4 out of 5

There is one usage of the phrase “getting Jiggy” with something, but I don’t think this was a purposeful reference, so we’ll give it a pass.

As set up in the written-over-a-span-of-years reprint issues, Charlie Grant, aka Mr. Jigsaw, has ther ability to control his individual molecules independently, which, in comic book think, is translated as a hero who can separate and operate his limbs at will.  It’s not super strength or flight, but with some cheeky ingenuity, it’s enough to baffle most crooks – and the occasional mad scientist, or pirate – to pop off an arm or a leg and send it punching or kicking their way.  And for the most part, this is also enough to fuel writer Fortier’s imagination for a small handful of issues, inserting his co-creation, with capable artist Gary Kato, into low-stakes hijinx that are written with such pleasant earnestness that it’s hard not to cheer along, even when the actual ideas are less than stellar.  Mr. Jigsaw’s small world of friends and community assist this homegrown charm; when Fortier tries to “expand” Jigsaw’s world into a slightly larger cast when Charlie goes to college, some of that magic dissipates – we’re not as connected with these characters.  This, perhaps coincidentally, coincides with larger printing time gaps between issues, and maybe not coincidentally, feels almost immediately whisked away – that earnest rush of the initial issues returns in full – when the last couple tales (at this point in time) in issues 13 and 14 (the latter scripted by Kato), bring us back to the initial set of characters and type of Archie-esque comic fun that wooed us at the start.

Here’s hoping Fortier and Kato have some more tales to tell, but if not, the existing batch – while some are better than others – are a well-rounded and supremely enjoyable and rereadable batch of art and word goodness.