Review: Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen #1

Creators: John Layman, Tom Peyer and Jim Massey, writers; Scott Chantler and Robbi Rodriguez, artists

Oni Press, color, 32 pages, $3.99

So? Fans of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” will know the name “Tek Jansen,” the star of the fake-news show anchor’s fan fiction project that has yet to find a publisher. It makes a good joke on the small screen, and manages to survive the transition to comicbook form fairly well. This debut issue features two stories of Jansen, who’s played by a Colbert look-alike, dealing in the character’s own moronic way with various galactic menaces and showing off enough space testosterone to make William Shatner jealous. Handsomely illustrated and nicely produced as it is, the joke unfortunately starts to wear itself out before the end of this first (of five) issues. Perhaps if Colbert himself were more involved in creating the stories (he’s credited as “galactic overlord”) and giving it an element that wasn’t already apparent from watching the show, it would be more interesting to both casual readers and his fans. Still, it makes a nice item for fans of the show to pick up and get a chuckle out of. Grade: B-