Magic Pickle

Okay, so there’s this pickle, see? And 50 years ago, it benefited from good old-fashioned American military know-how, becoming Weapon Kosher,  a weapon for justice -- *dill* justice. And after doing its job for a time, it cryogenically slept for many long decades -- in a pickle jar, of course -- until it was needed once again.

In modern times, Weapon Kosher is reawakened from his long slumber. He learns that after many decades underground, his oldest and greatest foes have returned. The Phantom Carrot and Chili Chili Bang Bang have robbed a museum and sold the goods on an Internet auction site. What could they be up to?

Weapon Kosher bursts from his secret lab, only to find that it now exists below the bedroom of a little girl named Jo Jo. She dubs him “Magic Pickle,” and together, after a few mis-adventures, they go off to fight the Brotherhood of Evil Produce.

It gets weirder from there. And a lot more fun.

Writer and cartoonish Scott Morse continues to prove himself one of the most versatile creators in comics with this book, a collection of a four-issue series which was published last year. His previous books like “Soulwind” and “Volcanic Revolver” are dramas that touch upon very adult concepts, often using the world-view of child protagonists to bring his story to light. Here, he again uses a child narrator, but in doing so produces a whimsical, pun-filled tale that’s funny, exciting, resonant, and appropriate for all ages.

“Magic Pickle” might be the name of the book, but the real star is Jo Jo, a smart young girl with a lot of confidence, but not enough to avoid being put upon by another girl in her class, the tall, pretty, rich and annoying Lu Lu. Jo Jo’s experience with the Magic Pickle and the Brotherhood of Evil Produce serve as the catalyst for her overcoming that challenge and her growing up just a little bit.

What’s great here is that Jo Jo gets to grow up while still remaining a child. She never has to enter the adult world or take on adult roles to accomplish anything in this book. It’s a wonderful affirmation of the power of youth.

Of course, Weapon Kosher himself is an entertaining creation. He’s a devoted soldier, devoted to his cause and deadly serious, but he spouts lines like “Time to bust out the croutons” in the middle of a fight. And of course, he’s a pickle.

Morse’s artwork here is fluid and exciting, like the best of Tex Avery cartoons, only with a thicker, more stylish brush stroke. Previous Morse books were laid out like movies, with every page a series of thin, rectangular panels that were all exactly the same size. Here, he abandons that method, and lets the story flow from one odd-shaped panel to the next. It frees him and gives the tale and his artwork an extra dash of energy.

All told, dill-lightful. Three stars.

Available digitally from Comixology

(Review originally published in 2002.)