Brian Truitt

USA TODAY

The Pork Chop Express is rolling again.

Nearly 30 years after director John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China introduced bumbling protagonist Jack Burton — as played by Kurt Russell in a white tank top and 1980s mullet — the trucker is back and getting into bigger trouble in San Francisco's Chinatown in a new Boom! Studios comic-book series beginning June 4.

The movie tanked at the box office in 1986, but has since found a cult following for its campy mix of old-school kung-fu, sci-fi, fantasy and Western films — all of which made Big Trouble comic writer Eric Powell (The Goon) a fan at the age of 10.

"Everything my young brain could throw into a movie and love, it was in there," says Powell, who crafted the story with Carpenter.

"I don't think I've ever heard Chinese black magic brought up anywhere else but that movie," says series artist Brian Churilla (The Secret History of D.B. Cooper). "It seemed like such a natural fit for a comic. It was a no-brainer."

Burton's first cinematic trip to Chinatown saw him stumble and quip his way to saving the day, defeating the evil sorcerer Lo Pan and keeping him from taking the fiancée of Burton's pal Wang Chi as his own wife in a mystical underworld.

The new comic picks up right where the movie ended, with the reveal of one of Lo Pan's ape monsters hiding in the back of Burton's Pork Chop Express truck on his way out of town. Burton discovers him but instead of brawling, he ends up befriending the slobbering and friendly creature, naming him Pete and taking him back to Chinatown, where Wang is about to be married.

Unfortunately, a new villain arrives in the form of Lo Pan's warrior magician Qiang Wu, who's not pleased his master has been assassinated. He captures Wang and forces Jack to venture back into the underworld, with his swagger and ever-present third-person "Jack-isms" in tow.

Along the way, Big Trouble also showcases aspects of Burton's past adventures involving biker gangs, death cults and even "some romantic history lessons," says Powell.

In crafting a comic-book version of Russell, Churilla says the actor gives him a lot to work with, from a cleft chin to his bulbous nose. "He's a handsome leading man but he has these crazy small eyes with the big heavy brow with the fat deposits above the eyelid."

Finding Burton's bragging machismo came naturally for Powell after having watched the movie so many times since he was a kid. "It's having the conversation in your head," he says, "and just on instinct knowing what his response to be."

The interaction between Jack and Pete is another strength that Powell brings and uses as a comedic advantage, according to Churilla.

"There'll be a serious situation," he says, "and Jack'll be like, 'See, Pete thinks it's OK!' And you show Pete and he's just got that goofy grin."

Carpenter always has maintained that Burton thinks he's the hero but instead is the sidekick of his own movie. "He believes that 'Relax, everybody, I'm here,' and he can do nothing right. Nothing," the director told USA TODAY last year. "He's a complete buffoon, but you love him."

The comic stays true to that storytelling, though Churilla concedes that it takes a certain sleight of hand to make it work. "On page 4, he's trying to do a big karate kick and he falls on his butt. It's carrying that whole idea through."

Adds Powell: "I don't change the character and make him more heroic or anything. He's still the same guy with that smug kind of attitude where he's got all the confidence in the world — he just doesn't have all the ability."

Hero or not, Jack Burton's return is a welcome one, as Churilla has noticed an overwhelming enthusiasm among comic and film fans for a new Big Trouble in Little China adventure.

"I tell people that Eric's scripts are funnier than the movie," the artist says. "It's been a little bit daunting because the expectations are high. It almost feels like people have been waiting for this forever."

And what would ol' Jack Burton always say at a time like this? "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."