Image Comics reviews 5/10/23 – Junkyard Joe #6, The Ambassadors #4

Junkyard Joe #6

The worst part of this installment of Junkyard Joe is that it’s the final one…for now. As triumphant as his DC comeback has been, writer Geoff Johns crafted a superb original series that might feature some of his best work yet.

Junkyard Joe is on the run from his creator and its up to the Munn kids to keep him from being just relegated to government property again. Throughout the series, Johns has captured that E.T./Disney magic where a special entity encounters regular people who just want to keep it safe. That formula doesn’t get old and Johns shows how effective it remains here.

Artist Gary Frank remains at the top of his game with outstanding and highly detailed panels. Frank doesn’t skimp on the important elements in the action scenes, but it’s the expressive characters that help the artwork crack another level. As a core architect in this new universe with Johns and colorist Brad Anderson, Frank is delivering at/or near a career best level.

Anderson’s color work is fantastic as ever with smart lighting choices and smooth color combinations. Letterer Rob Leigh works in some stellar sound effects and sizes the dialogue up perfectly for the respective characters. The government agents talk in smaller, more muted tones while the Minn kids have bigger and bolder dialogue.

To tease future developments in the Geiger-verse, there’s a “post-credit” scene of sorts with a very tantalizing clue as what’s in store in other titles.

Every issue of Junkyard Joe has been a treat and hopefully it won’t be too long before Johns, Frank, et al. revisit him and his pals again.

Rating: 10 out of 10