Still on the Shelf #27 - Go Boy 7

Originally published September 30th, 2003 on www.ComiXtreme.com. This work is, of course, © Craig Reade.

I was only vaguely familiar with Dark Horse’s Rocket Comics imprint until looking into my choice for this week’s column, Go Boy 7. The Rocket Comics imprint was recently started up by Dark Horse as a line of sci-fi and action comics. The preview, titled Ignite, was distributed by Dark Horse during this years Free Comic Book Day. In Ignite we were given short preview stories of three of Rocket’s titles, Syn, Lone, and Go Boy 7.

Go Boy 7 seems the most geared towards younger readers of all of their books, though all of Rocket’s titles seem fairly popular with the younger crowd at my local shop. The art in Go Boy 7(and a few of the other titles) has something of a skater-punk flavor, which may contribute to its local popularity at my comic/skate shop.

Cast of Characters

Go Boy 7 is about a boy named Jonny Zero, who was mortally wounded in a plane crash that killed his parents. His Uncle, Professor Zero, was able to save his life by performing a nano-transfusion (a procedure that never was really explained in detail). This nanoplasm was spiked by Professor Zero’s nemesis, The Cultist, with his own special “sentient nanoplasm,” which causes machines to be self-aware. The Cultist’s motivations are unknown (though it is indicated that it was just a curious whim), but it resulted in not only enhanced physical abilities, but also an ability to communicate with other machines affected by this sentient nanoplasm.

Jonny takes upon himself the moniker of Go Boy 7, after being introduced to Go Boys 2-6 by the professor. The Go Boys are the Professors fighting force. Though it is not yet explicitly spelled out, they appear to all be robots that operate on the sentient nanoplasm. Because Jonny’s blood has been replaced by the S.N., and for no better reason than he thinks it would be cool, Jonny decides to be the seventh member of that group. The Professor, of course protests, but that seems irrelavant as a hoverboard and costume (which happen to be the right size) are all ready made for him to use. Issue #3 is supposed to go into more depth about the Go Boys, including the yet-to-be seen Go Boy 1. At this point, I would hazard he is dead, however, all that can be divined from issue #2 is that there is a story as to 1’s whereabouts.

Jett Girl is another of the Professor’s allies. She seems more of a lieutenant or a field general than a foot soldier like the Go Boys. If Ignition is any indication, she will accompany Jonny on most of the missions he goes out on. About the only real personality trait she has expressed thus far is an almost obsessive paranoia that the pubescent Jonny is leering at her. I suppose more will be learned about her in future issues.

The Cultist is an utterly confusing villain, in my opinion. He appears to be a machine, with a loyal army of machines, who has sworn to kill all machines. He uses the sentient nanoplasm to bring machines to life to cause havok, all to further his goal of destroying reason and eliminating anything that can think for itself. He will often refuse to act on something only because it makes sense to do so. In short, this self-described “Napoleon of Absurdity” is a walking contradiction, and it is close to impossible to determine exactly why he does what he does, and why he opposes Professor Zero and the Go Boys. I suppose the only reason that really makes sense is “No reason at all.” Actually, it seems to make perfect sense when put that way… or not. I give up…

Thoughts

I have to say first off that as much as I did not really enjoy Go Boy 7, it would be a great title for young boys to pick up. The are is colorful and “cool.” While Jon Sommariva (Kris Justice inks, and Dan Jackson colors) does not demonstrate a high degree of skill in storytelling with his art in this title, I am not sure it is really necessary. The sexual aspects of this book were surprisingly low- while it is clear that Jett Girl is supposed to be the “hot babe” of the title, and she does invoke the arch-type of the T&A comic babe, she shows no skin, and does not exude sexuality from every pore. Beyond a form fitting armor suit, there is not hint of sexuality in the art, and I really have to applaud that. On that basis alone, I would have no trouble allowing a young son of mine to read this title. Beyond that, I have to admit that I kind of like the skater-style, and was probably one of the few that really liked the work that Francisco Herrera did on Peter Parker: Spider-man. Sommariva’s work is not quite as exaggerated as that, but it is a similar style in my opinion.

Tom Peyer’s story is extremely loose to say the lease. It is clear that he is not trying to tell a very serious story here, and part of me wishes he would spend a bit more time to flush out the setting and the characters of this title. Everything is just kind of thrown out there over the first two issues, and it is left to the reader to sort it all out.

Though the story has a great deal of potential, and even considering this title is clearly geared towards a younger audience, I think the writing is the weak point of this book. The Cultist has all the makings of a really absurd, but wholly unique villain, but he has been presented poorly thus far. Jonny is another character with a world of potential, as his parent were just murdered and he is thrust into his Uncle’s care, a man who is a virtual stranger to him. His mourning for his parent’s death, aside from an understandable hatred for the Cultist, is unnaturally short. Peyer also completely glosses over any stress Jonny would understandably go through, given the dramatic change he underwent after the transfusion. While this simplistic style of storytelling is undoubtably perfect for the target audience, I can’t help but wonder what a writer with the skill of a Brian Michael Bendis would do with this story.

Bottom Line

Sadly, I don’t think Go Boy 7 has much longevity in today’s comic market. While I personally think the book is ideal for young men in the Jr. High/Middle School age group, today’s boys of that age will undoubtably find this title far too tame. Fifteen years ago, when I was the appropriate age, this book would have likely been extremely popular, but today there is simply not enough sex, blood, or violence to be considered cool. And that is a real shame.

Nonetheless, I say give it a shot. Try it for yourself, or pick it up for that younger reader you know is into comics, or might be interested in checking them out. Issues #1 and 2 are available today either in your local shop, or on Rocket Comic’s website (darkhorse.com). If you can find a copy, the short Go Boy 7 story found in Ignite is a good read (likely the best Go Boy 7 episode I have read, and that is promising for the title in the future). Issue #3 is due out tomorrow, October 1st, and issue #4 is due out November 5th.

Beyond Go Boy 7, I was fairly impressed with the Syn preview in Ignite, and I will be covering that title in a future Still on the Shelf. But next week is the first part of my four-issue in-depth publisher analysis- “CrossGen Month,” with coverage of Mystic. See you then!