Jericho Season 3
The Latest: No news yet on when Issue #4 will hit the stands. Last I heard (back in June) the colorist was working on it, but it’s been all quiet since. I will pass along any updates as soon as I hear anything new. -JJJ
Read My Full Rundown on Each Issue:
Issue #1
Issue #2
Issue #3
Jericho Lives!!! Jericho Season 3: Civil War is a comic book put out by Devil’s Due Publishing that continues the story from the television show that originally aired on CBS. The comic book picks up the story right from where the series ended after Season 2 as Jake and Hawkins flee from the Allied States of America with one of the nuclear warheads intended to be used in the initial attack on the United States. The series comes from the same production team that worked on the television show and is written by several of the series writers. On this page, I will provide a full rundown on each issue as it comes out which will include a detailed synopsis and my comments on the issue. You can buy back issues of the comic from the publisher at their website. You also order the most current issue and pre-order the trade paperback at TFAW.com.
-John J. Joex
Download this page as a pdf file from Axiom’s Edge To Go
WARNING, SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
Synopsis: The issue opens with six military jets from the ASA infiltrating Texas airspace in preparation for a sneak attack. Then we cut to Jake who is recalling the events that brought him to Texas to assist in a stand against the ASA’s attempts to spread their yoke across the entire country. He recalls the nuclear attacks on 23 cities that brought the nation to shambles and isolated the town of Jericho from the rest of the country. Then we see Hawkins’ recollections of his involvement in what has transpired previously. He had worked as a double agent who’s job it was to infiltrate the terrorist cell and he had taken and hidden one of the bombs intended for the initial attack. Their recollections come together as their thoughts drift to the ASA which wants to control the entire country and is currently on the verge of civil war with the eastern states with Texas as the wildcard. Then we go to a meeting at Lackland Airforce Base between the Texas leaders and representatives of the United States. It seems that the US is not quite ready to stand up to an attack from the ASA and they need Texas on their side (they claim the state is still part of the union). They also need “something else” to help stand against the ASA, though they do not know what that is. Hawkins may have an idea though, as he gets a message from John Smith asking for help. At that moment, though, the ASA fighters arrive at Lackland and launch their attack, destroying the facility as well as the nearby oil fields. ASA leaders communicate with each other applauding the success and plan on contacting the existing US government in Columbus Ohio with an offer of surrender. We then switch briefly to the town of Jericho where Major Beck is monitoring the information on the attacks. He receives a message on his cell phone then passes information along to the resistance leaders in the town that Jake and Hawkins are still alive but they are not coming home yet. The issue ends with Hawkins telling Jake that with Texas crippled from the attack, they must head into New Mexico (ASA territory) to free John Smith who is apparently a captive. Jake asks why and Hawkins explains that they will need him because he helped build the beast that is the ASA and now he can help dismantle it.
Comments: I was a big fan of the original CBS show. I watched every episode of the series, bought both seasons on DVD, signed the petitions asking CBS to keep the show on the air and even joined in on the “peanut drive” when fans sent tons of nuts to CBS after the network pulled the plug on Jericho following its first season. So I know the story and I am familiar with the level of quality that it maintained throughout its run.
The comic book reads very much like an episode from the series, in fact the first issue may be too much like an episode. I found it a bit confusing to follow at times and had to reread several pages. I can see where the script here would work well as a television episode, but it does not flow as as well in comic book format. Still this is a relatively minor quibble and did not detract too much from the story and I believe the writers will correct this as they get more accustomed to writing for comics.
All in all, issue #1 gives us a strong start to a series that should have a promising run and that will carry on the story of the television while maintaining the level of quality that fans will expect.
Leave your comments on this issue and/or the comic book series in general below.
Synopsis: Jake and Hawkins enter a refugee camp at the border of Texas and Mexico intent on passing into the Allied States of America. They know that if they go through the normal channels it will take a week or more and they can’t risk waiting that long because they could be recognized since there are posters proclaiming them as terrorists all around. They befriend a Native American boy who puts them in contact with a man who can produce forged paperwork for them. This man recognizes Hawkins because he has been monitoring all of the recent activity and notices from the authorities. He agrees to help, even though Hawkins has nothing to trade for his services, because his wife and kids live back east and he does not want them involved in the impending war. He gives Hawkins the papers hoping that he and Jake can help avert the looming conflict. Unfortunately for Hawkins, Jake and the boy become involved in a bar brawl which brings the attention of the authorities in their direction. They head to the bus leaving the camp hoping they can still slip on, but find it too closely watched. They still manage to escape from the camp, though, by sneaking underneath the bus and holding on as it drives out. And even though they managed to get into New Mexico, news of their movements makes its way it to Thomas Valente in the ASA.
Meanwhile, in Jericho Major Beck and his co-plotters are monitoring the other ASA military divisions stationed in Kansas and weighing their options for convincing them to withdraw their support from President Tomarchio. A Major Patrella of the ASA is arriving in Jericho that day and he is highly respected in the new country’s military. Beck believes that if they can convince him to stand with them, then many of the other divisions would follow. Patrella comes to Jericho to see what methods Beck used to quell the resistance in that town. He interviews several of the locals and also asks if they know the whereabouts of Hawkins and Jake. During his interviews, Patrella talks with Dale Turner and asks how he has managed to keep his supplies coming into the store; a conversation which makes Dale feel threatened. During all of this, Stanley and Mimi also find out that she is pregnant. As Patrella’s interviews continue, Beck decides it is time to show him the evidence of the conspiracy that caused the nuclear attack. He has Patrella called away to his office where he shows him the information about the original plot. Patrella then decides to leave Jericho but tells Beck that he will think long and hard about what he has seen. On the outskirts of town, Patrella’s vehicle is stopped by a truck blocking the road and he is shot dead. We then find that it was Dale who had him killed.
Comments: Issue #2 continues from the setup established in the inaugural issue of the series and packs in a lot of story across its 22 pages. Hawkins and Jake are still on the run and Jake is still attracting trouble wherever he goes. Meanwhile the people of Jericho are still plotting against the ASA in the hopes that they can convince the military operations in that area to stand down from using violence. This issue really had the feel of an episode from the series and delivered a more satisfying story than the first issue which seemed to pass through its 22 pages too quickly. However, that issue was necessary for setting up what would follow in the current issue and beyond. This issued also flowed better as the writers appear to be getting more comfortable with the comic book format. I enjoyed this installment (though I found the escape method Hawkins and Jake used a bit far-fetched) and have high hopes that the series will manage to maintain its level of quality
Leave your comments on this issue and/or the comic book series in general below.
Synopsis: Jericho Thread: Eric and his mom await the arrival of Emmett Green, her brother his uncle, who is coming to town from the eastern states for Eric’s wedding. When he arrives on the bus he comments to the two about the number of ASA checkpoints he had to go through to get there. Also arriving on the bus is Skylar who had gone to New York looking for her parents with no success. However, she tells Dale that she managed to work a deal for some medical supplies that he can sell at a huge profit while still undercutting J&R. We then see Emmett and Gail reminiscing about Johnston while paying respects at his grave site before switching to the wedding where Stanley is standing in for Jake as Eric’s best man. The wedding goes off without a hitch, but during the reception Emmett stands to make a toast and instead berates the people of Jericho for accepting the presence of the ASA. This nearly leads to a brawl, but Gray Anderson steps in to diffuse the situation. Emmett leaves with Gail and he tells her Johnston would have never stood for this, but she rebukes his criticisms and tells him he does not understand the situation. Emmett tells Gail that the people of Jericho have gotten too comfortable and that “it comes with a cost.” Then we see someone hanging up a recruiting poster for the ASA army.
New Mexico Thread: Jake and Hawkins, who had jumped a train, arrive in a deserted town. There, they meet up with Chavez, Hawkins’ previous CIA contact who has been working undercover in the ASA military. He reveals a helicopter which they will use to break into the facility where John Smith is being held captive. We then see the helicopter approaching a military prison but it fails to acknowledge a radio summons. It then crashes and as rescue vehicles with military personnel arrive on the scene Hawkins and Jake and their team jump them. They use the ambulance to enter the prison as Hawkins holds the driver at gun point. Once inside, they immediately focus on the task of freeing John Smith as quickly as possible. They force their way into the control room and determine Smith’s location but alarms begin to sound indicating their presence has been detected. Hawkins then flips a switch opening the gates to all the cells allowing the prisoners to escape and provide a distraction. Hawkins and Jake make their way to Smith’s cell and as they burst in he quips that they must have received his message.
Comments: Yet another excellent issue and I have to say that this series has really exceeded my expectations so far and has done a magnificent job of carrying on the feel of the television series. As each segment plays out, I can just see and feel the original actors leaping off the page. In fact, this issue really made me regret once again that CBS cancelled the show because the hour long format would have allowed them to expand on the stories relegated to only 22 pages in the comic book. Still, the writers make the most of those pages and cram in a ton of story while also succeeding in not making us feel they are throwing too much at us at once (like what we saw with the second season because they were trying to get too much into only seven episodes). And Alejandro F. Giralbo’s artwork continues to excel as well. He does a fantastic job of capturing not just the likeness of the original actors but also the mannerisms of the characters they portrayed. I just can’t say enough good about this series and if you are a Jericho fan who has not started following it yet, it’s time to jump on board.
Leave your comments on this issue and/or the comic book series in general below.
Coming in Issue #4: The Story of John Smith Revealed!
Date: April 10, 2010