The Jam: Super Cool Color Injected Turbo Adventure from Hell! (1988) by Bernie Mireault
This is a book I bought at the time — I had read Mireault’s Mackenzie Queen comics, somehow, and I liked his stuff a lot. I think this special was published before any of the other Jam stuff?
I haven’t re-read this book since it was published, I think? I’ve re-read none of the 90s Jam comics either, but I did read the conclusion to the series some years back.
I’m just trying to say that I don’t actually remember all that much about the series. In my mind, it’s somehow akin to Dishman? I.e., not actually a super-hero book, but it’s got a guy in a suit running around.
But it’s mostly about relationship stuff and “real life” and stuff.
But with some ambiguously fantastic elements, like this bank teller who may or may not actually be from hell.
Oh, I’d forgotten that The Jam actually fights crime — this book is mostly about him stopping a bank robbery.
His good deed isn’t received well by the cops.
But it’s all quite amusing, and is inventively told. I really like Mireault’s line — it’s solid and chunky, but also somehow elegant.
It’s a fun little book, and serves quite well as an introduction to the series, even though we learn nothing about this guy’s “origin” story, or whether he’s “super” or not.
The Jam has a spotty publishing history. In addition to Comico and Matrix Graphics, it was also published by Dark Horse, Caliber Press, Slave Labor and Tundra. (I’ve probably forgotten some.) And then Mireault self-published a conclusion to the series later… but it’s never been collected.
Which is a shame. There’s a lot of shady things going on in the comics business, but not collecting The Jam must surely be one of the worst crimes it has committed.
The book got a nomination for best single issue at the Harvey awards.
Amazing Heroes #133, page #93:
Actually, the title of this special book
featuring Bernie Mireault’s enigmatic
urban hero says it all (or most of it). The
story is about a day in the life of The
Jam, which just happens to involve a
bank teller from hell. Confused? Creator
Bernie Mireault explains:
“First there’s a dream sequence; then
the Jammer wakes up with his girlfriend,
and things get romantic; but it’s the day
the rent is due, so he goes to the bank
and the teller from Hell gives him trou-
ble when he tries to cash a cheque; and
then bank robbers appear; and the police
chase him (Jam) even though he tackles
one of the robbers on the way out of the
bank; and he rides to the police station
in the back of the truck; and then he tries
to appeal to the crowd of witnesses for
help but gets no response. He becomes
very disappointed in humanity,” says
Mireault, “but then things get better.”
Mireault describes the Jam as “a
strong person with a twisted sense of
humor.” Like the regular Jam series
from Matrix Graphics, Super Cool Col-
or Injected Turbo Adventure From Hell
#1 is made up of light-hearted vignettes,
with each piece of the puzzle telling a
little humorous “home truth.”
The colorful Jammer will be even
more colorful in this book. “The panels”
will be painted like animation cels, re-
sulting in intense, flat color,” says
Mireault. He adds that while he’s enjoy-
ing doing the special issue for Comico
immensely, the regular Jam series will
continue to be published by Matrix
Graphics.
The tentative release date for
SCCITAFH #1 is May 1988.
-SW-
Comic Shop News Special #1, page #40:
The next is called
The Jam: Super Cool Turbo Inject-
ed Turbo Adventure#1 From Hell by
Denny Mireault. Mireault recently
completed three issues illustrating
Grendel #13-16. The Jam was origi-
nally published in black & white by
Matrix Graphics, and Comico’s will
be a full-color edition. Schreck
describes the book as “a morality
play comedy.”
Amazing Heroes #144, page #82:
Having never read any of the Jam-
mer’s adventures from Matrix
Graphics, I was completely un-
prepared for the Jam Special. I knew
Bernie’s work from Grendel, and at
times I liked it, at other times I grew
tired of it. So, I launched into the Jam
Special wondering what all the fuss
was about.
I’m still wondering, Kind of.
The story in the Special relates less
than 24 hours out of Gordie’s (the
Jam) life. He eats breakfast with his
girlfriend, goes to the bank to cash
a check to pay rent, gets involved in
a bank robbery, and eventually
becomes the Jam (on the last six)
pages). To tell you much else would
be to spoil the simple story presented.
The Jam is hip, self-aware, and
unpretentious. It’s kind of like reading
the grown-up slum version of ‘Mazing
Man, which, coming from a dedicated
‘Maze fan, is a high compliment
indeed.
The sequence with “The Bank”
Teller From Hell” alone is priceless
-well, it’s worth the price of
admission.
Fantasy Advertiser #104, page #14:
At a time when Watchmen is still a
watchword, and the ‘new realism’ seems
to be on every fan’s tongue, a book like
The Jam is a real delight because it
manages to encapsulate a cast of ‘real’
characters in a ‘real’ setting, along with
an interesting moral question and still
manages to capture a sense of sheer
entertainment that separates the truly
wonderful comics from the rest.
On the face of it, it doesn’t look like
much. Bernie Mireault’s art is at first
glance amateurish and flat, but it has
a polish and a flair that have developed
through careful nurturing. He’s an
excellent storyteller; everything flows
beautifully from scene to scene and
although the influences appear thick and
fast – hints of Watchmen, Kirby, Maus,
Kurtzman, Dark Knight, Hernandez – no-one
can be nailed down long enough to define
it, partly because it’s all mixed with
a highly original flair. It’s got
innovation and it’s got style.
The story, likewise, seems at first
sight to be one-dimensional. Guy goes to
pay the rent, stops a bank robbery and
sorts out a domestic problem or two. As
with so many things, it’s not what’s done
but how it’s done that captures the
imagination. Partly, the hero isn’t a
‘hero’, he’s just an ordinary guy like
you or me – ‘you’ being the optimum word,
since it’s all told in the second person
singular. His problems are our problems,
and his ways of tackling them are what
makes this book so much fun. He does put
on a costume towards the end, but it
doesn’t mean anything, because we already
know that this is the real world and he’s
not going to run into Vilefuckingevilman,
he’s just a bit of a jerk.
If I was forced to come up with some
way of describing The Jam, I’d compare
it to DC’s late lamented ‘ Mazing Man’,
except without the stereotypes, sitcomness
and cute artwork. The central character,
Gordie, is instantly likeable; we like
him for the ways he’s like us an the ways
that he differs from us. And he is a bit
of a jerk, but then aren’t we all?
Really, this book is wonderful. I read
it and had to read it again immediately.
There’s no dazzling cliffhanger, no
wonderful ending, just a wry smile and
a feeling of regret that this is a
bimonthly series. Oh, and the two pin-up
pages (one by Matt Wagner) are nice, too.
Lennon said that “A working class hero
is something to be” (a tag-line adopted
by The Jam) and if you can’t be one then
the next best thing is to read about one.
Bernie Mireault’s storytelling is
excellent, this first issue is excellent
and I get the feeling it’s going to get
better.
– James Wallis
I seem to be unable to find any online reviews of this book.