JFH: Justice for Hire

(Creative Impulse, 2007-2008)

In the very near future, the “Retribution Act” allows private citizens to hire “anti-terrorism” security forces. Justice for Hire (pretty much Heroes for Hire without super-powers) has turned the private protection racket into a media-driven popularity contest. While Ebony and Ivory (no, really!) are deadly weapons unto themselves, their chauffer Louisa is as skilled with a gun as she is with a car.

Promising “ultra-realistic” martial arts action, this comic does a good job of living up to that boast. The promotional video—starring the creators and their friends—made the same claim. An apparent precursor to a feature-length movie, the film was a hit in the martial arts community. However, the “ultra-realistic” fighting, at least in the promo, instead seems rehearsed and choreographed, with negligible dialogue, and no real sense of the overall plot.

If you like martial arts comics, then buy this—but skip the movie.

— Joseph Self

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