Despite having a fondness for James Bond movies and shows like 24, I’ve never been able to get into espionage comics easily. And, as hard as I’ve tried, I can’t really pick up on Where is Jake Ellis? in a decent fashion. I would suggest to those who wish to read the series to first read its previous companion, Who is Jake Ellis?, so that it can be understand in a better fashion. I know that I could have benefitted from it before I reviewed this issue and wish I had done so.
Summary
Jake Ellis is recovering in the Bethesda Naval Hospital, with a multitude of government and military agencies interested in his activities and knowledge. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, a former CIA operative, Jon Moore, is routed from his hiding spot and forced to head to the American Embassy to seek sanctuary but is followed and shot at by forces that mean him harm. Back in Bethesda, Jake is aware of the situation in Bangkok and breaks out of his hospital room to better deal with the situation; he provides strategic assistance to Moore, giving suggestions and warnings at just the right time.
Good Observations
There isn’t a lot that really brings appeal to me to read this comic or the issues that will follow. While the action sequences flow nicely, and they are consistent with what I suspect would be decent hand-to-hand training, there’s not much of actual “meat” to the storyline here; it is pretty bare bones, the only enticing feature being the connection that Jake Ellis and Jon Moore have with one another. It may be enough to keep some coming back for the next issue, but I don’t think I’m going to be one of them.
Bad Observations
Because it relies extensively on previous knowledge of Who is Jake Ellis?, the comic doesn’t allow for an easy transition for a new reader. While a lot of the action sequences aren’t hard to figure out, the fact that there is so much revolving around the previous storyline makes it very difficult to understand what exactly is going on in this issue.
The Future
Perhaps some of this was answered in the previous storyline, but what exactly is the connection with Moore and Ellis? Is that going to be further explored in the next issue? And, why exactly are there a bunch of guys after both of them? It feels a bit like another Jason Bourne-type of situation, but just not as interesting. But, the one thing I really want to know is what language was Moore trying to self-learn. That’s the really interesting part of this whole comic for me, and that speaks volumes about how uninterested I really am to learn the fate of the next issue.
