Sorry about the lateness of this week’s Jonny Quest. Things happened yesterday that took longer that I was expecting, which is why there was no article last night and Jonny Quest Wednesday is in this slot.
Last time Jonny fell asleep with his earphones on.
The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest #9
Dark Horse (June, 1997)
LETTERER: Tracey Hampton-Munsey COVER ART: Arthur Adams COVER COLORISTS: Geneva Smith & Harold MacKinnon DESIGNER: Amy Arendts ASSISTANT EDITOR: David Land EDITOR: Philip Amara “Doorway To Infinity” part 2 WRITERS: Tom & Mary Bierbaum PENCILER: Gene Ha INKER: Andrew Peopy COLORISTS: Dave nestelle & Jim Johns “Heart Of Rage” part 1 WRITERk Barbara Kesel PENCILER: Ron Randall INKERS: Ron Randall & Rachel Dodson COLORIST: Perry McNamee
In the conclusion to last issue’s tale, Jonny returns to Questworld/Infinity to save the lady pilot. Freulig has at least an idea about Jonny’s connection to Infinity and wants to use him to take over, while Hadji still insists the game has gotten out of hand and wants to bring him out. Jonny’s solution is to bring Freulig out of the virtual world instead.
You know, I do see hints of an interesting story here, but not one that really works in the style of the TV show. A little more development, as I said last time, would be a benefit. I have no reason to care about “this woman”, who doesn’t even rank a name, and I don’t think Questworld works that way, meaning Freulig and his biplane shouldn’t be able to be pulled out of the virtual world. I also don’t understand why this part couldn’t have been in the previous issue, especially with how short it is.
Our second tale finds Jessie being kidnapped by Ezekiel Rage. With no way to contact Race (whom Rage wants to meet with) or Dr. Quest, Jonny and Hadji call in the FBI and help rescue Jessie. Then Race and Dr. Quest return, teasing more to the story, which we’ll see next issue.
What they got right: Storywise, at least, it seems to be a bit closer to the show than this series has been. Not because of Rage (introduced in the new show)–in fact he was just slightly off–but because it feels like a Jonny Quest adventure more so than anything since the first story arc. It’s also nice to see Jessie learning from Race and Benton and trying to escape both on her own and trying to contact her friends for a rescue. She’s smart and no “victim” character, like a modern female action series character should be.
What they got wrong: [insert obligatory Questworld character model rant here] Also, Jonny seems to be drawn more like his younger self than his older self, just taller. The artist should have watched The Real Adventures, not one of the TV movies.
Recommendation: The Ezekiel Rage story may be a saving grace since I’m close to putting everything except the first issue in the purge group. This isn’t the comic series the first story arc promised and it doesn’t really make up for it either. The second tale at least was close.
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