Sam leaps into Willie Jackson, a death row inmate, with the mission of saving the life of his colleague, Ed Weslowski, who is fated to die on death row himself. The situation all hinges on whether Weslowki, and journalist, will reveal the name of a source in a case against a murderous physician, something his convictions will not allow. In the end, Sam is able to change the circumstances that lead to Weslowski being executed, which leads to the positive side effect of Weslowski testifying on Willie’s behalf, avoiding his execution as well.

Created by Donald P. Bellisario. Written by Robert M. Ingersoll. Pencils by Rob Davis. Lettered by Vicki Williams. Colored by Scott Rockwell. Edited by George Broderick, Jr.

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Comments:
Issue #2 begins with one of those classic Quantum Leap fish-out-of-water scenarios that the series loves…Sam about to be executed with an electric chair. It’s an image so classic that the TV series had actually already used it. The date listed for this issue is December 1991, while Last Dance Before an Execution had aired May 1 of the same year. I have no idea when the story was actually written or drawn, and whether they lifted the idea from the TV show or if it they came up with it independently. Either way, it’s an impacting moment.

The story that follows turns out to have a lot more to do with journalism than one might expect from the way the story starts. Sam’s host happens to be a reporter himself, but this is only important in that it helps to bring him into contact with Ed Weslowski, a colleague who finds himself in jail for contempt of court, for…reasons. This brings up the most notable criticism for the story, which is that there is a lot of words and fair percentage of the pages devoted to making sense out of all the pieces of the court case against the fictional Dr. Parker Michaels, aka “Dr. Death,” and how exactly everyone life hinges on whether or not Weslowski will give up his source. A chunk of my reading experience was spent trying to focus in and understand how this predicament came to be.

But it turns out to not be a fatal flaw, as the issue does eventually get all its essential context onto the page and sets up what turns out to be its central point: Ed Weslowski’s refusal to compromise his principles and give up his source. His argument is so compelling that even Sam comes arounds–he won’t try to make another man compromise his principles, and he refused to believe that if his leaps are being controlled some higher power, that it is for that purpose. It this idea that elevates the issue beyond its plot, and what ultimately makes it work.

I’m not a massive fan of this issue (actually, I haven’t loved the art in either issue art of either issue of Quantum Leap so far, but I preferred the last one more). The main characters look sufficiently like Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, but there is something about everyone’s posture and body language which is often a bit clunky, and not quite right. But I don’t really have a good eye for comic art, so it doesn’t really impact my enjoyment very much.

Who and Where is Dr. Sam Beckett?
Sam is Willie Jackson, former reporter for the Cleveland Daily Sentinel, and death-row inmate, in 1962 from June 11th to at least June 12th, but it could be longer. It depends on how long it takes for Ed Weslowski to be released. This all happens in the last couple of panels and it’s not made clear how long after the rest of the story this is.

This is all happening in an unnamed prison that is in or near Cleveland, Ohio (at one point someone says that Sam is going “back to Cleveland” in order to attend a hearing, but the prison is definitely in a city and only 20 minutes away from a real-life park in the city.

What does Sam have to do?
Sam has to find a way to save Ed Weslowski from ruining his life, which includes murdering the notorious Dr. Parker Michaels, and being executed for this crime. This also means that he saves the life of Weslowski’s five year old niece Laura (whom Michaels himself killed), and that Michaels ends up on death row anyway. As a by-product, this also leads to Willie Jackson himself having his death sentence commented, and he’s paroled in 1969.

What do we learn about Sam Beckett?
Sam has never been to jail before his Leaping began, except when he was playing Monopoly. He is vaguely aware of the court case of Dr. Parker Michaels.

What do we know about Al?
Al is familiar with Dr. Parker Michaels, and definitely does not like him.

Al never took short-hand.

What about the experiment?
Sam believes that his “Leap Field” shorted out the electric chair, though Al finds that unlikely given how his leaping has never effected any electronic equipment before.

Ziggy is definitely referred to as “he”, as the computer often was earlier in the series. Ziggy cannot see or hear what Sam is saying or doing, and thus doesn’t know what is happening unless Al tells him. This makes perfect sense with the idea that only through Al’s brainwaves can anyone else interact with Sam, but it’s never occurred to me before. (I suppose the way the revival series changed all this has mixed up my perceptions over the original concept).

The clear implication here, stated many times, is that if Sam fails his mission, he will die in Willie Jackson’s place when he’s executed. (The show had obviously not adopted its “Success is not a condition for leaping” policy when the issue was written. I wish there was a clear story where Sam and Al learn this).

“Driven by an unknown force…” (God or Time or Something)
Al is certain that the electric chair failing, and thus Sam not being executed, is evidence that “You-Know-Who” is controlling the Leaps.

“Oh Boy”
The catchphrase is only heard once in this issue, at the end when Sam has leapt into a department store Santa Claus, and he says “Ho Ho Hoh, Boy!”

Sam’s Complicated Love Life
There’s no indication of anything along these lines in this story (for the second issue in a row)

The Many Loves of Al Calavicci
There is also no reference to this in this issue.

Other Observations
• On page 1, a caption announces the date, similar to the way the show worked, although a calendar in the background (which based on perspective must be huge) makes this redundant.

• Also on Page 1, Sam’s narration ends with him saying “Not again,” which I suppose is a reference to the fact that he had leapt into an imminent execution in an episode earlier that year.

• Also on Page 1 there is an off-panel sound effect which presumably refers to the electric chair shorting out. But the sound effect is “SNIKT”, which a lot of comic fans would find familiar. Has Wolverine suddenly shown up??!

• The series so far has done a good job capturing the voices of the characters. I can imagine Sam whispering angrily to Al the lines at the bottom of page 2: “Just tell me who I am and what I’m supposed to do. So I can do it and leap out of this body”

• With that, Sam refers to “leaping out” of Willie’s body, which is not strictly accurate according to the lore of the show or even to the specifics of this issue, but he’s probably just talking generally.

• There are some amusing images of Al of pacing through the bunkbed, and later appearing to Sam through the bed as well.

• Sam escapes custody, which is a little ridiculous, using martial arts moves that people are unfamiliar with in 1962. But in so doing, he inspires a young Steven Seagal, of all people, who is there visiting the prison…as a tourist!

Sam Leaps To…
…a department store Santa Claus in Issue #3 of Quantum Leap, and the story, He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good.

Favorite Dialogue
The best moment of dialogue is this exchange between Sam and Ed Weslowski. It’s a couple of simple lines which sum up each man’s perspective in the argument, and it’s the moment where Sam is convinced by Ed’s position:

Sam: But you’re helping a murderer!
Ed: No, I’m protecting a source.

The Best Moment
It’s hard not to look at Sam saving little Laura’s life by crashing his car into Michael’s car as the best moment. But maybe my actual favorite is about 2/3 through the story when Sam tells Al to go back and find another way to save Ed without forcing him to betray his principles.

All the exposition and unpacking of the scenario that we’ve had all comes together at this moment. The escape routes are all cut-off, and as readers we have no idea how Sam is going to get out of this situation. That’s the moment where I found myself really wanting to know what was going to happen, where I had to turn the next page and keep reading.

Previous Issue: First There Was a Mountain, Then There was No Mountain, Then There Was (Quantum Leap #1) • Next Issue:  He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good… (Quantum Leap #3)