The fifth issue is here but does this series still do enough right to earn itself an audience?  Read on to find out.

The official description from IDW:

MMA fighter Joe Palooka is a fast-rising star-but his dependence on the dangerous and eccentric billionaire MMA fight team owner Tommy Chang could turn deadly at any moment.  Joe has no choice but to fight a 500-pound Sumo wrestler to prove himself to Tommy Chang and his Team china coaches.

The saga of the accused fighter continues in this compelling but at times off-balance re-imagining. There are some speed bumps in the narrative road but for the most part the creative team only waivers slightly as they struggle to keep the story fresh. Looking back on the prior but established quality there’s a clear level of expectation for this issue to step up and give the fans what they want.

Mike Bullock continues to pen the series and the latest issue delivers some solid action with a minimal amount of dialogue.  From the characters to the point by point cover-up that’s finally on the verge of collapsing, each cog in this proverbial machine is going along just the way you might expect them to, and that right is the problem. Whether you want to complain about the childish tendencies of the text, the truth is not enough happens here and what does feels more or less forced.

The art by Fernando Peniche absolutely fits the experience the author is trying to deliver.  As the audience dives head first into the zany and absolutely over the top concept, the pencil strokes anchor the experience in a visceral visual experience. Each character has a chaotic nature that offers a natural flow despite intentional deformities that seem to be an attempt to increase the level of tension and despair that faces our hero in the proverbial ring.

Joe Palooka #5 is nowhere near a perfect outing for our main character.  Between the inherent script issues and the rather basic amount of progress for the overall narrative this release only scrapes by with a very light recommendation.

3/5