultimately implicate them for their own misdeeds. They do uncover his plans, but chose not to reveal them because it would destroy the company and possibly result in its executives going to jail. Smith then decides he has to go forward with this “wake up call” and moves up the timetable so that J&R will not have a chance to interfere. And from that, the nuclear detonations occur which tear up the nation and set the stage for where the story began with the first episode of the Jericho TV series. This issue ends as Jake and Hawkins make their way through the chaos in the prison after many other prisoners have escaped and caused a grand commotion (see the previous issue). They arrive at the interrogation room (returning us to the same point that issue three ended on) and take Smith with them hoping to avert the larger war brewing across the fractured country.

Comments: The comic book series has been excellent so far, and fortunately this latest issue continues the momentum from the first three (despite the extended delay). It focuses almost entirely on the mysterious John Smith character and gives us his backstory and finally a more comprehensive look at what brought about the attacks on the United States. It also casts an almost sympathetic light on Smith, so you can call it the “Company Man” episode of the Jericho series (referring to the episode from Heroes Season 1 that gave us the backstory on Noah Bennet, aka HRG). Long-time Jericho fans, especially those who waited so patiently for this issue, may be disappointed that it gives us only the briefest appearances of the two main characters and did not check in on the people back in the town of Jericho at all. But that can be overlooked because this issue did so much to answer questions that have been lingering for quite some time. The writers promised answers in this series and they have definitely delivered on that so far with four excellent issues in a row. Now let’s hope that they do not expend all of their creative energy too soon, because I would definitely like this story to continue beyond this six issue mini.

Jericho Season 3 - Civil Wars: Issue #5

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT):  Jake and Hawkins Thread: Valente informs President Tomarchio that John Smith has escaped and that Jake Green and Robert Hawkins broke him out. Tomarchio tells Valente to get him back in custody as soon as possible and Valentte tells him that he has hired Mr. Palmer to track Smith down. Tomarchio then goes to a press conference that he will use to sell the people of the ASA on an invasion of the eastern states. Meanwhile, once Jake and Hawkins have made it a safe distance from the prison facility, they use the battery of the car they have liberated to short out the tracking device surgically implanted in Smith. They succeed at that and Smith takes them to a fallout shelter he had set up as a refuge. It had been discovered by J&R and ransacked, but he had a thumb drive safely stashed away that has a mirrored backup of the J&R network. Their return to the fallout shelter sets off an alarm and a drone is dispatched to bomb the location. This was part of Smith’s plan, though. He has a secret exit set up to escape from the shelter, and after the bomb levels the facility, Jake, Hawkins, and Smith will be assumed dead.

Jericho Thread: The people of Jericho listen in disgust to Tomarchio’s speech calling for an attack. But they have little time to fret as word breaks that Major Patrella has been found murdered. Major Beck will be held responsible because this happened under his watch and Patrella left town quickly without an escort. And if Beck is relieved of his command, then all of the ASA officers sympathetic to his resistance movement will likely withdraw their support. Eric Green and several others suspect Dale Turner had something to do with the murder and they confront Dale about it, though he denies any culpability. They then track Peter, one of Dale’s people, who is acting suspiciously and catch him as he is trying to dispose with the murder weapon. They turn Peter in and convince him to confess on the promise that the people of Jericho will protect his family in the coming conflict. This gets Beck off the hook so that he can carry on with his plans to stand against the coming ASA aggression.

Comments: Finally! After a bit of a delay, issue #5 hits the stands! And it is yet another good one in this comic book continuation of the Jericho television series. For the most part I enjoyed this issue, but I felt like they rushed through quite a number of things and practically left our heads spinning with the amount of story that the issue crammed in. But then they are trying to get a lot done in just six issues (just like the second season tried to get a lot done in just seven episodes). I also was not quite convinced that Peter would have agreed so easily to turn himself in and confess. But then we did not see the convincing done by Eric and the others to bring him to this decision (we only get a brief recap). Just one of the ways they cut corners to fit everything in. And at this point, I am wondering how well they will be able to wrap this story up in only one more issue. They have set up a lot to follow, so let’s hope they don’t try to resolve everything in just the 22 pages allotted to issue #6. What I am hoping is that they will give us a partial resolution to some of the story threads then set up a continuation into another mini-series or (even better) an ongoing comic series. In any case, this issue keeps up the quality of the ones that preceded it (despite its whirlwind pace), and it definitely has me looking forward the the upcoming finale.

Jericho Season 3 - Civil Wars: Issue #6

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT): Mr. Palmer (going under the assumed name of Thompson which is sewn on his uniform) is dispatched by Director Valente to Jericho to apprehend Robert Hawkins and David Reynolds/John Smith. The Hummer he is traveling in, though, is intercepted by Constantino and his men, and all except Palmer are killed. Meanwhile, Jake and Hawkins are nearing Jericho and they debate what information they should divulge about Reynolds (aka John Smith). Hawkins says that they should tell Major Beck that Reynolds has vital information about the involvement of Jennings & Rall in the nuclear attacks but insists that they not divulge any information on Reynolds’ own complicity. Once back in Jericho, Beck reveals information to Jake, Hawkins, and Reynolds about commanders who have pledged to aid in the resistance against the A.S.A. Beck then takes Reynolds to a video conference with several of these commanders where Reynolds reveals that J&R plans on crossing into United States territory (with U.N. approval) to give aid to the town of Vicksburg Mississippi which is desperately in need of supplies because of an influx of refugees from Texas. The A.S.A. believe that a violent uprising will follow shortly giving them an excuse to launch bombing raids along the Mississippi river. The hope is that this will demoralize the population and lead Columbus to a decision to surrender to the A.S.A. The commanders want Reynolds to hand over the intelligence on how to break into the J&R system, but he turns them down saying that only he is capable of doing what they need. He will infiltrate the system and disrupt the satellite communications that would be used to coordinate the drone bombing raids.
Meanwhile in New Bern, Constantino’s men are questioning Palmer, but the agent breaks free and quickly turns the situation around on his captors, killing all but Constantino. Back in Jericho, Jake reunites with his friends and family and Hawkins returns home to find that his daughter has left and joined up with the aid workers. After Jake has his joyful reunion, he begins to ponder on the situation more and decides it’s best to approach Beck and come clean about Reynolds. Hawkins stands in his way, though, and the two come to blows until Jake once again agrees to remain silent. Meanwhile, Reynolds hacks into the J&R system getting the information on the satellites and allowing the resistance commanders to send operatives to take them down. Jake and Hawkins arrive at Beck’s office just as this operation has been completed. Back in New Bern, Palmer plans to use Constantino to get him into Jericho and infiltrate the resistance forces. And with this, the sixth issue of this six issue mini-series comes to a close with “to be continued . . .” More on that in the comments below.

Comments: The Jericho comic book series continues with yet another excellent issue that moves the story into high gear as all of the plotlines come together for the final resolution of the tale. But just as I was turning the last few pages and wondering how they could possibly wrap this up in the current issue I see: “to be continued”. And that will follow in Jericho Season 4, due out August 2012. See my synopsis and comments on Issue #1 of that series at this link. 

Anyway, back to Issue #6. As I said, this was another excellent installment even if it did feel a bit rushed and did gloss over several parts too quickly. I’m not quite certain I understood why an outbreak of violence would crop on in Vicksburg, MS after the J&R aid would arrive (maybe because they lent the support the U.S. had reneged on?) and why bombing raids along the Mississippi river would demoralize the population and lead Columbus to surrender. But again, I think they are rushing through some of the explanations because they have to cram so much into only a few issues. It really would be great if this did turn into an ongoing title (Season 4 is also scheduled as a 6 issue mini-series) because maybe then they would have the luxury of slowing the pace down a bit and filling in some of the loose ends. In any case, this issue keeps the quality up, we just have to be glad now that we have not been left hanging on this story for a fourth time (after the Season 1 cancellation, Season 2 cancellation, and Devil’s Due mishaps).

Jericho Season 4: Issue #1

Synopsis (SPOILER ALERT): This issue opens on Allison Hawkins and the other aid workers in the process of handing out provisions. One of the people demands more than his share, though, and a frakas starts which is broken up by military personnel. Allison then notices a suspicious box with the words "See You in Hell" on it and an explosion follows.

Back in Jericho, Major Beck informs Reynolds of his new cover identity, which Reynolds is not happy about.  He says he has a better idea for a cover, and Beck is willing to listen to him.  Meanwhile, Jake and Hawkins wander off, again arguing about whether they should tell Beck the full truth about Reynolds.  Hawkins still insists that they should withhold the information because they need Smith for the impending conflict between the A.S.A. and the U.S.  We then get a glimpse of Jake and Hawkins trying to slip back into their Jericho lives, but feeling a bit out of place.  Eric informs Jake of an A.S.A. soldier that Constantino brought to them that Beck now has in custody and is being subjected to questioning.  At a baby shower being thrown for Mimi, Skylar wants Dale to improve relations with Stanley so that he can start getting supplies for his store from a legitimate source, but Dale is not too keen on the idea.

Back at Major Beck's office, Reynolds informs Hawkins that he has located the most recent location for Allison and that she should be safe.  Hawkins isn't convinced though, and is making plans to go get her.  Both Reynolds and Beck try to convince him that Allison is probably safest where she is for the time being and that he is needed more in Jericho.  A video conference call with the other resistance leaders follows and Reynolds suggests that they could potentially pull off a bloodless coup with a stealth mission that Hawkins would lead.  Reynolds had not previously conferred with Hawkins on this plan, though, who is surprised by his announcement.  Later, Jake tries to rekindle his relationship with Emily by bringing her flowers, but when he comes to the school he is surprised to find Reynolds there, now assuming his new cover as a teacher.  That evening, Hawkins' wife wants him to go get Allison and bring her back, and he assures her that something is in the works, but we cut to a scene of a strike-force approaching the camp that she is in just as the issue ends.

Review:  At long last, the Jericho comic book is back with Issue #1 (of 6) of Season 4 (no subtitle like Season 3's "Civil Wars", though).   For those of us who loved the first six issue mini-series, we were overjoyed to here the story would continue, especially after leaving us on such a cliffhanger.  But we don't get much resolution from the final scene of Issue #6 of Season 3, as only a passing comment is made concerning those events and I assume we will wait until next issue to learn more about Palmer's infiltration.  I guess they felt this was the better way to kick off the new series, and we still get plenty of other storylines continued in this issue to keep us busy.  And Issue #1 does keep up a good level of quality, even if it doesn't quite measure up to the standards set by Season 3.  The issue felt a bit expository and not quite as satisfying, but still good overall.  The artwork, didn't quite meet expectations with Andrew Currie taking over the duties from Matt Merhoff and not quite getting the the look of the characters down like his predecessor.  Not that his art is in anyway bad, he just doesn't quite grab the Jericho faces like Merhoff did.  I was also confused about what was going on with Allison Hawkins.  We see the bomb go off early in the issue with the implication that she was caught in the blast.  But then we later see her smiling and play cards with no indication that the bomb had much in the way of repercussions.  I'm hoping they will elaborate on this in the next issue.  But these are just quibbles and I don't hold them against the book.  Basically, this issue gives us a good kickoff to the new series, and I'm looking forward to the issues to follow and still hope that IDW will see there way to making this an ongoing series instead of putting out several mini-series. 

Order Jericho Season 4 Issue #1 from TFAW.com