Lumberjax #1 from 4th Wall Productions (A review in the sounds of JUSTICE)

LumberJax #1 is finally here!

It feels like it’s been FOREVER since we had Morgan on the show to promote the Kickstarter for LumberJax #1…let me check the tapes… Oh man, yeah, looks like it was back on November 22, 2017 on the 4th Signal Boost we did! Check it out below! If you want to check out the other episodes Morgan’s been on, just click here!

Ok, now on to the book, which you can buy right here: https://bit.ly/2LEyby7, Morgan was kind enough to send us a digital copy to read and review ahead of it’s official release. So the first thing I did was read it as fast as I could. Morgan painted such an incredible picture for this book back when I talked to him in November that I’ve been waiting for this to drop since then.

I’ll be honest, I was a little worried it would be a little too much in my face with social issues, police brutality, and black lives matter. Not because I think those issues are lesser than anything or that’s what I expect when I read a comic by a black creator. Not at all. When Morgan went over the book with me the one thing that excited me was how he was going to tackle the issues that are so near and dear to him, and if it would come across in a positive or negative way.

This story wastes no time dropping you into the universe. You are put right into the middle of Jax and a group of kids beating up, and looks like they might be trying to murder, this kid. At first I didn’t like this scene, and I actually think you are not supposed to like this scene. No one wants to see an adult beat up a group of kids. However this sets up the world as one (which you know, is real life in some places around America) where kids are involved with war and gang like violence.

No one enjoys that.

At this point in the story, we are only a few pages in, and I’m hooked. Is this going to be a revenge story? Is Jax taking on gang culture in the city? WHERE IS THIS GOING! MORGAN YOU GOTTA TELL ME!

The next scene we meet Inspector Derek Trench driving home with his wife (I’m assuming, they don’t say if wife or girlfriend) and get’s pulled over by some scrupulous police. The scene is exaggerated to show the importance of what is going on, to really set the stage for the world. If the first scene with the kids didn’t tell you the dangers of this world. the scene where a police inspector is getting roughed up by other police offices for what is clearly because of his skin color.

I’m not going to give you a play by play of this book, I’m not going to ruin the twist at the end of the book because it’s good. What I feel I should do know is give you a little background on me and why I word the things in this the way I do. I grew up outside of Seattle, Washington. I’ve lived in this area for 36 years. This are is very liberal, very accepting, and in general we simply don’t see things like this around here. If I was a person who didn’t pay attention to the news around our country, read the left and the right, and try to stay middle on the emotional spectrum when finding the truth, the rest of this book would seem like dark fantasy.

But I do pay attention. I do seek out news from sources as I believe from the left and right you will find more of the truth. Not always right, but don’t get your news from one source.

I can absolutely see this happening in parts of the country that don’t have the same acceptance of race, religion, sexual orientation, and people as I’m accustomed to (to note, it’s not perfect, if you look you will absolutely find racists and bigots here, it’s just not the ‘norm’). It’s crazy to think that someone could look at someone else and instantly hate them or think of them as lesser just because they are black, or gay, or a woman, or Muslim, or *not white*.

When you hear about a book that is going to touch on social issues of the black man, that’s going to talk about police injustice, and how to get justice, your first thought is “This book is going to hate on white people”. Followed by “How is this book going to HELP push the message if it just is a love story to the hate on white people mantra?”

Well, it’s pretty easy. Don’t hate. Push a story that’s trying to create equality and it’s not about black vs white. It’s equality vs oppression.

Morgan has done a fantastic job of setting up this world in a single issue that leaves you wanting more, that touches on a lot of issues that are near and dear to a lot of peoples hearts. He throws in little nods to Trayvon Martin and Philandro Castille, which is handled well and touching.

Final verdict?

Pick it up for yourself and give it a read, it’s a solid offering.