Brian Michael Bendis’s creator-owned Jinxworld imprint is now officially part of DC. And to celebrate the move, the writer’s launching two new series with some of his most well-regarded collaborators.
Bendis and “Alias” artist Michael Gaydos will launch “Pearl,” a book whose high concept appears to be “Romeo and Juliet, but with Yakuza,” in August. Bendis and David Mack (“Daredevil,” “Kabuki”) will launch “Cover,” a book inspired by the true story of a comic book artist turned spy, later this fall.
In a Hollywood Reporter interview announcing the series, Bendis was ecstatic to finally reveal his long-simmering plans. “We’ve been slow cooking this stew,” he said of him and Gaydos, “because we knew we were going to do a creator-owned book together and then when the TV guys made Jessica Jones a pop culture icon, we knew that no matter what we were going to do, it had to be up there.”
Bendis believes “Pearl” is up to the challenge. The book will follow the titular Pearl, who works as a Yakuza tattoo artist and falls in love with a member of a rival faction. Bendis says the story will give Gaydos a chance to create unique, “visually gorgeous” tattoo-inspired images, and will tell a more intimate, personal tale than most comics on stands.
“There are very few comics that are just flat out romantic, and to me romance is the most precious, dangerous thing…it’s the thing you most want to fight for, so [Pearl] is going to have to fight for that which she didn’t know she deserved until it was in front of her.”
As for “Cover,” Bendis told the Reporter that Mack’s experiences pointed the way toward telling that book’s particular story. “We were working on a book we were going to do next year, but [David] came over and told me a story that happened to him, and I’m like ‘well that’s our book.’ And that’s the book we are doing. David and I… are going to have a lot of fun examining the world of espionage through the world of Comic-Con.”
Bendis and DC are further celebrating Jinxworld’s move by making several of the imprint’s series available digitally for the first time. You can now find the entirety of Jinxworld’s previous publications, including free first issues of “Powers,” “Takio,” “Brilliant,” “Scarlet,” and “The United States of Murder,” on Comixology and various other platforms. But get those first issues for free now, because they’re only available until March 7.
The Hollywood Reporter and DC’s own press release announcing the Jinxworld move also teased further Bendis announcements to come throughout Emerald City Comic Con, so stay tuned for more Bendis-DC related news.
