UNION JACK: LONDON FALLING

Writer: Christos Gage | Penciler: Mike Perkins | Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colorist: Laura Villari | Letterer: Cory Petit | Production: Brad Johnson
Assistant Editor: Daniel Ketchum | Editor: Andy Schmidt
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada | Publisher: Dan Buckley

After the UNION JACK mini-series by Ben Raab and John Cassaday, Jack fell dormant once again for a few years. He was picked up for the brief NEW INVADERS series, which continued the Baroness storyline from Raab's series, and which I may someday review here. But his next occasion headlining a mini-series came in 2006, when Christos Gage and Mike Perkins joined forces on UNION JACK: LONDON FALLING.

LONDON FALLING does not pack the emotional punch of the previous story, nor does it contain the moody, atmospheric artwork of John Cassaday. But that's okay, because it's just as entertaining in its own way. Where Raab's UNION JACK was a small, personal story focusing on character over all else, Gage brings us Union Jack as an action movie.

In a nice touch of continuity, the story begins with Joey Chapman more or less where we left him after the Raab/Cassaday series. The opening scene sees him battling a trio of vampires, his narration noting that taking on such creatures is a Union Jack tradition. Joey also spends some time reminiscing about his late father, a character element which was introduced in Raab's story.