Creator/Writer: Morgan Iverson

Pencils/Ink: Giacoma Guido

Colors:  David Aravena

Letters: Danny J. Quick

Editor In Chief: Danny J. Quick

Publisher:  4th Wall Productions/ Short Fuse Media Group LLC

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the initial issue of LumberJax has finally come to life. Who is LumberJax? Is he simply a vigilante or the Superhero that his community has long waited for? How does LumberJax bring up the concerns of his creator Morgan Iverson? These are a few questions that this initial issue focuses on.

Visually this is a consistent comic from cover to end. The darkness of this work is portrayed wonderfully with the occasional pop in color tone here and there. The clean lines give this issue a completely professional feel, so much so that I had to check several times to verify that this was actually the first issue. This makes for a great start for the series.

As for the writing by Iverson, it is quite clear that he wanted to touch on a social issue which plagues the black community – police brutality, providing a brief spotlight on the how both sides are at odds within their feelings on the issue. Seriously, no spoilers there. This issue highlights what LumberJax is fighting against yet is unclear exactly who LumberJax is. Is he simply a vigilante or is he a super-powered hero in the vein of those that sometimes fall victim to the bullies of the world? What motivates this man of the people? Who can he call ally? These are a few questions I was left with after reading this issue.

Iverson and his team have done a nice job of casting their initial hook into the reader. These questions leave you truly wanting more. Leaving you anticipating the next issue. Back in the day, I would have been caught making weekly trips to the comic book store looking for the answers to my questions, which would be bad for my wallet but great for the LumberJax team. The foundation for this story has been nicely laid, and the issue kicks off to a good start. Jax is also is a good example of the wonderful potential for using Kickstarter for campaigns of new creator-owned comics. I hope to see a wonderful evolution of the story of LumberJax.

Judith Joachim-Swanson is an aspiring writer. She is an independent, freelance blogger, and you can find her other work here. She is also a self-published indie writer of Cigarette (The Catcher Series Book 1) which incorporate a steampunk Sci-fi theme.