An adventure by Ben Hatke, the creator of Zita the Spacegirl, Mighty Jack is a retelling of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, except it goes in very different directions.
In a semi-retelling of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, a boy named Jack buys seeds, his single mother gets angry about this choice, and the seeds grow into... enormous plants with very different properties, including enhanced powers if they're consumed. But they bring problems as well, including a goblin that kidnaps Jack's minimally verbal sister Maddy.
Jack joins together with his neighbor Lilly, and the two go on a big adventure up to the sky to rescue Maddy, with the help of plant juice that gives them extra strength, agility, and the ability to handle injuries that would normally have killed them.
There are three books in this series:
- Mighty Jack
- Mighty Jack and the Goblin King
- Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl
That last one is a Crossover with Zita the Spacegirl, Ben's other comic series.
This comic book contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Lilly, who is more athletic than Jack and more willing to jump into danger.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: A goblin king tries to force Lilly to marry him. She isn't putting up with that.
- Crossover: With Zita the Spacegirl. She and Lilly don't get along!
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to Zita the Spacegirl, the creator's other major work. It doesn't have Zita's joke-a-day comic sensibilities, and is instead straight adventure. It's also more violent.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The goblins have captured Maddy, and it's later shown they intend on eating her.
- Platonic Boy/Girl Heroes: Jack and Lilly, his neighbor. Maddy, once rescued, later joins them, though she's Jack's sister and not an example of this trope.
- Wingdinglish: How Maddy talks. She mostly doesn't talk, but when she does, it's in strange symbols.
- Would Hurt a Child: The goblin king punches Lilly out after she mouths off to him.
