Double Jumpers is a new title from Action Lab Entertainment. At first blush this series appears to mix the fantasy world of a role-playing game with virtual reality platform gaming. And while it does live up to that, this issue delivers so much more. One thing is for sure, this is a story that is sure to please both gamers and comic lovers alike.
The plot is about a group of video game programmers who are designing the hottest new VR game. But, they are over budget, behind schedule, and after disappointing feedback at E3, the project may be in danger. In an attempt to iron out the bugs in their game and hopefully save their jobs, they pull an all night testing session. But, things go awry when they accidentally end up stuck inside the characters of the video. Conversely, their avatars in the game end up running around Las Vegas during the largest video game convention. I don’t want to go into any more detail because you really have to read the issue to get the full effect.
I was immediately hooked by the story Dave Dwonch (Space-Time Condominium) penned. It draws you in immediately with it’s rather colorful language. The characters he created are well written and interesting, both the humans and the game characters. This is primarily a dialogue driven story and that doesn’t disappoint, the exchanges between the characters are golden.
Art provided by Bill Blankenship (Thunderchickens) is nothing short of astounding. Character design is pretty standard, but extremely well done. One thing I did notice, and was a little surprised by, was a female character in a fantasy setting who wasn’t wearing a chainmail bikini. Seems that female characters can be fully clothed in a medieval setting (what a novel idea!). Details are impressive, especially facial expressions. Blankenship does a terrific job conveying emotions through his characters expressions, in fact he is one of the best I’ve seen at this.
This is a great story. I am extremely interested in how this is going to play out and I have a feeling that the gender aspect of a couple characters is going to make for an hilarious side plot. One aspect I really enjoyed was the XP counter that pops up during the fight scenes, it gave the comic a real video game feel. And make sure to have Google translate ready if you don’t speak Spanish as there is very humorous dialogue from a maid.
If you like fantasy, gaming, or just humorous stories, pick this title up when it comes out. Make sure to tell your local comic shop to pre-order it so you can make sure to get a copy. In fact, Action Lab is running a promotion so that any LCS that orders 3 copies will receive a free sketch card, check it out here, but that promotion ends March 30th so make sure you tell them soon. This is definitely one title you won’t want to miss out on.
Art: 9/10
Script: 9/10
Parental concern: You can see on the cover it’s for mature readers, and I agree with that.
Double Jumpers goes on sale in May.
