Jacqueline Jones - a Crime Comic for Kids of All Ages

I was completely unaware of this comic, and likely would have never heard of it, had it not been for my friend Kevin.  He came across the comic, purchased it, read it, and liked it, so he told me about it, and well ... since it has a female lead, it was pretty much a given that I was going to get it.  Apparently, the comic was funded via Kickstarter back in 2023, and hard copies are now available via Etsy (which is where I got my copy, and it is autographed by the creator as well!).  While the premise is not necessarily new, the execution and production of the comic, and the story behind the comic, is definitely worth while, and the comic itself - all I can say is WOW!

 

Jacqueline Jones is the creation of Carrick Esquivel, who wrote and penciled the book, with the help of Jesse Hansen and Johnny B. Gerardy (inkers) and Jeromy Cox (colors and letters).  The title is the main character's name, Jacqueline Jones, a dedicated police officer in the 1950s who managed to become a cop because she "misspelled" her name as "Jack" on the application (because, let's face it, back in the 1950s, how many women were police officers, patrolling the streets and fighting crime?).  While DC Comics may have had Liza Warner as Lady Cop back in 1975, Esquivel gives readers a 6'2" Amazon-like officer nicknamed "The Lady in Blue" by the good citizens of the city of Themis (which is appropriate, since that is the Greek goddess of justice, divine order, and law).  Esquivel plays the story appropriately for its time period, as Jones faces discrimination because of her gender, gets heckled by her fellow officers, and gets underestimated by the criminals she takes down.   But she fights back, and she fights back hard!

 

One thing I definitely enjoyed about this first issue is that it is not a long, drawn-out origin tale.  In fact, Esquivel manages to give readers everything they need to know (for now) about Jacqueline Jones' backstory in just three pages - showing how she got into the policewomen's bureau and moved up from writing parking tickets to eventually becoming the city's first patrolwoman.  This leaves plenty of pages to tell the real story - Jones is tipped off about a cache of guns found behind a local bar, only to come face to face with some very deadly henchman of a crime lord named "the Czar."  An attempted bribe, a rough-and-tumble fist fight, an exploding patrol car, and a good, old-fashioned car chase with bullets flying fill the remaining pages, as Jones fulfills her oath to bring evil to justice.

 

And Esquivel gives readers a wonderfully surprising cliffhanger on that last page, as we find out the identity (sort of) of the Czar - which makes me anxiously waiting for issue two (which, based on Esquivel's Facebook page, appears to be nearing completion).  

 

The art is perfectly matched for the 1950s setting.  Each panel has the feel of a mid-20th Century cartoon (think Fleischer's Superman cartoons), and you can easily, and the action scenes give off an impression of real movement. The hair styles, the clothes, the cars, the architecture - Esquivel nails it.  The inks are not heavy, for which I'm thankful, as I feel that thick inks can ruin beautiful comic art; and the colors integrate so many wonderful shades of blue in pretty much every single panel, it keeps the focus on the fact that the main character in the book IS the Lady in Blue!  Readers even get some fun pages at the end of the book, including a Jacqueline Jones paper doll with Jackie's Crime-Fighting Gear!

 

The last couple of pages offer fans a look at some real life ladies in blue, with photos of various female police officers that work in San Diego, and to whom Esquivel has shared his creation - after all, these lades were the inspiration for his fictional lady in blue.  Such a wonderful dedication to these hard working women who help keep our streets safe, not just in San Diego, but all across this great country. Jacqueline Jones is definitely a love letter to these officers, and one that's well worth the read!  Looking forward to reading the adventures of Officer Jones for many years to come!

 

RATING:  10 well-aimed garbage can lids out of 10 for bringing to the comic page a non-super-powered superhero that honors the real life superheroes who protect our streets every day!