Jersey Devil #8
This issue of the Jersey Devil begins in the deep woods of Winslow, New
Jersey. J.D. is living there and has allowed a meth lab to set up in his woods as long
they "dont dump the chemicals and if [they] dont kill any livin
thing." As tough as J.D. is he seems to be a tad naive about the nature of criminals.
The conflict arises when a reporter stumbles across the meth lab and is caught in the act
taking pictures. The crooks want to kill him right there but J.D. wont let them. To
cut to the chase, J.D. is double-crossed and he ends up being dumped in a place called the
Blue Hole (a water-filled crater most likely created by a meteor strike back in New
Jerseys primordial past). Unfortunately for the crooks the Blue Hole is also home to
some nasty extraterrestrial parasites that can animate corpses. What follows is a
rollicking zombie tale as various people (living and dead) in the Pines are overcome and
possessed by the worms. J.D. and the surviving crooks must stop the afflicted from
escaping the Pines and spreading the parasites to he outside world.
Once again, Tony DiGerolamo brings a solid, action-packed tale thats complete in this issue. Tantalizing hints to the Jersey Devils origin are dropped as J.D. discovers that one of the crooks is really an undercover cop who knows J.D.s brother, Sam, also a cop. The issue closes with the promise of a tale next issue of the future Jersey Devil of 2135 A.D.
The artwork by Dom Lagrutta, Jr. and Donn Smith is solid with just a hint of manga influence. The action flows well from panel to panel and I never had any problems making out details.
Sales of the Jersey Devil have brought about a format change from comic-sized to digest-sized. The story and artwork dont suffer, however, so please do consider giving this series a shot if youre a fan of off-beat action comics.
Want to read some Jersey Devil comics but cant find them anywhere? Write to South Jersey Rebellion Productions, P.O. Box 439, Stratford, NJ 08084 or visit their web site at www.thefixsite.com.