Saturday, August 5, 2017

A Roosevelt By Any Other Name?

This is Jazz Maynard:

Jazz the character is a Spanish jazz trump player/international thief and man of mystery. Jazz Maynard the comic is a French comic created by Spanish writer Raule Anisa and artist Roger Ibáñez, a "jazz crime noir." Hey, look, a trailer!

It's currently being reprinted in serial form by Magnetic Press at Lion Forge, and it's also available on Comixology, and is well worth a look.

Anyway, after rescuing his sister from a sex trafficking ring in New York, Jazz returns home to Barcelona, only to find himself ensnared in the affairs of boyhood pal turned gangster Judas Melchior (!), and to protect his family Jazz is being forced to steal one of the rarest coins ever:


Now, this is a true story, and they pretty much get all the facts correct--the 1933 $20 Double Eagle was minted but never released; some were stolen but recovered years later. One was quasi-legally snuck out of the country by agents of Egypt's King Farouk, and after complex legal wranglings, it is now the only 1933 double eagle that can be legally owned by private parties. It was auctioned off to an anonymous buyer for $8 million in 2002. So, great story, great MacGuffin, and it's all true!!

Wait...what was the other half of that panel?

D'oh!!! Wrong Roosevelt, fellas!!

I suppose we shouldn't get too upset at Spanish creators of a French comic getting Teddy mixed up with Franklin. Why, every day I see American comic makers mix up the 2 Queen Elizabeths in their comics!! [Hmm, great title for a Doctor Who episode--The Two Elizabeths! Sadly, i am legally proscribed from writing Doctor Who...]

Anyway, if you're into a good Euro crime noir comic, you should probably pick up Jazz Maynard. Just don't trust their knowledge of U.S. presidents!

From Jazz Maynard #3 (2017)

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