G-Man Comics 3in1 #2 - G-Man Comics

G-MAN COMICS 3IN1 No. 2, December 2021

Penned by “each of G-Man Comics’ founders” and “all drawn by G-Man’s first artist, Gilbert Monsanto”, this Twenty-four page anthology presumably pleased the vast majority of its audience with its entertaining mixture of origin stories, second instalments and even an enticing adaption of the first chapters to Jim Burrows’ novel, “The Demon Priest”. Indeed, one of this book’s most endearing features is how Editor-in-Chief Rik Offenberger manages to pull together all the different storylines into a single, cohesive overarching narrative set within his fictional universe, and simultaneously teases its readers with some of the publisher’s potential future offerings through the likes of team Lynx breaking the fourth wall; “Oh, yah. If you enjoyed this story, we will be back next time for a full-length adventure.”

Starting the ball rolling is “Cat Fight” which provides the white-costumed, feline-looking Maya Santiago and Mateo Martinez with some much needed background as to why the couple became street-level crime-fighters. Concluding with their “first solo mission for Agent Kirby”, this tale is straightforwardly told solid stuff, apart from the intriguing notion of their violent methods not meeting with Sergeant Flag’s approval despite the gun-toting super-hero being the one who saved Santiago’s life prior to her training in Luta Livre.

Slightly more involved, courtesy of the ongoing adventure already enjoying a previous instalment, is Eric N. Bennett’s “The Price Of Liberty”, which arguably manages to capture a little of the unstoppable killing machine vibe seen in James Cameron’s 1984 science fiction action film “The Terminator” when the cybernetic Half-Man enters the city’s Police Headquarters and eradicates everyone with small arms fire. In addition, this well-paced piece depicts the partially-robotic criminal as a fast-thinking mastermind, when he ensures American Eagle III is helpless to stop Brain Bruiser’s prison break by arranging for Alex Russell’s alter-ego to urgently be needed to prop the semi-destroyed law enforcement building up.

Rounding things off is “The Demon Priest” which rather beguilingly seems to depict the satanic Shamsiel as a being trapped between the guise of a peaceful priest and a savage blood-letter, who one moment lets himself be willingly abducted by criminals and then tears their throats out with his bare hands in the next. This fearsome contrast is made all the more enigmatic due to its author leaving Reverend Gregory’s past as a complete mystery. In fact, this adaption’s sole disappointment is that it ends with the reader being required to read Burrows’ novel to find out what happens next, rather than being given the comic book treatment in full.

Writers: Rik Offenberger, Eric N. Bennett & Jim Burrows, and Artist: Gilbert Monsanto