The Complete Jon Sable, Freelance: Volume 1

The trend of reprinting comics from the 1980s continues with this adventure series starring Sable, a mercenary willing to act as a private eye or bodyguard if the money is right and the job promises excitement. The story follows him as he meets his wife at the 1972 Olympics, and the two move to Rhodesia to lead safaris. After ivory poachers massacre Sable's family, Sable seeks (and mostly gets) revenge and eventually supports himself as a mercenary during the Rhodesian civil war. After the war, he returns to the U.S. and begins writing children's books under a pseudonym. While this premise certainly stretches credibility, the comics themselves are quite entertaining. Grell is a good thriller writer; he holds readers' interest, and his dynamic art recalls that of Neal Adams and Alex Raymond. The stories are dated (Ronald Reagan hires Sable for one job), and the "battlemask" that Sable wears adds an unnecessarily superheroish touch to the stories. But this tale works in the same way a thriller like The Bourne Identity does: it features an unstoppable hero, realism in the weaponry and settings, lots of beautiful women and a combination of action and detection. (May)