REVIEW: 'The Jaguar' One-Shot by Keryl Brown Ahmed, Tango, and Ellie Wright

 

JAGUAR ONE-SHOT

Script: Keryl Brown Ahmed

Art: Tango

Colors: Ellie Wright

Letters: Jack Morelli

Cover: Maria Sanapo, Ellie Wright

Variant Cover: Reiko Murakami

On Sale Date: 2/21

32-page, full-color comic

$3.99 U.S.

Publisher: Archie Comics

Something is killing the Pampas cats of Northern Peru. A group of zoologists has come together to investigate these mysterious slayings. They know the culprit is a bird of prey, but the method of killing is unlike any of the birds local to the region. It's going to take someone with apex predator abilities to find out who's causing these murders...someone like Ivette Velez, aka The Jaguar! But will the predator become the prey?

Score:

★★★1/2 (3.5/5)

This iteration of The Jaguar originates from the 2012 New Crusaders where Ivette Velez takes the helm of the superhero with the help of a mystical helmet. The character originates back to the 60s superteam the Mighty Crusaders from the Red Circle imprint. The Crusaders have had a rocky publishing history. This latest attempt at spotlighting one member in a one-shot proves that Archie's superhero universe could work given the same care and passion. 

Writer Keryl Brown Ahmed has the difficult task of reintroducing Velez to readers in a 32-page issue that encompasses her origin story and a fully formed adventure complete with a villain. Thankfully, Ahmed does a great job at focusing on the present day with only brief and concise flashbacks to the Jaguar's origin. Sometimes, flashbacks like these can feel clunky and take up too much space for the current story but Ahmed proceeds with great pacing and economical exposition. There are also nuances to the character of Ivette Velez. She feels like a reluctant hero but has a duty as the Jaguar to honor her mentor who passed on the magical helmet. The young Velez doesn't speak Spanish despite her Peruvian roots and it's point made in the opening pages while she rides a bus full of Spanish speakers. It's a small but significant point that reflects the latest generation of Latinos who are less likely to speak Spanish. 

Tango and Ellie Wright create great colorful visuals full of movement and gravitas. Bright bold colors and slick choreography make this issue an eye-popping adventure as the confrontation escalates between Velez and the villain. At times, forms begin to melt into each other making it hard to distinguish them because the colors seem to blenr. Otherwise, the story has the spirit of Lara Croft, Indiana Jones, or The Rocketeer, a wholesome rock'em sock'em showdown.

'The Jaguar' has the kind of energy that could exist beyond this one-shot if Archie put more faith in this and other Crusaders characters. Ahmed and Tango prove that taking legacy characters into the modern age doesn't have to be awkward or difficult. Trust in the passion and talent of creatives to tell the story and good things will happen. 'The Jaguar' is a good start.