Tech Jacket is an American comic book created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist E. J. Su, first published monthly by Image Comics from November 2002 to April 2003. Set in the Image Universe, the series follows Zack Thompson, a high school student, who inherits and permanently bonds with a powerful suit of technologically advanced armor and weaponry from a dying alien, which grants him incredible strength, speed, flight, durability, and protection. Zack is thrust into the larger universe of intergalactic politics, wars, and alien species. He helps defend Earth and space from various cosmic threats while dealing with the burdens of being a teen superhero.
Following the first Tech Jacket series, the character was incorporated into Invincible as a supporting character, with later Tech Jacket series marketed as spin-offs of it. As such, Tech Jacket was adapted to the Invincible animated adaptation, gender-swapped as Zoe Thompson, and voiced by Zoey Deutch.
Publication history
Tech Jacket debuted with a six-issue run from November 2002 to April 2003, created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist E. J. Su. The comic introduces Zack Thompson, an ordinary high school student who unexpectedly inherits an incredibly powerful piece of alien technology known as the Tech Jacket. This suit—created by the Geldarians, a highly advanced and intelligent alien race—grants him a host of high-tech capabilities. These issues were later collected into the trade paperback Tech Jacket Volume 1: The Boy From Earth.
In 2013, the story continued with digital-only issues #7 and #8, which were reprints of backup stories from Invincible issues #71–75, 77–78, and 80, where Tech Jacket took part in the Invincible War storyline. These were followed by a three-issue digital miniseries in 2014, written by Joe Keatinge with art by Khary Randolph. This miniseries served as a bridge between the original run and the upcoming ongoing series, reintroducing Zack Thompson in a more seasoned role as Earth’s galactic guardian. These digital issues were collected in Tech Jacket Volume 2: Lift Off.
Following the digital miniseries, Tech Jacket was relaunched as a print series under Skybound/Image Comics, running for 12 issues from July 2014 to December 2015. Joe Keatinge continued as the writer, with Khary Randolph as the artist. This series expanded the Tech Jacket universe with high-stakes, cosmic adventures, showcasing Zack’s evolution as a hero. The issues were collected into two volumes: Volume 3: Touch the Sky (issues #1–6) and Volume 4: All Falls Down (issues #7–12).
Reception
The 8-issue Tech Jacket first volume, The Boy from Earth, holds an average rating score of 3.32 stars out of 5 for 10 reviews on the book tracking and recommendation website TheStoryGraph, with most reviewers calling the story plot driven and written for a younger audience.
The 12-issue Tech Jacket (2014) series collecting Volumes 3 & 4 holds a strong average critic score of 8.5 out of 10 for 34 reviews, and a user score of 8.0 out of 10 for 7 reviews on the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup. AIPT's David Brooke commended its art and called it a "very enjoyable popcorn type of comic that excels at action and adventure".
