Bobby Jo #3 is a comic written by Scott Wilke with art and colors by Michael Mayne. Bobby Jo and her friends make preparations as the aliens go on the move. This is a science fiction comic taking place in Appalachia with plenty of violence and some slight mystery. The leading lady for this tale is Bobby Jo Deakins, a no-nonsense woman who isn’t afraid to get down and dirty if need be. She also has an alien pet named Merle who looks like a dog but can grow to an enormous size. With these two is Sheriff Hobbes, he is ready for action as well and is probably the only person as fearless as Bobby Jo. The story picks up after this trio’s altercation with the alien from the last issue where Merle was left down and out. This group is forced to retreat and come up with some sort of plan to fight back. This story takes place in Appalachia with the accents and slang that seem appropriate for the area. The action here is bloody and gory with more than a few explosions. The pacing is steady with an overall high air of intensity and a serious tone. The dialogue is mostly conversational with no word-heavy pages. This is an issue that both builds up the story and provides exciting action as we continue to follow these intriguing characters.

            The art here is overall slightly gritty and detailed but occasionally it can sport thick outlines with a more simplistic level of detail. The color range here is very wide with some nice lighting and shading. The scenery consists of thick forests and mounds of scrap metal and trash at a junkyard. The main locations are Bobby Jo’s house and the middle of town and they both have the Appalachian aesthetic. The backgrounds sometimes show part of the scene and other times it’s a mix of a gradient and grittiness. The expression level here is around average with it being difficult to see the different looks sometimes. The emotions are mainly anger and shock with some fear and horror mixed in. The faces are very detailed when close up but they can look a bit blank as the distance increases. The alien creatures tend to range from green to purple with varying numbers of arms and spikes. The equipment is mainly guns from both earth and elsewhere. The violence is very gory and bloody with explosions all over the place. The action scenes are easy to follow with things spilling into other panels. Bobby Jo is definitely dressed for the heat.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like science fiction stories that take place in Appalachia and involve aliens while starring a woman who is very much about that action then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, gore, nudity.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“The hounds done drank all the brine again.”

 

Physical Link: https://badbugmedia.com/product/bobby-jo-and-the-appalachian-alien-apocalypse-3-michael-mayne-variant/

Digital Link: https://badbugmedia.com/product/bobby-jo-and-the-appalachian-alien-apocalypse-3-digital/

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bobbyjo/bobby-jo-3-a-grindhouse-action-sci-fi-comic-series/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24

Violent Pages: 7, for 29% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 1, for 4% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 5

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 3

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 2

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”