Writer: Peter David

Art: Yildiray Çinar

Colors: Dee Cunniffee with Matt Milla

Letters: VC’s Ariana Maher

Cover: Cully Hamner & Jordie Bellaire

Variant Covers: Yildiray Çinar & Matt Milla; Tom Reilly; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: 3.99

Release Date: January 4th, 2023

If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Joe Fixit #1 Review.

The Dispatch

Peter David returns to Las Vegas for another 90s throwback–this time to one of his most popular creations. JOE FIXIT #1 brings back one of the Hulk’s most memorable personas, but that’s really just the beginning. Before all is said and done, David puts Joe Fixit, Spider-Man, and Kingpin together in one room. Naturally, hilarity ensues.

JOE FIXIT #1 is light on story and long on setup. The issue opens on Peter Parker in the Las Vegas airport (this story takes place immediately following Incredible Hulk 329 when Peter was in Vegas promoting a photography book). It spends its first six pages on an info dump in the form of a news magazine television show investigating the mysterious Joe Fixit, a new enforcer working for casino owner Michael Berengetti. When Peter catches sight of Kingpin walking through the airport, having just arrived, he cancels his trip home and tails the crime lord. The plot introduced is rather straightforward. Kingpin is in Vegas to enlist Berengetti’s aid in taking on the international crime syndicate the Maggia.

The plot of JOE FIXIT #1 isn’t where the fun of the issue is. It establishes what we need to do, and certainly it will be built on in future issues. But the joy of the issue is the sequence in the issue’s second half. Two big men wearing suits go into a room. Only one comes out. Sort of. In truth, both of them come out but one of them is utterly humiliated. Kingpin’s negotiation with Berengetti does not go as planned and when he threatens the casino owner, Joe Fixit steps in. A beating (rather than a fight) follows. And everyone who enjoys seeing Wilson Fisk knocked down a peg (or ten) will relish the issue’s second half.

There is a drawback here, though. David doesn’t tell us much about JOE FIXIT #1’s titular character. He does provide bare bones exposition in the beginning. But ultimately all we come to know of the character as a person is communicated in the fight with Kingpin. During that confrontation there is little more than attitude and arrogance on display.

The Art

Much like the narrative, the artistic fun of JOE FIXIT #1 is in the confrontation with Kingpin because that’s where we finally get to see, among other things, Hulk in a pinstripe suit with black and white wingtips. Çinar makes everything about the Joe Fixit character fun. There are equal parts menace and relish evident in his expressions. For readers with little to no familiarity with Joe Fixit, Çinar’s art communicates most of what they’ll need to know about the character.

The other big visual win is seeing how Kingpin fares in his fight. Joe Fixit utterly pummels the crime lord. It’s satisfying to see. The one-sided fight also serves to communicate Joe Fixit’s power. There’s no generic smashing at work, but he also isn’t holding back.

Final Thoughts

JOE FIXIT #1 is a lean issue where the narrative is concerned–a quarter of it is basic Joe Fixit exposition and almost half of it is a fight. But appreciation and for the character is ultimately driving the series. As a result the first issue doesn’t need to be more than simply a fun read to be effective. And in that regard it succeeds.

8.8/10