AfterShock Comics have announced “A Calculated Man,” a math-inspired crime series by writer Paul Tobin (“Bunny Mask,” “My Date With Monsters”) and artist Alberto Alburquerque (“Letter 44”), as well as colorist Mark Englert and letterer Taylor Esposito.
The book follows Jack Beans, an accountant living in witness protection after betraying his former employers, the Pinafore crime family. After three years, Jack has had enough, and decides to reclaim his old life. The Pinafores think they are ready, but “little do they know that Jack’s skills with math and his perfect memory have made him a better killer than they ever could have realized. What follows is a journey full of murder, mayhem and mathematics.”
Tobin, who describes the series as “John Wick mixed with A Beautiful Mind,” says the premise was partly inspired by “my love of Richard Feynman, for one, a brilliant theoretical physicist. How could his mental skills save him in a true life and death situation? How would Einstein have done if he’d been asked to take down the mob? What are the lengths a scientist will take when it comes time to put down their theories and take up a gun?”
For more from Tobin, head to the official Q&A below. “A Calculated Man” #1 will be released on June 15 with a regular cover by Alberto Alburquerque, and an incentive variant by Andrea Mutti. It will retail at 32 pages for $4.99, and you can also check out an interior preview below:
A verifiable math genius, Jack Beans used to run the numbers for the Pinafore crime family, until one day he ran them too well and concluded that the only way out of this life was in a casket or Witness Protection. So, he turned state’s evidence and ran.
Now, the Pinafores are out to end their favorite accountant. Little do they know that Jack’s skills with math and his perfect memory have made him a better killer than they ever could have realized. What follows is a journey full of murder, mayhem and mathematics.
Writer Paul Tobin (BUNNY MASK, MY DATE WITH MONSTERS) and artist Alberto Alburquerque (The Amazing Spider-Man, Savage Sword) unleash a master of math on a mission to eliminate a criminal empire for good.
PAUL TOBIN ON WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT AND WHY HE IS THRILLED FOR IT TO COME OUT:
“It’s John Wick mixed with A Beautiful Mind when ex-mobster / math genius Jack Beans decides three years in the witness protection program is more than enough, and that all he needs to do to safely return to his old life is…kill every last member of the Pinafore crime family. It’s a tall order, but Jack Beans is no ordinary man. First, he’s GOOD at math. Not just “What’s the square root of nine?” good, but “prove the existence of three differently-sized infinites by use of the Continuum Hypothesis” good. He literally sees the world as a math problem, and was born with synesthesia: he sees numbers as colors, and his memory is absolute. It’s these skills Jack will have to use to make his hopes of staying alive add up to anything other than zero!”
PAUL TOBIN ON SOME OF HIS INSPIRATIONS BEHIND CREATING THE BOOK:
“My love of Richard Feynman, for one, a brilliant theoretical physicist. How could his mental skills save him in a true life and death situation? How would Einstein have done if he’d been asked to take down the mob? What are the lengths a scientist will take when it comes time to put down their theories and take up a gun?”
PAUL TOBIN ON HIS APPROACH TO CREATING A NEW COMIC LIKE THIS VS. SOMETHING LIKE HIS OTHER HIT AFTERSHOCK SERIES, BUNNY MASK:
“Largely the same, honestly. I think of mood and character, and I mix them together with events and see how the characters feel about it. What would they do in certain situations? How far will they take things?”
PAUL TOBIN ON (3) REASONS WHY COMIC FANS SHOULD PICKUP THIS BOOK:
“Character, character and character. I found myself fascinated as “Jack Beans” grew on the pages, and even more so when Alberto’s art started coming in. Jack is a very odd man, but one whose every action has to make sense, because in his head he’s just solving equations. Everything HAS to add up in his head. Still, the numbers favor an entire crime family over one man and readers will get a chance to see how it all works out!”
