Review by Ian Keogh

John Carpenter, Eric Powell and Brian Churilla conclude their sequel to Big Trouble in Little China here, and the volume title of Jack Burton in the Hell of No Return pretty well explains the pickle he found himself in as The Return of Lo Pan & How Jack Burton Became King of the Lords of Death ended. Pickle sticklers should be aware he’s also dropped into other pickles pretty rapidly.

Of course, the charm of both the film and the series is how Jack extricates himself from pickles, and it’s dropped early that this might be the Hell of No Return, but there are loopholes. While Egg attempts to revive Jack back on Earth, after a sticky start, Jack’s actually enjoying himself in Hell.

Powell’s usual form of comedy is darker when he’s writing The Goon, but he also has a flair for slapstick and snappy returns, which makes his Jack a delight to read. The bathos of would-be world conqueror Lo Pan having to wash dishes is a great situation, although for the first time there’s a slight feeling of padding required to reach the finale, with extra chases and fights the order of the day.

It would be easier to overlook if Brian Churilla’s cartooning had greater flair. As with the earlier volumes, the storytelling works, but there’s a lack of visual imagination. The assorted monsters could look more terrifying or funnier, but they’re the generic versions under Churilla, and the cast never reach their visual potential.

Just as in the movie, everything comes down to a confrontation between Jack and Lo Pan, but disappointment awaits. Instead of a satisfying conclusion we have a set-up for the series continuing but under different creators with I Hate the 80s. It’s a shoddy way to treat readers who’ve followed the sequel through three volumes.

If you’re a big fan of Big Trouble in Little China and weren’t previously aware of this graphic novel sequel, then you should also know the entire dozen chapters are available in one volume as The Legacy Edition Book One.