Writer: Mac Rauch adapted by Joe Gentile
Artists: Stephen Thompson(p), Kevin Williams(i),Ken Wolak, Mike Kowalcyz, Wally Lowe(c)
Publisher: Moonstone
If the names Buckaroo Banzai, Perfect Tommy, Penny and Peggy Pretty, Lizardo and Hanoi Xan mean nothing to you, then I'm going to have to advise you to stay away from Moonstone's Buckaroo Banzai. The book is not new reader friendly, but then neither was the movie Buckaroo Banzai.
The movie threw an established universe at the viewer where Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers acted like a futuristic Doc Savage and his Brothers to battle an alien criminal force, not bent on taking over the earth, but instead desperate to escape the earth. This is a movie you will either love or hate, and I urge you to witness its magic first before even attempting to read the latest adventure of Buckaroo Banzai.
Like the movie, the comic book slams you with an established universe. The Buckaroo Banzai universe has evolved, and new characters like Lady Gilette and Red River Daddy are introduced without exposition among stalwarts such as Perfect Tommy, Reno and Jersey portrayed by Jeff Goldblum in the film.
Staples like the Jet Car get a very cool updating that fits right in with Banzai Headquarters, and, despite being blown to smithereens in the film, Lizardo appears to be up to his old tricks. Worse, he seems to be on the verge of combining forces with Hanoi Xan, leader f the World Crime League.
For Buckaroo Banzai fans, this book is sheer heaven. Joe Gentile, who adapts the script of Banzai's creator Mac Rauch, was absolutely correct to employ the typical Banzai warp-speed plot style. Grab onto something, and ride it along, or else get off. To slow down to explain would have killed the momentum of the Banzai feeling.
Gentile twists catch-phrases found in the film for a fun variation in the character/actor-blended dialogue. Banzai sounds and looks like Peter Weller. Perfect Tommy sounds like and acts just as dense as the character portrayed by Lewis Smith.
Moonstone previewed this first issue in February, and those not wowed by the specially cheap sixteen pages will be stunned by the finished product. The addition of color changes everything. It alleviates the crowd scenes by making everything co-ordinate and gives the entire story a sense of symetry. Though the phrase has been used numerous times in the reviewer vernacular, it must be said now. The addition of color makes Buckaroo Banzai almost look like a different book.
Buckaroo Banzai roars onto the racks and demands that you keep up with its frantic pace. Blue Blazer Regulars will not be able to get enough. Monkey-Boys need not bother.
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