I wasn't sure what to expect from Johnny Raygun. Classic pulp-ish space opera along the lines of Astounding Space Thrills? A spoof on the order of The Tick? Straight-up action-adventure? As it turns out, it's something of a blend of all three, which I might have guessed from goofy pun names like H2 Olaf but which was made entirely clear when the stories featuring organizations like P.R.U.D.E. (Parents Rising Up to Destroy Entertainment) and establishments like "It Might Be Chicken." Woodall and Talbot construct a story that is full of gentle humor about the modern society but which is set in a sort of '30s ideal science-fiction world, and the result is a fun and surprisingly polished effort.
Johnny Raygun is an anthology of sorts, featuring three short stories. While this format can lead to overly compressed stories, Woodall and Talbot make great use of the format, telling three stories that show different sides of the world of Johnny Raygun and which have just enough premise to support the shorter tales. These three stories include a parody of online gaming and the parental groups that challenge them, a goof on fast food culture and an Elmore Leonard-esque loser bad guy and hapless cops and a showcase for the weird animals known as Mermonkeys that doubles as a bit more of an introduction to interesting hero H2 Olaf.
One of the selling points of Johnny Raygun for me is the ideas, which show a strong sense of imagination and fun. Japan transforming itself into an underwater colony to avoid earthquakes? A fast food restaurant that serves mystery meat that is advertised as such and which can be changed with high-tech energy rays? A class that watches a Space Patrol agent engage in dangerous anthropology studying Mermonkeys? Fun stuff all, and even more fun when Woodall and Talbot work the gimmick into the story, as they do with the hilarious ending of the second story.
I'm also quite fond of these characters. H2 Olaf's workaholic tendencies get to be multi-faceted, as he's the foil for fun-loving Johnny Raygun in the beginning but the Captain America-esque do-no-wrong hero of the third tale, all while maintaining the same stick in the mud personality. He's a stiff, but he's so good at his job it's hard to hate him. Meanwhile, Johnny comes across as a lovable doof without much in the way of skills but plenty in the way of luck, a sort of everyman agent who loves online gaming and fast food as much as he does being a super-heroic agent of the space patrol.
In terms of artwork, Johnny Raygun is a very strong effort as well. It reminds me of a more clean and easy-to-read stylized approach of artists like Skottie Young, as well as having a clarity and animated style that calls to mind the work of Mike Oeming and J. Bone. At the same time, aspects of it have the exaggerated look of Art Adams (especially in the Mermonkey designs) or the clear and strong storytelling and heroic figures of Kirby and Buscema. Basically, it's an art style with many influences, but the primary motivators seem to be clarity, fun and energy, all of which makes for strong artwork to go with entertaining stories.
