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...Jake Ellis? #2
Where is Jake Ellis?
Jon Moore and Jake Ellis are back! The sequel to the Eisner-nominated Who is Jake Ellis? finds the American spy now without his invisible guide, but their enemies are still after them. Where is Jake, and will Jon find him in time to stop The Facility from furthering their designs?
Collecting: Where Is Jake Ellis? 1-5
Collecting: Where Is Jake Ellis? 1-5
124 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2016
1 person is currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Edmondson
214 books126 followersComic book and screenwriter Nathan Edmondson is a native of Augusta, GA. His Eisner-nominated book Who Is Jake Ellis? will soon be a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox, and The Activity film will come soon from Paramount Pictures. NPR has listed his work among the “Top 6 Comics to Draw You In” and USA Today and CNN are among those who have listed him in their Top 10 lists.
Nathan currently lives near Los Angeles, USA.
Nathan currently lives near Los Angeles, USA.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 29, 2016
(Received from Netgalley for review.)
Disappointing, after the first volume. This one felt far less polished, and the characters seemed somewhat dumbed down. Jon in particular makes incredibly foolish mistakes early on. Yes, I know that Jake was always the brains of the operation, but he does something that's so jaw-droppingly absurd that it took me out of the story. Because, under these circumstances, why would you ever approach an American embassy for help? What happens is exactly what you would expect to happen, and it's so frustrating that Jon never even considers that option, especially because he's endangering others.
It's more than that single narrative misstep, though. I'd loved the first Jake Ellis book because it ran smoothly on ever level, and this one just sort of stumbles around on all the same levels. Which is quite disappointing, because I was excited about this book. The one new and interesting thing that this volume does offer is the blind operative on the other side of the fence from Jake and Jon. I would have liked to see more of this character, but obviously there wasn't quite enough room for that here.
This isn't the follow up that I'd been hoping for. It isn't terrible, just terribly disappointing. Then again, maybe I wouldn't feel quite so let down if I hadn't been waiting so long for it to show up.
Disappointing, after the first volume. This one felt far less polished, and the characters seemed somewhat dumbed down. Jon in particular makes incredibly foolish mistakes early on. Yes, I know that Jake was always the brains of the operation, but he does something that's so jaw-droppingly absurd that it took me out of the story. Because, under these circumstances, why would you ever approach an American embassy for help? What happens is exactly what you would expect to happen, and it's so frustrating that Jon never even considers that option, especially because he's endangering others.
It's more than that single narrative misstep, though. I'd loved the first Jake Ellis book because it ran smoothly on ever level, and this one just sort of stumbles around on all the same levels. Which is quite disappointing, because I was excited about this book. The one new and interesting thing that this volume does offer is the blind operative on the other side of the fence from Jake and Jon. I would have liked to see more of this character, but obviously there wasn't quite enough room for that here.
This isn't the follow up that I'd been hoping for. It isn't terrible, just terribly disappointing. Then again, maybe I wouldn't feel quite so let down if I hadn't been waiting so long for it to show up.
June 1, 2017
Managed to explain very little and not be as good as the first at the same time. Disappointing.
May 23, 2016
Although this follow up to Who is Jake Ellis? isn't quite as gripping (we sorta know the reason behind the mystery of Jake), I still found very entertaining and exciting to read. Ex-CIA analyst Jon is on the run from a mysterious group that had him in their grips for a long time, and finds himself making some very big mistakes along the way. The bad guys are on his tail, and along the way he has to make some hard choices. Jake, on the other hand, is trying to figure out where his place is, and if he will ever find a way back to normalcy.
I still think this would make a pretty good tv series, but author Edmondson needs to tighten up the script a bit. There were a few places where the dialog was confusing, and there is a small but significant plot hole that could be dealt with better.
Artist Tonci Zonjic's very moody art is very Alex Toth-ian, and I was particularly drooling over it every page. He has a great style that, while not always completely original, is expressive and descriptive. I hope to see more of his work, and soon.
Kinda solid 3.5 out of 5. Would like to see more in this series.
I still think this would make a pretty good tv series, but author Edmondson needs to tighten up the script a bit. There were a few places where the dialog was confusing, and there is a small but significant plot hole that could be dealt with better.
Artist Tonci Zonjic's very moody art is very Alex Toth-ian, and I was particularly drooling over it every page. He has a great style that, while not always completely original, is expressive and descriptive. I hope to see more of his work, and soon.
Kinda solid 3.5 out of 5. Would like to see more in this series.
August 27, 2018
It's not as fun as its predecessor, Who is Jake Ellis?, but it had a few interesting twists, like the guy with his eyes sewn shut and the ending. The action wasn't always as great as the original, but when it's on form it's some of the best in comics. There's a real sense of place, I guess you'd call it, and emphasis on what's happening, the antithesis of the shaky, handheld action camera that's prevalent in movies.
May 3, 2016
Didn't get much information and was really one dimensional with its storytelling. I enjoyed the first chapter but this slipped very early and never recovered. I hope they decide to conclude the story with the next chapter or if they decide to do another chapter. This was a big disappointment from a story perspective, just didn't do anything worthy to the characters.
June 27, 2016
Yawn. Lazy writing ruins the first volume.
February 12, 2018
nails the landing, although I wish there was more to this series.
March 28, 2021
Years ago I read the first volume of this story - "Who is Jake Ellis". Story of a rogue spy getting chased around by various undercover teams was very tense. And it had a rather curious twist - our protagonist, spy Jon Moore, always had an invisible helper, Jake Ellis, man with whom Jon had a very strong telepathic connection. That volume ended on a high note - Jon, man on a run, trying to remember himself finally finds the mysterious Jake but he is still unable to connect the dots about his own past.
Second story arc starts with Jon, after years living as a ghost, getting suddenly targeted by hit squad that has unnatural ability to predict his very movements. Barely escaping the assassins Jon will get surprise of his life when his link to Jake gets re-established.
What follows is a chase, Jon trying to save Jake, Jake trying to save Jon and mysterious Evergreen company trying to capture them both. While story ends with some of the elements explained, role and details on the mysterious corporation that seems to be able to command state level assets from almost every government in the world remains unknown. They are shown as ghosts, unforgiving research corporation that is not above killing their own people to keep everything hush hush.
Interesting story, builds on the volume #1 but for all means and purposes I get the feeling volume 3 was planned when this one was written. If there is no vol 3 on the horizon, ending is still very good (very much like ending of 1980s conspiracy movies) - nothing ever finishes, as unknown man repeats to himself at the very end.
Art is consistent and I like it. It is very much Archie and Belgian school-like.
Recommended to all fans of thrillers but be warned that it does leave slightly bitter taste, like its missing the proper conclusion.
Second story arc starts with Jon, after years living as a ghost, getting suddenly targeted by hit squad that has unnatural ability to predict his very movements. Barely escaping the assassins Jon will get surprise of his life when his link to Jake gets re-established.
What follows is a chase, Jon trying to save Jake, Jake trying to save Jon and mysterious Evergreen company trying to capture them both. While story ends with some of the elements explained, role and details on the mysterious corporation that seems to be able to command state level assets from almost every government in the world remains unknown. They are shown as ghosts, unforgiving research corporation that is not above killing their own people to keep everything hush hush.
Interesting story, builds on the volume #1 but for all means and purposes I get the feeling volume 3 was planned when this one was written. If there is no vol 3 on the horizon, ending is still very good (very much like ending of 1980s conspiracy movies) - nothing ever finishes, as unknown man repeats to himself at the very end.
Art is consistent and I like it. It is very much Archie and Belgian school-like.
Recommended to all fans of thrillers but be warned that it does leave slightly bitter taste, like its missing the proper conclusion.
September 9, 2018
The follow-up to the first Jake Ellis mystery isn't as polished as the first. As Jon and Jake work to figure out how and why they're in the situation they're in, readers are left scratching their heads. While the action and premise are really good the plot gets a little jumbled. The "why's" are stretched pretty thin. The art was good but the lettering wasn't as smooth as it could have been. Overall, the book lost out on the potential it showed last volume.
November 12, 2018
Happy to say the story was concluded well in this second volume. Only thing different about this graphic novel is that we have the same artist, but his lines look different. Maybe they used another inker. So that's not as consistent as part one, but still nice are nonetheless.
December 19, 2017
What!?! The story intensifies, I just love the thrill and suspense. In all, I love the whole book as a whole. WE/I WANT BOOK 3!!!
December 6, 2019
Less interesting follow up to a cool spy in your head premise.
June 22, 2021
3.5 stars
January 15, 2020
It's basically Bourne with a sci-fi flare. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just feels like very familiar ground. The writing is strong and elevated by outstanding art from art with a fantastic color palette from Tonči Zonjić. "Who is Jake Ellis?" was a five star spy comic, and this is a solid enough follow up, but doesn't reach the heights of the former.
April 2, 2016
A graphic novel with two stories that eventually converge. In one, a tough guy in Bangkok is hiding out, while in the other an amnesiac in a German lab is wanted by every US agency, including DARPA; they don’t often get mentioned, so good for them.
Did not know going in that there was a previous volume, which would have been a big help. As far as I can make out, the amnesiac is not only in telepathic contact with the other guy, but he can tell him how to escape traps and which way to go without being there, so possibly precognition. There’s another guy—with his eyes sewn shut? Ew!—doing the same for the bad guys, so each side has a psychic or such.
As if that wasn’t enough farfetchness of plot, the guy in Thailand goes to the American embassy to tell his story, hoping that’ll keep those hunting him off his back. That seems incredibly naïve for such a skilled operator, and indeed all he did was get a death sentence on the head of the young diplomat he gets shunted to. So now he’s got to protect her as well as himself, but of course she has to stubbornly insist that he leave her alone, so she can become the damsel in distress later.
By this time the amnesiac has broken out of the hospital, only to find his previous life no longer valid, with his wife remarried. He promptly gets kidnapped and taken to Bangkok so both plots can come together. That’s probably my major complaint about this narrative: every plot device is so convenient, exactly what the story needs to move along, almost by the numbers.
Then the operative gets captured and quickly breaks out—and we find out about the experiments the military had performed on them—BUT the escape is not shown; that’s not a good way of doing things. Can’t help but laugh that the downed helicopter crashes into the plane just as it was taking off with the main bad guy; again, convenient. But the worst part was how he got shot in Thailand and a few minutes later it didn’t matter; he was back to fully operational. He gets shot in the facility—doesn’t matter. He separates his shoulder—doesn’t matter. Perhaps each issue had a different author and they didn’t collaborate, but this is a stunning lack of continuity that has to cost when coming up with the rating. This really had a chance to be so much better. . .
Extras: sketchbook, digital layouts. Big credits.
Did not know going in that there was a previous volume, which would have been a big help. As far as I can make out, the amnesiac is not only in telepathic contact with the other guy, but he can tell him how to escape traps and which way to go without being there, so possibly precognition. There’s another guy—with his eyes sewn shut? Ew!—doing the same for the bad guys, so each side has a psychic or such.
As if that wasn’t enough farfetchness of plot, the guy in Thailand goes to the American embassy to tell his story, hoping that’ll keep those hunting him off his back. That seems incredibly naïve for such a skilled operator, and indeed all he did was get a death sentence on the head of the young diplomat he gets shunted to. So now he’s got to protect her as well as himself, but of course she has to stubbornly insist that he leave her alone, so she can become the damsel in distress later.
By this time the amnesiac has broken out of the hospital, only to find his previous life no longer valid, with his wife remarried. He promptly gets kidnapped and taken to Bangkok so both plots can come together. That’s probably my major complaint about this narrative: every plot device is so convenient, exactly what the story needs to move along, almost by the numbers.
Then the operative gets captured and quickly breaks out—and we find out about the experiments the military had performed on them—BUT the escape is not shown; that’s not a good way of doing things. Can’t help but laugh that the downed helicopter crashes into the plane just as it was taking off with the main bad guy; again, convenient. But the worst part was how he got shot in Thailand and a few minutes later it didn’t matter; he was back to fully operational. He gets shot in the facility—doesn’t matter. He separates his shoulder—doesn’t matter. Perhaps each issue had a different author and they didn’t collaborate, but this is a stunning lack of continuity that has to cost when coming up with the rating. This really had a chance to be so much better. . .
Extras: sketchbook, digital layouts. Big credits.
November 19, 2016
'Where is Jake Ellis' by Nathan Edmondson with art by Tonci Zonjic is a continuation of a story told in a previous graphic novel. As a reviewer, some times we don't get to read the previous issues. I was able to catch on with this, but I recommend starting at the beginning.
Jon Moore is an analyst with an alphabet organization. He finds himself in the field and on the run because of a program that has him linked mentally (?) with Jake Ellis. But now Jake has gone dark to Jon. Without Jake, Jon is pretty inept and soon finds himself caught in Bangkok and being interrogated by Mollie Berkshire of the State Department. When Jake finally comes back online for Jon, Jon escapes with Mollie and promises her a big story. Can they stay alive long enough to discover what is going on? And where exactly is Jake Ellis?
I liked it. Jake and Jon are victims of their circumstances. They aren't really friends, but they need each other to survive. The reason they are linked was fuzzy to me in it's explanation, but I assume it was dealt with in the prior issues. Tonci Zonjic's art is pretty good for this style of story. Overall, I liked it.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Image Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Jon Moore is an analyst with an alphabet organization. He finds himself in the field and on the run because of a program that has him linked mentally (?) with Jake Ellis. But now Jake has gone dark to Jon. Without Jake, Jon is pretty inept and soon finds himself caught in Bangkok and being interrogated by Mollie Berkshire of the State Department. When Jake finally comes back online for Jon, Jon escapes with Mollie and promises her a big story. Can they stay alive long enough to discover what is going on? And where exactly is Jake Ellis?
I liked it. Jake and Jon are victims of their circumstances. They aren't really friends, but they need each other to survive. The reason they are linked was fuzzy to me in it's explanation, but I assume it was dealt with in the prior issues. Tonci Zonjic's art is pretty good for this style of story. Overall, I liked it.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Image Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
March 26, 2016
When I found Where is Jake Ellis years ago I absolutely loved it. Learning that Edmundson had written further on it had me a overjoyed and I am so glad that I was finally able to get my hands on a copy to read!
This part of the series picks up a year after the fifth chapter. Things in that year have not gone particularly well for either Jake or Jon, and it turns out that The Facility has not lost interest in them in that time. They have come to collect their errant experiments, and will not have any qualms about what they do to get what they want.
I really enjoyed how this fleshed out the small topics just mentioned in 'Who' and brought them to the forefront. I also enjoyed that Jake and Jon could really talk as people, now both in full awareness of each other. This is not the easiest of relationships and Edmundson brings that fully to light. Really, I feel that this is still a world ripe for the story telling but I am glad that at least this much more could be told!
This part of the series picks up a year after the fifth chapter. Things in that year have not gone particularly well for either Jake or Jon, and it turns out that The Facility has not lost interest in them in that time. They have come to collect their errant experiments, and will not have any qualms about what they do to get what they want.
I really enjoyed how this fleshed out the small topics just mentioned in 'Who' and brought them to the forefront. I also enjoyed that Jake and Jon could really talk as people, now both in full awareness of each other. This is not the easiest of relationships and Edmundson brings that fully to light. Really, I feel that this is still a world ripe for the story telling but I am glad that at least this much more could be told!
December 29, 2016
This volume may be more impressive than the first. We get some insight into how Jon and Jake are able to communicate. The rest is a bit of planning and a lot of shooting. This would make a pretty good movie given the almost non-stop action.
The second arc begins explosively with Jon being found by very professional-looking armed people. The training he got while working with Jake in his head is the only thing keeping him alive. In the meantime Jake wakes up and is questioned by all manner of secret agencies while in hospital. He gets away and goes to see his wife who has married again, thinking him dead. Then he is recaptured. They are both being sought by Dawid, a blind assassin with impressive extrasensory abilities. Jake is still able to help Jon through their link, but only when he is unconscious.
The second arc begins explosively with Jon being found by very professional-looking armed people. The training he got while working with Jake in his head is the only thing keeping him alive. In the meantime Jake wakes up and is questioned by all manner of secret agencies while in hospital. He gets away and goes to see his wife who has married again, thinking him dead. Then he is recaptured. They are both being sought by Dawid, a blind assassin with impressive extrasensory abilities. Jake is still able to help Jon through their link, but only when he is unconscious.
April 7, 2016
Even without the first volume ever having crossed my path, this was enjoyable. The mysterious adventures of a government field agent and his psychic connection to another, with a lot of foresight among his talents, is quite a rollicking little thriller read – together with the establishing book this must be great fun. It's not a hundred per cent convincing, but only on side issues did I question things. I could let the concept, which is borne very well, run proceedings, and said proceedings are really quite entertaining.
April 7, 2016
The first volume was far superior. This volume has devolved into a "The CIA is out to get me" chase movie. What made the first volume so great was that it was an extrapolation of real experiments the CIA conducted back in the 70's. Also flipped back and forth in the story timeline in a way that made it very confusing.
Received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 24, 2016
Certainly not as strong as the first trade, but I really like the chase Edmondson can write. I don't think Mollie or Dawid were really integrated well, but it was an interesting read that left questions left unanswered.
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March 22, 2024A great spy/espionage story that runs similarly to the Bourne books, but with an interesting twist. Both books in this series (the first being Who is Jake Ellis?) have taut writing and open, yet detailed artwork.
February 20, 2016
This is the continuing saga of Jon Moore who talks to his imaginary friend Jake Ellis. Wait, is he imaginary!!! Must read to find out.
I loved the artwork.
I won this as a free giveaway on Goodreads.
I loved the artwork.
I won this as a free giveaway on Goodreads.
March 7, 2016
Won from a goodreads giveaway
Excellent artwork, I loved the style
It did a good job of tying up any loose ends while leaving room for any possible future books, although the ending did leave some more to be desired.
I would overall highly recommend it for those who enjoyed the first book
Excellent artwork, I loved the style
It did a good job of tying up any loose ends while leaving room for any possible future books, although the ending did leave some more to be desired.
I would overall highly recommend it for those who enjoyed the first book
February 6, 2016
Espionage at its most thrilling and intriguing.
February 19, 2016
Fun and engaging, like action/spy TV. It's not ground-breaking, but I'd definitely read the next installment.
February 20, 2016
Very satisfying wrap-up(?) to "Who is Jake Ellis?", and well worth the 5 year wait. (I'm so glad I chose to wait for the trade rather than buy the single issues!)
May 20, 2016
4.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews