3 out of 5

Jim Lawson is a funny cat.  Not that I’m crackin’ up while reading any of his works – this, Dino Island, his Turtles stuff – I mean, he hams it up plenty, and there are some chuckles, but it all feels mostly a little too friendly to really get you laughing… although that was part of the Mirage charm…  So Jim: I mean, you had a few guys that rotated through the Turtles stables who found work elsewhere or came to Turtles from elsewhere – Michael Zulli, Matt Howarth, and Pete and Kevin obviously didn’t need to do much once they hit it big – but Jim seemed to totally stay in-house.  I’ve only ever seen his work on Turtles and/or Mirage stuff, and it’s weird because sure, he has this clunky, very particular style (and it is in part what I identify with the Turtles, since he drew some of the Archie stuff I grew up on), but there are plenty of ‘off’ artists who make a splash with the kids, and I bet Jim could’ve done the same if he had gone beyond his little world.  Once he got the beats down, he’s an excellent panelist, and his compositions are to die for when he’s got the time to go to town, just this badass combo of extra details and blocky fore-figures that makes my eyes salivate.

But whatever the reason, he came and went with Mirage.

And when said publisher was stretching out to books beyond the Turtles, Jim had a couple creator titles, one of which was Bade Biker, a little 4-issue mini about a mutated frog who is discovered by a biker dude, and together they “combat” either other mutated things (because it was an alien meteor crash that caused the mutations) or, uh, angry bikers.

It’s all very quick looking, not much in the way beyond basic figures and direction, and Jim states in the opening book that he just needs cash to buy a bike, so there’s definitely a “sprang from nowhere” feel to things, but he’s such a funny guy… with his so-particular style and his hokey-jokey writing sensibilities that aren’t exactly kid friendly, but aren’t going to wow any Watchmen readers at the same time….  The pitch is off-kilter, and Jim presents the ideas like they’re off-kilter, but it’s drawn and written with such a classic comics homely feel that you’re half-smiling with puzzlement while reading it, trying to figure out who exactly this smear of pencils and words is intended for.  But you’re reading it, aren’t you?  And you’re bagging it, and boarding it, and occasionally you’ll take it out to read it again, to wonder what was up with Jim Lawson, and I guess it was meant for people like you and me.   (Maybe just me?)