When the US government sends a robot into the firefight to assess the ground situation in Vietnam, Private Muddy Davis and his company welcome the new Joe after initial hesitancy. Fifty years later, Muddy, who has immortalized his memories of the robot Joe through a comic strip, hangs up his proverbial boots. But the past is not yet ready to let go of the ex-soldier. Created by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, Junkyard Joe #2 features colors from Brad Anderson and letters from Rob Leigh.
Set in the year 2022, Junkyard Joe #2 shows the life of Muddy Davis, now a famous cartoonist with waning popularity thanks to the declining number of newspaper readers. Muddy has had a full life. He got to marry his childhood sweetheart and grow old with her. But horrific images of his time in Vietnam flash before his eyes. Since his wife’s death, they have been getting progressively worse. As Muddy bids goodbye to his creation, Junkyard Joe, he wonders whether Joe is real or a figment of his imagination. Then suddenly, the robot soldier shows up on his doorstep.
The opening of Junkyard Joe #2 focuses on the daily activities of an elderly Muddy Davis, whom readers last saw as a sprightly young soldier with a soft heart. But the years have hardened him and pushed him to reclusiveness. Johns juxtaposes the protagonist’s quiet disposition against an overlay of voicemails and news stories that provide exposition. Naturally, this issue moves at a slow, melancholy pace, as if time has stopped in the Davis household. But all that changes when Joe steps back into Muddy’s life. Suddenly, there is an influx of intrigue and tension that pushes the characters to the edge and takes hold of the readers’ attention. The issue doesn’t dive too far into the central mystery, but Johns does great work expanding the world of Junkyard Joe.
The legendary duo of Gary Frank and colorist Brad Anderson is back in another Geoff Johns story, but with a change in scenery that comes with its own solace and solitude. Frank’s bold lines and prickly inks cram the house with old pictures, essentially making the book a walk down memory lane. As if the trauma of losing loved ones is not enough to convey through written words, the artwork dwells on scathing images of war, the likes of which are tormenting to experience, much less dream about. Anderson douses the book in earthy tones, leaving the primary colors for contrast. From bloodstains on the snow to a fun Sunday comic strip, the book oozes with emotion.
Junkyard Joe #2 is still in its formative stage. But its slow-burning pace allows the pressure to build up, adding to the insidious sense of oncoming danger. There are subtle parallels between the family that moves in next door and Muddy’s own sedentary life. Junkyard Joe #2 ends with a well-crafted shocking cliffhanger that comes out of nowhere, just like Joe himself, hitting readers with another month-long waiting period for the resolution.
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