Writer: Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs
Artist: Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs
Colorist: Brad Simpson & Felipe Sobreiro
Cover Artists: Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs, Norm Rapmund & Brian Reber
Publisher: Image
Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 29, 2023
Jack (“Don’t call me Crossjack”) Xaver has a new mission. Farmington Police Chief Brian Bucholz asked him to investigate a mysterious drowning death. What will Jack learn when he visits the Star Tribe commune? Let’s leap into Local Man #7 and find out!
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Story
The police found Mackenzie Cheng on dry land. Yet she had water in her lungs. The 16-year-old was one of Farmington’s future stars. The Star Tribe camped in Black River State Park. It’s the nearest source of water. The hippies won’t talk to the police. But before Bucholz sends Jack in, he warns: ask about Mackenzie and nothing else!
As Jack walks along the river, a voice calls out. He falls into the water. Spotting two men, he throws billiard balls at them. A man named Coochie Coo awakens him. In the yurt called the House Of Hearts, Coochie suggests Jack’s superpower isn’t his aim but his inner voice. Jack takes the hippie’s advice. Disregarding Bucholz’s orders, Jack visits Craig Massen, another youth on the poster in Inga’s bakery café. Perhaps Craig can give him some clues regarding Mackenzie’s mysterious death.
In Local Man #3, Jack met with Stacy Wohl. She no longer used the name Frightside, but she mourned Hodag’s death. The villain-turned-author invoked a demon to question it about her former teammate’s murder, but someone killed her during the ceremony, allowing the demon to enter our world. Will Jack discover Stacy’s demon in Local Man #7? Where else might his investigations lead? After the sham of his Superhero career, Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs’ ordinary hero embarks on a mind-bending and unsanctioned investigation.
Art
As Jack walks along the river, ghostly hands embrace him. Water arcs around him as he falls, suggesting a time vortex or the Twilight Zone. The hands clutch his neck, while circles and worms evoke bubbles and currents. Then the hearts tattooed on dreadlocked Coochie’s chest mimic the hearts adorning the interior and exterior walls of the commune’s love shack. While hippies dance outside by campfires, Coochie’s eyes glaze as he puffs his smoking joint. Yet when Jack and his dog Pepper leave, the campfires blaze unattended.
Purple, orange, and blue spin like pinwheels and flow like currents through the evening sky as Jack’s inner voice guides him. Brad Simpson’s bright colors enhance scenes of Jack grabbing white dialogue balloons and bumping into wiggling panel borders. Softer colors adorn memories of Chief Brian Bucholz’s chat with Jack in Local Man #7. Greens, purples, and browns dominate Inga’s kitchen. As she texts Jack and tells him that Brian’s not home, the darker shades reveal highlights and shadows and suggest that Inga has the lights set low.
The explicit texts on Jack and Inga’s phones feature smaller lettering. Dialogue balloons feature a mix of small lowercase and larger-size uppercase black text. Sound effects attend Jack’s dip in the river and when he follows in Mackenzie’s footsteps. Yet my favorite panel is when the balloons–like the river splash–circle our small-town hero.
A short second story in Local Man #7, with art by Tim Seeley and colors from Felipe Sobreiro, provides a ’90s-style look back on Jack’s superhero adventures. Cartoon or Children’s Book-style illustrations featuring mono-shading follow Inga’s attempts to help Farmington shine. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Seeking to atone for the mistakes that cost him his glamorous superhero career, Jack investigates a mysterious drowning. Yet the sham Jack perpetuated to further his career seems slight compared to the compromises his former girlfriend Inga has made to save her struggling town. Local Man #7 asks how much one should sacrifice to help others and protect ideals when others no longer care.