Comic Review: Cover #1

Cover #1

JinxWorld

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: David Mack

As Brian Michael Bendis takes up multiple titles at DC, he is also bringing his own publishing company, JinxWorld. Here he is continuing works of his such as Scarlett. Bendis is also premiering new works like Cover, the story of a comic book artist who is slowly recruited by the CIA. Sound like a ridiculous premise? Well, it is, but that doesn’t mean it will not be a fun ride. Especially as this narrative mixes two things that Bendis does well: espionage/intrigue stories and the medium of comics. The story follows an artist named Max Field with classic down-on-his-luck creator tropes and a fairly mysterious woman named Julia. While the story starts slow, it leaves me with a satisfied enough hook to continue and see this story through its first arc.

Writing

Bendis’ writing in this first issue seems strangely paced out. The story jumps around, and the narrative is hard to pick up in certain places. Especially a sequence of pages that delves into the main character, Max, and his work as an artist. Bendis draws these characters well and makes them relatable. These two leads rely on very obvious tropes as background. It remains to be seen whether or not these tropes will evolve the overall intrigue or remain tired and overused story points. While the character of Max seems to be influenced by Bendis’ own experience as an artist, Max’s recruitment into the CIA must be something Bendis has been stewing on for a long time, especially as we look at Bendis’ work as a writer and his affinity creating noir/thriller/espionage stories with characters like Jessica Jones and Powers. I can only hope that this story and these characters become as well drawn as those two. Cover sure has potential to be amazing, but the execution will remain to be seen.

Art

If the writing is this stories weak point, the art more than makes up for it. Mack’s style with watercolors is perfectly suited to the almost ethereal feeling the issue takes. His use of faded and saturated blues alongside the reddish browns set a mysterious tone that Bendis’ writing can flourish in. Sequences, like the one diving into Max’s work as an artist, are a joy to look at. Mack’s mastery of paneling and watercolors emphasizes the character Max’s job as an artist for a well known Samurai comic (ala Wolf and Cub). While the story seems oddly paced, the switching between hard-lined watercolors to free-form borderless panels irons out all of the creases. All of these artistic elements explode in the final panel as colors outside the issue’s dominate palette are emphasized.

Summary

While the concept of this story seems preposterous and displays dreams Bendis might have himself; the issue shows a lot of potential. David Mack’s art is the issue’s greatest statement, but the characters and writing by Bendis are solid. I look forward to seeing how this story plays out.