Jonesey and Dr Long Adventures: Nonsense, It’s Here

Jonesey and Dr Long Adventures strips from Unlikely Heroes Studios are getting the album treatment in a unique way. If you haven’t seen them on GlobalComix, this flip book is a good chance to experience the series. Because the moment you think you understand it, something campy happens to change perspectives.

The Jonesey and Dr Long Adventures

This series combines two of comic books influences: pulp magazines and Sunday strip serials. Taking place after WWII, we follow two very entertaining characters. Jonesey is an ex-soldier unable to settle down in the mundane, always looking for his next adventure. “Doctor” Long Fang is his regular cohort, providing everything from tonics to an extra hand. Their adventure just happens to be so absurd that it’s a wonder they bother to stick to it. But honestly, what’s better than making new friends while fighting Nazis?

Enough Dough To Fight Ratzis

John Pence writes a very memorable story in its transitions. The Jonesey and Dr Long Adventures starts off pretty grounded in reality: a shady gig turns into a Nazi hunt. Sounds easy enough especially in juxtaposition with Maxim Mel’s artwork. The black and white contrast allows for easy to embrace gags and action. Things happen so suddenly with explosive windup and suspense that reader’s eyes are glued to events.

On The Moon

But then things take a change for the campy side. Yet it doesn’t feel like it came out of left field, because the characters help ease readers into it. Jonesey for one isn’t particularly heroic, he comes across as a prejudiced smart aleck. So seeing the seesaw effect of Jonesey achieving his goal and getting his little comeuppances feel pretty nice. Meanwhile Doc comes across as a lovable pathological liar, able to get his way into anything without any malice. They make a pretty good comedy duo amid the serious background.

But then things get into the bizarre with that story’s climax. Jonesey and Doc are ready to walk out on everything since it’s getting too weird. Frankly, would you? There’s nothing to take seriously, even Space Nazis. So the change to some out-there plot with a beatnik scientist and meeting space gorillas feels more on brand. Especially since it ties up the Space Nazi plot anyway, because screw it were doing it! It’s fun.

Pick Your Jonesey and Dr Long Adventures Format

So how about that, a plot that flips itself without flipping itself off; getting them together just feels right. Although I’ve got a nitpick in the physical flip-book format. This isn’t two complementary stories going off in their own directions, it’s a plot that changes directions. I get that the strange ending of the noirish Enough Dough To Buy More Bullets makes it feel like perspectives are flipping. But what happens when somebody reads Space Nazis on the Moon first? It doesn’t feel like everybody’s going back to mundane reality, it feels like a piece of the plot was skipped.

Frankly it’s a lot less hassle to read the Val-U Pak digitally.

So we’re going to have two final scores: digital gets 8.5/10 for highly entertaining camp that surprises readers in the best way, but physical gets 8/10 because the execution is a little off.

Thanks for coming and as always remember to look between the panels.