Local Man Volume 2: The Dry Season

Local Man #6-9

by Tony Fleecs, Tim Seeley

STRAY DOGS creator TONY FLEECS teams with REVIVAL's TIM SEELEY for a series that combines rural crime noir and superhero action!

Jack Xaver, Farmington's very own LOCAL MAN, is called in to investigate a mysterious drowning on dry land. The problem is, Jack isn't legally allowed to be a superhero. Oh, also, he's sleeping with the police chief's wife. AND, there's a conspiracy theory gaining traction that Jack murdered America's most beloved champion, The Camo Crusader.

Now, Local Man, already in over his head, is drawn into another twisted case with dark ties to his superhero past.

Collects Local Man #6 - #9, Local Man Gold (one-shot)

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Mystery

168 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2024

About the author

Tony Fleecs is the writer and artist of In My Lifetime, an autobiographical comic book. First published in 2006, ‘Lifetime was an immediate critical success, featured twice in Wizard Magazine, in the Comic Buyer’s Guide and on the Ain’t-It-Cool-News.

Fleecs has since been a contributor to anthologies including; Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened (nominated for the 2008 Eisner and Harvey awards for best anthology), Boom Studios’ Pulp Tales and C.B. Cebulski’s Wonderlost. He and writer, Josh Fialkov, provided the Li’l FireBreather backup stories for Phil Hester’s 2nd FireBreather series at Image Comics. Last year saw his first work for hire writing work when he scripted the comic book adaptation of the classic John Holmes film, Tell Them Johnny Wadd Is Here, widely regarded as the first comic book based on a porno to not be completely awful.

This year, Tony will co-write and illustrate the graphic novel Jeff Steinberg: Champion of Earth (again with Fialkov) for Oni Press.

His company Fleecs Design (who’s talent roster includes only himself) has a client list that features Disney, 20th Century Fox, Bongo Comics, Marvel/Rittenhouse, The Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinatti Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, Monster Garage, Taco John’s, major hospitals, insurance providers and banks.

His comics have been published by Random House (Villard), Image Comics, Silent Devil Productions, Boom!, IDW and Terminal Press.

Reviews

[Dan Schwent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1990s Image comics homage/country noir series continues. Since the issues in the first trade laid the groundwork, this one is all forward movement. A girl is found drowned miles from the nearest water source and Jack Xaver is on the case. There is intrigue, hippies, and twists galore. Is that grammatically correct? Who cares.

The pace in Local Man is such that I'm thinking about getting the monthly issues rather than wait for the trades. That's how much I enjoy this book.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a hard to explain feeling about this book. Good writing and story idea but I wasn’t super excited about it. Maybe I waited too long after reading vol 1 and I lost some of the connectivity or the flow of what was going on. We learned that a certain character was secretly up to no good in the last volume, in this volume by the end, Local Man aka Crossjack learns about them too. However, like I said I wasn’t digging this volume as much as the last but I just can’t put my finger on why.

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Перша сюжетна арка коміксу «Місцевий» приємно здивувала мене історією про занепалого супергероя, який повертається у рідне місто, намагається розібратися у власному житті та зіштовхується з темними таємницями минулого. Тому до другої частини, «Посушливі сезони», я підходив із великими сподіваннями — і вони загалом справдилися.

Сюжет цього разу розгортається навколо загадкового вбивства, яке кидає Джека у новий вир подій. Начальник поліції, попри своє складне й не дуже добре ставлення до нього, доручає йому розслідування, що виводить Джека на змову, пов'язану з експериментами над супергероями. Ключова фігура у всій цій справі — Інґа, жінка, яка колись була йому близькою, але обрала інший шлях.

Джек у цій арці змінюється. Якщо раніше він намагався уникати відповідальності, то тепер змушений приймати важкі рішення. Інґа теж виявилася не просто другорядним персонажем — її історія розкриває, як благородні наміри можуть призвести до жахливих наслідків. І взагалі, в цій арці багато про неї.

Візуально комікс продовжує радувати, малюнок художників ідеально передає атмосферу містечка, де за фасадом спокійного життя ховається справжня темрява. Те саме можна сказати й про супергеройське минуле, все візуально класно.

Щодо ваншоту «Місцевий: Золотий», він виявився приємним бонусом. Ідея зустрічі з самим собою з минулого реалізована вдало, особливо цікаво бачити, як Джек змінюється у власних очах. Це невелика історія, але вона додає ваги загальному сюжету.

Загалом, «Місцевий, Том 2: Посушливі сезони», хоч дрібку менше сподобався за попередній, але це хороше продовження серії, яке не лише розвиває персонажів і сюжет, а й додає нові цікаві деталі. Це історія про спокуту, моральний вибір та спробу змінити своє життя, навіть коли минуле постійно нагадує про себе. Далі фінальна арка.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I really loved this one! This story is continuing on in a way that is really having me crave more of it. The only knock on this one is that it is a tad bit predictable, but I’m still very much enjoying this series.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opening with a weird crossover one-shot starring all your favorite Image Comics characters from 1997 is not the way to get me reinvested in the world of Local Man. Just sayin'.

Fortunately, the rest of the volume veers far away from that weirdness. The sheriff requests that Crossjack aka Local Man help him investigate a spate of mysterious deaths tied to the sheriff's wife's new innovation center. Our hero is (as expected) quickly in over his head. It's further revealed that the sheriff's wife (and Local Man's sometime lover) is not who she claims to be - an interesting development.

The plotting is tight, the pacing fast, and the book looks good. It's not going to set any landspeed records, but I'm on board for more.

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about the surprise crossover with Love Everlasting. It's intriguing...but it immediately goes nowhere and I hate multiversing. (Also a (possibly fake) trademarks-and-copyrights page hints that there may be other crossovers occurring that I don't recognize. It may be that fully appreciating this issue requires knowledge that I don't possess.)

But then it's back to business as more weirdness is visited upon the innocent Farmington townsfolk (in the form of an angry water spirit); Inga's enmeshment in sinister undertakings is further revealed; and Jack continues to clash with his father, the sheriff, and assorted townsfolk.

So there are some good things happening, but Fleecs is spooling it out clumsily and unevenly. I feel like Local Man isn't meeting its potential and I'm waffling between 3 and 4 stars.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

More quality storytelling, and the art has been featured well, especially in scenes breaking the fourth wall.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Local man is still great just doesn't live up to volume 1.

Basically this time we have Local Man trying to figure out a mystery and of course that involves his Ex, and cheating with her on the cop he saved last volume where they finally were becoming friends. So a nice little twist, turny, fucked up trashy story that ends with a "oh shit they do have footage" of what happened and now everyone is screwed.

Really good dialogue, and art is great. Didn't love the weird first issue crossover special but the rest is amazing.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still not bad, probably better than the first volume. And yet I still feel that there's something missing for it to be simply good, perhaps simply more rigour. The storytelling is a bit shaky, the characters lack characterisation and the whole thing isn't supported by sloppy, featureless drawings.
And yet, I repeat, it's not really bad. Mainly frustrating.

[Roman · Rating 3 out of 5]

​​Перша арка Локал Мена стала для мене дуже класним відкриттям, дует Сілі та Флікса видав цікаву історію про те як осоромленому супергерою доводиться повернутися в рідне містечко, розгадати таємницю та стати кращою людиною. Чи вдалося їм втримати планку яку вони поставили у другій арці? Нуууууу…

Взагалі перед тим як перейти до основного сюжету, який триває з 6 по 9 номер скажу декілька слів про ван-шот "Local Man: Gold". Сюжет розповідає про те як нашому Джеку доводить затім-апитися з Джеком із минулого коли він ще був Кроссддеком, а також деякими іншими персонажами з коміксів Image для того, щоб знайти якусь жінку (яка як я потім дізнався вона є героїнею коміксу Тома Кінґа, він мене навіть тут примудрився дістати). Взагалі сюжет тут вийшов хорошим, мені сподобалося як автори показали, що наш Джек усвідомлює яким він був мудаком і не може терпіти себе з минулого. В результаті ван-шот вийшов невеликою добротною і веселою історією яка використовує ідею величезної битви з іншим всесвітом для того, щоб розповісти локальну історію та продовжити розвивати Джека.

Повертаючись до основної серії то основний сюжет крутиться навколо того, що Браян, який є начальником поліції, просить Джека розслідувати загадкове вбивство дівчини в результаті якого Джек знаходить склад на якому тримали суперів чиї сили хотіли передати іншим людям. Як ми дізналися у кінці минулої арки тримає їх там Інґа. Говорячи про неї то флешбечний блок цього разу приділили їй, тут нам і розказують про те як розвивалося її життя після того, як Джек покинув її й вона вирішила зробити місто кращим місцем своїми силами, в результаті чого і як це привело до ситуації в якій вона зараз. Сілі з Фліксом досить вдало це зробили й особливо мені сподобалася кінцівка флешбеків яка реконтекстуалізує те як ми могли про неї думати до цього.

А от основна сюжетна лінія мені сподобалась набагато менше. З роботою з персонажами все загалом досить добре, але от деякі сюжетні рішення мене відверто спантеличили. Так, наприклад тут йде розвиток здібності Джека й це вроді прикольно, але отримує він цей павер ап максимально тупим способом. Теж саме стосується кінцівки цієї арки яка просто закінчується, бо так треба й відчувається максимально поспішною. З того, що ще трошки розчаровує назву відсутність кліше з 90-х в номерах основної серії.

В результаті друга арка "Місцевого Жителя" починається досить цікаво і якщо флешбекам вдається втримати планку до самого кінця, то основний сюжет здувається в другій половині.

[Anthony O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

More engaging, brisk and often very wryly amusing antics from Seely and co. This time around the plot thickens and the first volume's rather alarming twist is (somewhat) justified. Defo keen to read more of this.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a minute I thought it was too in the weeds and then it pulled me right back in

[Alex Sarll]

More small-town Wisconsin adventures for our disgraced superhero, alternating between the wacky and the harrowing even within a single case, yet making what could have been a queasy mixture work. It's all good, but I especially enjoyed the Gold special, where a massive cosmic crisis Jack was involved with decades earlier finally catches up to him, and besides coping with a surprising array of crossover characters from elsewhere, he also has to face the most impossible foe of them all: his insufferable younger self.

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're looking for a superhero comic that's not one of the Big Two, look no further Local Man continues to impress on every level. Fleecs and Seeley create some amazing art throughout the volume. This comic reminded me of the feeling I had when reading it that I was encountering something special, a sleeper hit that will make me eagerly follow all future works by an author. Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs, if they play their cards right, have a future classic on their hands.

[jcw3-john · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly kind of depressed I didn't enjoy this one more. An edgy 90s antihero comic played straight in the modern day, with the verisimilitude of the 'real world' thrown in, sounds like totally my jam. But this comic doesn't really square the circle of merging the grey, bleak real world with the shiny, multicolored world of Liefeldian Image comics.

Every time you see some cool shit from the past show up, you're wondering why we're spending so much time on this rural character drama bullshit when there are these larger than life melodramas happening concurrently. The most obvious visual example is in Local Man: Gold, when Brian and Jack see Jack's past self in the holding cell, and Brian and Jack are wearing bland, colorless outfits, while Crossjack is there in all his brilliant glory.

Gold is the best part of this TPB's contents, this shamelessly gonzo superhero outing that also serves as a character drama for what Jack hates about himself. I think this series could do with some more influence from Fear Agent, which is doing a very similar thing of 'character drama deconstructing some genre beats while also playing them completely straight'.

Fear Agent never shied away from the genre beats while Local Man seems to deliberately play them down in favor of emphasizing the pastoral roots Jack sought to escape and is now forced to return to in his humiliated middle age. As a result, Local Man feels a lot more drab and lifeless than Fear Agent did. It's definitely a subjective thing, but it means I'm not really vibing with the comic.

Local Man: Gold was also large part fanservice bait, and while I intellectually recognize it, I had a blast with it and I'm the target audience for that fanservice bait, so I loved it.

I'd give the run itself a 7/10 and Gold a 9/10. Overall a C-, maaaybe a C product all averaged out. Rounding down a bit.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This keeps the quality going from the first volume, with Inga's machinations more to the fore as we see her going through multiple plans of how to make it in Farmington, with Jack Xavier (aka Crossjack aka Local Man) away adventuring with his superhero teammates, before finally joining forces with Camo Crusader to exploit the Fourth Gen superheroes held in stasis (not sure why, except to tap into, exploit and duplicate their powers).
This volume opens with an excellent time travel caper which has Jack meeting an earlier timeline version of himself - then, when a young woman, Mackenzie Cheng, drowned on dry land, he's dragged into trying to solve the case, uncovering an escaped/unleashed/living dead Fourth Gen 'Seascape' out for revenge for her own death (I think (the mechanics of this is probably the weakest part of the book)). In the midst of this he's also drugged by a group of (fake) hippies, the Star Tribe, which apparently helps him access a new level to his powers (maybe 🤷).
It all comes to a head with Seascape sweeping through Farmington, Inga's plans to sell powers to the highest bidder exposed, and finally Crossjack's actual role (as detailed in vol1) in the death of Camo Crusader, revealed to the whole world.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really, really good series. Not quite to a five-star read yet, but I think it will get there. Seeley combines smalltown Wisconsin with big screen superhero action and it doesn't seem like it should work, but it works beautifully. Jack Xaver, formerly Crossjack, has returned to his smalltown after a sexual indiscretion got him kicked off his team, Gen Three. Now living in his parents' basement, he's loosely become know as "Local Man," since he's reduced to wearing a stocking cap facemask, because his contract doesn't allow him to do any superheroing in a recognizable form. This time around, he's investigating the unexplained drowning death on dry land of a young woman who was supposed to speak at a community workforce conference. Despite himself, Jack finds the answers he's looking for and they're closer to home than he would like. I like the art and the story that moves back and forth between "real" life and the more colorful, bombastic life of the superheroes. There's a lot of heart in this story and it just seems to be getting better. Looking forward to what's next.

[Peyton F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this second volume is weaker than the first, and I’m not quite sure why.

It may be the (albeit fun) use of a LSD trip that allows our titular hero to grab hold of his speech balloons and a couple other things, but it felt like the voices I had conceived for these characters in my head had changed to something different. Having past sins of some other characters come to light is cool, but I think the actions a lot of our main cast takes is just odd.

It’s still really well written, but I think it’s funny going from my first review of volume one to this. I liked the one shot and I like the visual way that things get expressed by the end (IE color returning to Inga’s flashbacks after she enters Crossjack’s world) but it was fairly different from that first arc.

Not bad at all and I still really recommend. It’s also really funny. But it’s just kind of different from the first volume. I guess today is the Local Man day for me. Moving on to book 3!

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

That Gold one shot was hilarious, especially if you are aware of the intercompany crossover Image had with Valiant years ago, Deathmate. This still works without knowing anything about that disastrous crossover. That cover really brought me back though. This one shot is hilarious because Crossjack meets his douche bag younger self and is constantly embarrassed about how he used to act.

The main series reveals who is behind what is going on in the small town of Farmington, WI. It's got me really interested in the 3rd arc. I really like how this adds a bunch of fake Image lore that is right in line with how the company was back in the 90s.

[Justin Biondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, what a trip. Learning more and more about Jack and his life before he became Local Man is super fascinating. I loved this arc a ton but felt it fizzled out a little too easily towards the end but it’s truly a great read. I’m excited to see how the rest of the series plays out, and am devastated we don’t have more volumes coming in the future. I know I’m part of the problem of not enough people reading the book when it was coming out but it wasn’t on my radar remotely and that’s the worst pain possible. The most we can do now is read it again and again with spreading the word.

[Highland G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the crossover issue, very fun and set the context of the volume. Quite a bit to take in from this volume, not so much the story but the character development.
There are a few graphic images that might offend some so just be aware of that.
I am left having mostly enjoyed this volume but with so many more questions that need answered.
Especially one character who should be dead(died in vol1) being in this volume.
Hopefully they clear that up in Vol3.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something so appealing about this book. It's a small town story, it's a mystery, it's a commentary on 90s super-heroes. I love the backup stories and in this volume, there's an even tighter link between them and the main story. Also including in this volume is a one-shot that tackles company-wide crossover events. One of the most fascinating books on the stands right now.

[Adam Gerber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid continuation. I didn’t love it AS MUCH as the first few issues but tripping as a means of having an Animal Man 4th wall breaking moment is amazing. Plus shocking to be reading a comic modern enough in real time that references to things like fentanyl and truthers don’t feel painfully out of date

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not quite as amazing as V1, V2 deepens the mystery of what exactly is going on in Fairington and gives us some of the solutions hinted at in the previous volume. This feels in many ways like a middle volume, without a beginning or end, but nonetheless it has some terrific moments moving our plot along, leaving me wanting more.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot to unpack here. Time travel, betrayal, cross-over story, depression, regret, family dynamics, and self-loathing to name a few. Actions with consequences. I love it. This is a great series. So much to enjoy. The biggest question: is redemption possible?

[M.i. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get through this (sidetracked by life). But I have enjoyed the local man series. A different take on superheroing, but more so from the bonds that shape our lives including how easily they can be frayed.

[Greg L Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per my review on Volume 1, one of my favorite comic series of this era. Seely and Fleecs manage to create both a hilarious satire ---and loving tribute--- of the 90s superhero era (Image specifically). Love it.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another spectacular volume of issues 6 thru 9 of Local Man. A compelling mash up of thrilling superhero angst and rural crime noir. This time around we get a supervillain out for "watery" revenge in Farmington, Wisconsin. Can Crossjack continue his redemption arc?

[Trevor ComicFan · Rating 3 out of 5]

72

Super disappointing follow up to the great first volume. Definitely not in any rush to continue the series!

[Videogamenerd13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the first trade was amazing, the second is even better!