Posted in: Comics | Tagged: action, aftershock, fu jitsu, jai nitz, sci-fi, superheroes, wesley st. claire

Fu Jitsu #4 Review: Takes Its Own Ridiculousness Far Too Seriously

Fu Jitsu unleashes the might of the August Inferno Cannon mecha upon Robert Wadlow, the World's Tallest Man. This is a weapon stolen from an alternate dimension with a vast array of hyper-advanced weaponry. Will this be enough to bring down Wadlow, his Atomic Katana, and his clairvoyance?

Fu Jitsu #3 left me more perplexed than anything. The narration's detachment from the wild events being presented made it quite hard to keep track of things.

This issue doesn't have that problem, but it does replace it with an unending myriad of others. It also removes any of the Golden Age reminiscence.

Fu Jitsu is a truly annoying character. He's smug yet detached. He has a quite obnoxious sense of humor. All this serves a character who is trying to do the "right thing," whatever that is in this bizarre reality. However, that doesn't stop him from being thoroughly unlikable.

Robert Wadlow is akin to a Dragonball Z villain in his thorough indestructibility. The August Inferno Cannon mecha has all of these insane sci-fi weapons that have little-to-no effect on him. That's really anticlimactic given the huge build-up the weapon receives.

The tone is another killer. This comic takes itself far more seriously than it should. Yes, there are a lot of joking and sarcastic one-liners, but that doesn't change the fact that we're supposed to take the events presented at face value. That is a cardinal sin when we're dealing with mechas, Atomic Katanas, centuries-old beings in children's bodies, and the villain being Robert Wadlow working off of prophecies given to him by P.T Barnum.

The constant epigraphs become quite insufferable in their own right, and they further hammer in this interminably tone.

Wesley St. Claire's artwork is quite good. It has a kinetic, cartoony, and high-flying vibe to it which would be a perfect fit in a light-hearted and fun comic. However, it feels wasted on this comic that wants us to take its ridiculous plot so seriously. Maria Santaolalla's bright and eye-catching coloring suffers the same problem. It fits St. Claire's artwork very well, but it doesn't fit this plot.

Fu Jitsu #4 is a comic crumbling under its own weight. It has an impressively contrived plot full of historical figures and zany circumstances which wants its reader to believe that this is all supposed to be high drama worthy of being taken deadly seriously. It shouldn't. I cannot recommend this one. Give it a pass.

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