Title: Truth, Justin, and the American Way Volume(s): 1 Auther(s): Scott Kurtz, Aaron Williams, Guiseppe Ferrario Format: Unflipped; Left-to-Right Publisher: Image Comics MSRP: $14.99 Genre(s): Action/Comedy Rated: Teen (13+) Buy From Amazon.com

CONSUMER ADVICE

Parents will have very few problems with "Truth, Justin, and the American Way." None of the language is grotesk, Justin is a pretty likable main character, and the violence is more cartoony then it is life threatening. Fans of Scott Kurtz's "PVP" are sure to have a lot of fun with this series, as it displays his knack for writing good character situations.

I am a product of the eighties. That is, I’m a product of the eighties in that I was born in them. Looking at my life I was only aware of my existence for a couple of years in the eighties, and I lived the nineties more thoroughly. Still, I have a fondness for eighties, because a time that gave us “Back To The Future,” Roger Rabbit, and The Simpsons couldn’t have been all that bad. Yes, those are all movies. I’d use some comics in my examples, but I think comics were big during those years only if the name Garfield was on them. When Scott Kurtz made the announcement for “Truth, Justin, and the American Way” on his website, I remember him writing that he wanted to bring an eighties nostalgia in the series. When the world got it’s first glimpse of Justin I think many people were thinking of Michael J. Fox, and ultimately one of the covers for this sic issue mini-series would even have Justin spoofing the “Back To The Future” poster.

Justin also acts an awful lot like Michael J. Fox for that matter, in the sense that he’s a nice guy who wants to have fun, but trouble seems to follow him. Where the comparison ends is that where old Mikey knew how to turn the ladies on, Justin is more like a lost puppy looking for guidance when it comes to girls. Strangely enough, Justin is lucky enough to have a fiancee named Bailey Smithers, who loves Justin but has problems with his friends, lack of responsibility, job, car, and forgetfulness. The fact that Bailey never becomes an overbearing nag is a testament to how well writer Scott Kurtz writes character interactions. But we expect him to write good characters, he’s been doing it for years while working on his online comic “PVP.” There is also much slapstick humor in this series, which we also expect from Kurtz as well.

Most of the slapstick humor comes when Justin accidentally puts on a dorky looking suit and cape, which gives him super-strength, the ability to fly, and I hear it makes an excellent fashion statement of the eighties, but never mind. If there’s a suit with special powers you can bet a government agent who wants those powers for his own glory can’t be far behind, and indeed, Federal Agent Baxter McGee is hot on Justin’s trail, doing everything he can to get the suit off Justin. Yes, this is all standard operation in terms of story plotting we expect from comics these days, but I actually found myself more interested in the characters that are likable and true. Justin, Bailey, Bailey’s best friend Blair (who disapproves of Justin), and all of Justin’s beer drinking friends. These characters make the series work.

They are fun. They are realistic. They have human traits we can relate to. One nice little touch involves Bailey having an argument with Justin about the wedding. She is clearly frustrated with him, when he runs off to his bachelor party. Before he leaves though he turns around and gives Bailey a kiss on the cheek, which makes her blush just a little bit. I like little touches like those. They aren’t much to look at, yet they speak volumes about the characters personalities and relationships with each other. Characters can be developed without much dialog, and while “Truth, Justin, and the American Way” is full of smart and interesting dialog, it also has subtle touches that make the series that much more engrossing. But it’s not just the little touches in the artwork that I marveled, it was the entire canvas.

Like any great work of art, this work has little special treasures to be found upon closer inspection, but when you step back the bigger picture is just as interesting. With the exception of actually buying a comic book from the eighties, no modern product has captured the look and feel of the eighties quite like “Truth, Justin, and the American Way” has. I looked at the character designs and smiled as they reminded me of a different era from long ago, yet not that far away. The color palate was a joy to absorb as the colors are used effectively in creating the atmosphere of the world in this series. I even enjoyed the props in the background, which are another one of those subtle touches I’ve been gushing about throughout this entire review.

From the mood, to the character designs, to the writing, everything creates this feeling of a different time period that may forever be lost. That’s why is does sort of bug me that Kurtz couldn’t think of anything else to do with the climax of the series other then to bring a lizard alien into the story to try and reclaim his suit, all while the government agent presses on relentlessly. There are so many other interesting aspects to these characters, their lives, and their world, that to turn this into a standard superhero fix seems to be robbing the story of some of it’s purity. It’s understandable, I guess, since this is what pretty much all comic companies ask for in almost every series they produce, but it’s still a shame to see it happen. If there is to be more “Truth, Justin, and the American Way,” I would strongly recommend Kurtz drop the suit, lose the government agent, and focus on the characters everyday lives.

Kurtz’s real gift has always been writing good characters in real life situations that are funny as well as touching. I’ve never liked Kurtz’s indulgsion of writing World of Warcraft comics, because I don’t really find them all that interesting. About the superpowered suit and battle for freedom in this book, I think I could say I find less interesting. Still, everything else in this series is too good to let these things get in the way, and to be completely fair it’s not like these story elements are terrible, just unnecessary. But hey, it’s a start. As of yet Kurtz has yet to announce if we’ll see anymore installments of “Truth, Justin, and the American Way.” But if we do see more, something tells me it will be the start of something special.