Adventureman Vol. 1: The End and Everything After, Graphic Novel

An Art-deco backdrop makes any hero look more heroic. It also helps to have a series of pulp novels extolling your virtues. Adventureman and his teammates in Adventure Inc. had both. Yet, they came to a tragic end fighting evil. Everyone assumes they were merely characters in stories, but Claire Connell receives mysterious signs that they might have ben really real in Matt Fraction’s Adventureman Volume 1: The End and Everything After, illustrated by Jerry Dodson, a tradepaper bind-up of issues 1-5, which is now on-sale.

The first issue chronicles Adventure Inc’s swan song, ending in a downer cliffhanger. Baron Bizarre had the drop on them, so he is poised to administer the coup de grace with his Inferno Pistol—and the end. If you find that ending rather unsatisfying, Connell’s son Tommy would certainly agree. Frankly, she is also a fan, so she recognizes the Adventure Inc. sigil on a rare volume a mysterious woman in 19^th Century garb drops off at her used bookstore.

After leafing through the book, Connell starts seeing evidence of Adventure Inc.’s existence, including their towering Empire State-like headquarters. Knowing their history, Connell deduces the right passwords, but she still must evade the aging robot sentries. She has definitely entered the world of Adventure Inc., but she won’t remember the details once she leaves. However, she will notice certainly physical changes.

Adventureman has a clever concept and Dodson’s art is clean and stylish, in an appropriately pulpy throwback kind of way (Dodson’s wife Rachel was also the inker, so presumably they work well together). Adventure Inc’s relationship with its own pulp novels might sound very meta, but thematically it harkens back to the second half of Don Quixote.

Unfortunately, despite Dodson’s cool-looking panels, the actual story-telling is sometimes rather confusing. Frankly, Fraction’s editors failed to provide the guidance regarding structure and clarity that could have dramatically improved Adventureman.

That is a real shame, because the concept created by Fraction and Dodson has great franchise potential. Each panel looks great individually, but they should connect and flow better together. Hopefully, a different editorial team will tighten-up future issues. Indeed, Adventureman deserves a second chance (which was ironically the whole point of volume one). Mostly recommended for fans of the Dodsons, Adventureman Volume 1 is now on-sale wherever books and comics are sold.