Rippazine # 1 (Salvage, P.I)

By Mark Rodriguez 

Among the regular comics, the Rippaverse also released the Rippazine which would feature previews of upcoming comics and such. I bought this one alongside Yaira #1 back in the day. The part that grabbed my interest is the 13-page all-new story with an all-new character with the potential of later appearing in their own comic. Let's check out the introduction to Salvage, P.I. While I mention what else is in the Rippazine, the main focus will be on Salvage, P.I.

Salvage, P.I

The story opens with a truck driver, driving through the night as he enjoys his coffee. Just then a man in armor leaps onto the dashboard and kicks the window in. The armored man leaps out of the way as the truck smashes into a telephone pole. With the truck stopped, the armored man and several others gather around to rob it.

Salvage talks to the person hiring him, saying that he keeps his ear to the streets and promises results. He's a specialist and if theft is involved, then he came to the right place. The man asks about his license to kill. Salvage explains that Florespark issues a special license to qualified private investigators. As long as he's justified and on contract, he can use lethal force. It took several years of strenuous training to obtain that honor and he believes only three people have that license.

The man says he'll be looking forward to working with Salvage and has sent him emails with all the information he needs. They are losing millions in stolen product and the police seem to be dragging their feet over this. Salvage shakes his hand and says to leave it to him. Salvage walks off and monologues that he already had a lead on the case, but he likes to look his clients in the eyes.

 

The lead is William Scotcher, the chief operations officer of Vritford Trucking. There are being targeted and are losing tens of millions of dollars worth of goods. They only deal with high-value goods and this has to be costing them the trust of other companies. These guys have to be targeting Vritford specifically and a competitor would have the most to gain from their failing reputation. Not many companies are trusted with high-value goods and just recently Florespark Logistics had to downsize for the first time in years. Salvage decided it's time to pay them a visit.

Days later, Salvage meets up with the Chief Information Officer of Florespark Logistics and he mentioned the recent thefts in his industry. He asks if he's worried, and the CIO says they have contingency plans and maybe Vritford should focus on getting better security. He says he appreciates their concern and should focus more on the companies being impacted.

Salvage and the CIO head towards the elevator. Salvage says he said so little but has given him so much. Salvage says the man pressed a button on his briefcase and now they're going to a floor that requires special access. The man says Salvage is just being paranoid and they're going to the floor for executive parking. Salvage can hear that several men are on their way.

The elevator door opens and several armed gunmen rush towards it. The CIO was tied up and tells them that Salvage was on the first floor. Salvage gets to his car, saying the fact these guys want him dead tells him all he wants to know. He drives off, knowing they are following him, which means there might be more to this debacle.

Salvage leads the men inside a large building. As the men step into the area, Salvage says he just had a few questions and there was no need for violence. One of the men tells the others to 'shoot to kill'. Salvage says that's 'unfortunate', tosses his hat into the man's face. Salvage leans in from behind the wall and shoots him down.

Salvage shoots another guy a few times in the chest, who seems to be alright. Realizing he was wearing a bulletproof vest, Salvage punches him out. Salvage focuses and can hear that more men are coming his way. Salvage tosses his hat like a frisbee, knocking a man back, who he follows up with a headbutt. He shoots down all other men. He grabs the man he knocked back and tells him to get up.

Salvage grabs the guy and throws him through a glass door that hits more gunmen on the other side. Salvage makes a run for it, shooting back towards the gunmen. He then stops and narrowly dodges a punch being thrown his way. Salvage draws his gun and sees the armored man from earlier, the one that hijacked the truck. 

 

My thoughts- 

Man, what a cliffhanger. Salvage is a competent fighter and gunslinger, he has enhanced hearing and a gimmick-ed hat. I'm not sure how all of that is going to help against this armored guy that either has specialized armor or might be an Except.  I wasn't expecting this to be a cliffhanger but rather a complete, though short, story. It is kinda sneaky there Mr. July. This was a preview to see if Salvage would hit and people would want more... but how can people not want more leaving the ending like this? I guess it gives credit to how well the 13-page sales pitch worked. I legit want to see what happens next.

Salvage a is cool, more down to Earth character, and it seems in terms of super powers, he only has enhanced hearing. The rest is up to his own grit and being quick on the draw. And yes, fans have said with his hat on from certain angles he does kinda look like Micheal Jackson. 

So for the rest of the Rippazine, the Soska Sisters (writers for Yaira and Bloodruth) interviewing Chuck Jones (who worked on Alpha Core and Horesman) and Mike Barron, the writer for Goodyng. They even interview Dean Cain who is working on his own self-insert comic 'Dean Cain: All American Lawman' which will be produced by Big Man Comics. That's the first comic I seen here mentioned not related to the Rippaverse.

You also get horoscopes from Bloodruth, Lilian's gossip about current events in Florespark (I like how she mentioned the climate seemed to have gotten colder once Yaira showed up and how Braxwell seemed to be the silent type) as well as Micheal's tips on getting women from his comically misogynistic point of view. There's also a recipe for chili we might try (we do enjoy a good chili) and one for a mixed drink. There is a character bio, and this time we start with Altona.

There are also preview pages for Isom # 1, Isom # 2, Alpha Core # 1 and Yaira # 1. For me it was cool to be reminded of some of these stories and especially all the ways Isom, Yaira and Alpha Core intertwined. The magazine also advertises upcoming (at the time) comics, Goodyng and Bloodruth.

How it all started, Altona asking Avery to check up on her friend Jasmine who vanished once she started working with Darren Fontaino.

 

The Rippazine was a good read. It reminds me of the Wizard magazines, except it's mostly about the Rippaverse. The previews are mostly for those that haven't already bought the  Rippaverse comics so far. The only part that confused me about the magazine was Harriet's Kitchen for the chili recipe. The cocktail was one of 'Darren's Drinks' from Club Merq, but I never heard of a Harriet's Kitchen appearing in any of the Rippaverse comics so far. Mr. July is married but 'Lady Rippa's' name isn't Harriet. Maybe the place will show up in a future comic?

We'll see what happens as the Rippaverse continues to expand. So far people loved Salvage enough to get him his own comic down the pipeline. Hopefully it continues where this one left off.