“Prison Without Bars”

As children, Jack and Amelia were raised in two separate, yet controlled, environments in another dimension. Now as adults, the two of them are brought to Earth and are forced to live an unsheltered life.

A maniacal alien named Father takes pleasure in experimenting on different creatures, testing how they react to being placed in a foreign environment. Unfortunately, all of Father’s subjects are dead except Jack and Amelia. While raising Jack on his spaceship, father only allows him to experience pain, torment, and suffering. Amelia, on the other hand, was raised outside the ship, in an enchanted forest by pink cuddly apes. She only experienced love and compassion. Eventually Father decides to release the two on Earth and then monitors how they survive in this new setting.

Martin Buxton delivers a cleverly unique story with Jack in the Box. Buxton’s attempt to answer the question “Are men simply products of their environment?” will re-shape the way readers perceive reality.

The characters in this story share high sensibility, especially with Father’s henchman Gusano, who is a gray sentinel that tampers with the lives of Amelia and Jack after their arrivals on Earth. Most notably, Gusano shadows Jack and places him in situations of torment.

For instance, upon arriving on Earth, the sentinel puts a Furango Berry (a pill) in Jack's mouth, which allows the young man to receive a distorted perception of reality. After taking the pill, Jack begins to view people as stick figures, and he panics.

Tony Wicks artwork in this story is detailed yet peculiar. The majority of the story is in black and white, with the exception of Amelia and the pink apes which are colored in pink. The lack of color lends a noir tone to the book. Not to mention, Gusano’s slug-like appearance adds an eerie feeling to the story as well.

Readers in search of a great storyline and intriguing art will appreciate this story.

For ordering information, visit the Web site for the book here: http://www.jackinthebox-comic.co.uk/news.html

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