Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter # 1
Created by Jenna Jameson
Written by Christina Z.
Art by Mukesh Singh
Published by Virgin Comics
Jenna Jameson. Household name? If your house openly embraces porn. Well, mine does. ;) So, when I saw this issue I just had to read it.
I was sort of hoping for a version of its-so-bad-its-deliciously-good. I was guessing it was going to be some sort of cleavage filled, sexified, superhero-ish romp. I don’t know. But I was rootin’ for her. I recently watched quite a bit of Jenna Jameson’s E True Hollywood Story. And, I felt drawn to watch it for a while. Try and grasp what makes Jenna..."Jenna." How a woman so unabashedly chooses, then pursues and eventually rules a life in the World of Porn. So, like Jenna chose naked, raw sex in front of a camera, I chose to read a comic she helped create.
I don’t even really want to write this review. I found this comic just not at all entertaining. I started by writing down little quotes that I was going to come back to and riff on. But I don’t think I’m even going to be funny about this.
Two things stand out. The first was the actual writing. The logic behind many statements wasn’t really logic. There's a doctor’s “research" that is leading towards a technological invention regarding past lives? How can technology and past lives work together? I guess I’m supposed to suspend disbelief and just buy it all….but, well, I just didn’t. It's full of stuff like this--a random folk theory like thinking you used to be Joan of Arc gets barely mentioned or explained, but becomes the hinge for some vague connection to what's probably a plot point--but all that happens is neither of the pieces make any sense, and they've gone about it in a totally uninteresting fashion.
The second thing that stands out is the monsters. First time they show up, they all look like Cupid. Then they changed into an amorphous blob of “monsters.” And it was just strange. I used to get feedback on my grad school journals that I was “too general and need to get more specific” in my writing. That’s how I felt about the art and the story. There’s just this general fighting of these general monsters……and ya know, I just didn’t’ care. I felt neither afraid for, or psyched for the main character, Jezzerie Jones.
Then there's her whole hair changing, and sword-from-the-arm thing…
I don’t know. I think I’ve mentioned before how I’ve been told that all great plays, stories, novels, comics have one inherent question that they are trying to answer. The question may be overtly asked within the first few pages, or it may be a question intended to become planted in the readers mind so that when the story finally answers it, the reader’s experience feels complete. This comic lacked a question. And, funny, then, how it has this seemingly “big reveal” about Jezzerie’s father, when we, the readers, weren’t the slightest bit perplexed or wondering about her father. So, big reveal happens and I just think, “thank God this issue is over.”
And see….I don’t wanna bash Jenna. I mean, I was looking forward to some all-in-the-name of fun type experience. Guess I'll just have to pop in The Factual's office copy of The Devil in Ms. James.
Oh yeah.
-Nina Miller, 2008
Comments