Review - Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1

"Brik Jones. Transfer to case 1314."

What do you get when a fighting lion works on comics? You get a publisher named Fighting Lion Comics publishing a book such as Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1, featuring an attorney tasked with defending an entire planet. The first issue is written and lettered by Phil Smith and illustrated by Giuseppe Cafaro.

Brik Jones is an attorney who's suffered the proverbial fall from grace. He's resorted to defending the lowest of the low, falling mightily from his previous position of defending more higher profile clients. Higher profile clients such as the entire human race against aliens seeking to enslave us.

Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1 is a pretty interesting concept, where Brik Jones comes from a long line of attorneys tasked with taking on major, intergalactic cases where Earth needs a representative. Smith sets the premise up pretty simply, laying out the history of the settlement of Earth and how some races moved on, leaving behind humans. The set-up is clever and Smith's dialogue is very free-flowing, helping the story feel equally as smooth. Brik is a somewhat broken man who's aware of his responsibility, but it's not until he sees the chance to go after one of his biggest enemies as a reason for getting back into the "big leagues" so to speak. It's pretty refreshing to see a book where the fate of humanity is at stake and our best defense is a lawyer.

The line art in Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1 is very sharp and concise, courtesy of Cafaro. His characters demonstrate bold outlines and effectively showcase a wide variety of aliens who interact with humans. Considering the art is black and white, Cafaro excels at presenting very intricate linework throughout, much of which is used to great effect in illustrating vehicles and environments. The original work was published as an ashcan comic and Cafaro ensures the book maintains that grassroots sensibility to it, capitalizing on the simplicity of the work to extend the focus on the burgeoning complexity of the story.

Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1 is a pretty fun story that moves along rather quickly, while offering a new take on familiar Earth attack scenarios. Brik Jones definitely has his work cut out for him in fighting for Earth and watching him get back to his former days of glory will be interesting. Smith's story is alarmingly simple, yet it manages to add in subtle layers of complications that will give the story more excitement. Cafaro's linework is exquisite and elegant, offering a look at characters and settings that--despite being black and white--are easy to follow along with and somewhat beautiful. Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1 is an interesting first issue that promises a fun lead character and some inevitable intergalactic hijinks to ensue.

Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1 is available now here, while the ongoing work is available to read here.