John Kirby: Firefox comes from our old friends Will Lill Comics for one of the most unique origin stories. Similar to its counterpart Lightning Marval, it has two-as-one as a concept. Except Firefox tries to take things a little more seriously with its characterizations. Plus you really have to appreciate how much T. Warren Montgomery does to keep the art quality and maintain business connections.
John Kirby: Firefox Summary
John Kirby: Firefox tells the story of two people coming together as one. While Firefox is the ultimate alter-ego, he’s actually an alien; John Kirby in the meantime is an everyman who gets caught up in the absurdity. Firefox (a.k.a. Larfox) comes from a ruined planet among many courtesy of an alien warlord. He’s also the only one with a MacGuffin that can stop her, so he feels a little entitled to vengeance. Back to John, he’s a farmer who despite a senseless childhood tragedy tries to live his life; so it’s more than a little natural that he feels out of place in this insanity. I mean an alien’s essence merging with John’s body?
But when that warlord, Omega Doma comes to earth searching for Firefox’s power source, compromises must be made. As Firefox has to come to realize when he finds galactic superheroes who wish to bring Omega to trial. While Firefox wants to slay Omega, John is influencing Firefox to abandon that plan for vengeance. On a separate note, John and Firefox are synthesizing, with only one of their minds staying in the same body.
Camp Or Serious?
Through the eyes of one title character, John Kirby, readers are both immersed and dumbfounded. While regular superhero comics readers like myself are familiar with campy scenarios, having a straight man brings perspective. John is an everyman unlike the typical Peter Parker or Clark Kent. Despite the senseless childhood trauma of losing his parents to a random murder, he’s just a mundane person. It’s apparent from his flashbacks that John got through the tragedy despite his parent’s killer still at large. While their deaths still haunt him, it’s not like he wants to go on a crusade; he just wants to enjoy living like everybody else. So when something as over-the-top as Larfox and his pursuers come crashing down, the surprise is genuine.
Which is really saying something with how the slogan “Keep Portland Weird” appears. Wouldn’t you know it but this series takes place in the same universe as Lightning Marval. While John Kirby: Firefox tries to look more serious, there’s an oddly charming sense of camp. With the breakneck pace of how First Contact goes and John’s reactions to the cosmic side of his world, it’s all so eye-catching. I mean, the anthropomorphic life force of a planet being central to rebuilding a civilization. Especially when these more absurd situations start to come down to earth.
Future Potential Stories?
But there’s one thing that I have in the back of my mind after reading this series arc, Larfox’s status. Despite Larfox being a main character, there really doesn’t seem to be much in terms of his biomechanics. Sure Larfox merges with John but why; do his bodies burn up, does Larfox turn into energy? Fortunately, the characters do find the correlation to how Larfox and John switch control.
There are a lot of unanswered questions that come up. Like these other seven Power Wave Orbs, if Omega Doma has three (or four) why didn’t she use them in her fight with Firefox? Plus if there are more of these orbs around Earth, does this mean other Will Lill characters have them? What happens to Larfox’s home planet; unlike one setting there isn’t much hope for it right now. The point is there is stuff to return to in possible future installments, but it might have come at a cost.
The Style of John Kirby: Firefox
The artwork of this series comes from Montgomery’s usual assist Luis Rivera. From the first few pages, Rivera’s artwork grows from its time in Monty’s World from Lee Melton’s pencils. Over the four issues, the art becomes more articulate and expressive. Some of the panels and actions evoke a lot of emotions that capture reader’s attention. It’s what helps guide them through pages of insane situations. Montgomery’s colors and wordmarks practically match the passions that he and Rivera put into the pages. It’s like every moment explodes with the emotional context on display.
On a similar note, I have to give praise to the costume designs. When it comes to superhero costumes, I find very few outfits that stand out or express emotions. From mainstream, a few select indies, to designs on social media like Pinterest, they all start to look the same. The designs of John Kirby: Firefox genuinely look inspired without overlapping with what came before. Even if some costumes like the Galacticians start to blend together. But at least the costume on the last page feels the most passionate.
Behind The Scenes
People will notice from the covers that John Kirby: Firefox took five years to publish the First Contact saga. It’s part of what I mention back on the Will Lill post, T. Warren Montgomery spends more of his time making business connections and raising money than making comics; or at least more than the average indie comic book creative. I’ve been noticing a trend that most comic books including the mainstream are stuck in a state of early adopter models. As such, most creatives who put their content on platforms like Comixology or Global Comix are putting a lot into a first try, sometimes it’s at the risk of burning out.
What Montgomery does differently is get his company’s content towards as many people as possible at an affordable price. Whether it’s getting all of his content Comixology’s unlimited plan or getting into as many major retailers as possible. All of which takes a lot of time, effort, and getting a presence to raise the money for more stable adopter models. I have to point out that Montgomery did no crowdfunding campaigns, which is a feat to itself. This is especially relevant for indie comic creators who lack big connections like with Image.
John Kirby: Firefox Is Worth A Look
While it took Montgomery five years to finish a campy saga, it does feel like people are going to remember it for a long time. The origin story of Firefox is something that never came before and has a lot of storytelling potential. With a character like John Kirby, embracing the madness as Firefox will certainly be entertaining. As will a story that unfolds what feels like an organically growing superhero universe. The story might not be the most compelling with its pacing, but at least the art and presentation will entice readers. Plus you gotta appreciate how much its creator put into getting this and his company’s other content out. Overall First Contact gets 8/10 for how much potential can grow out a simple passion.