Jack Beans was the numbers man for one of the biggest crime families around. He’s been in a witness protection program for a few years, but now his past is catching up to him. Should we care what happens to him?
Cover by Alberto AlburquerqueWritten by Paul Tobin
Illustrated by Alberto Alburquerque
Colored by Mark Englert
Lettered by Taylor EspositoJack Beans sees the world in numbers and colors. He has a photographic memory and he uses what he has seen in every waking moment of his life to be able to place himself and anyone and everything else in the world right where they were in his memory. He never forgets anything. He also cannot lie. Living in hiding within a witness protection program he is protected and watched by the FBI after turning state’s evidence against his former employers; the Keys Family, one of the biggest crime syndicates in existence. Things are about to get rough for Jack and he’s going to have to use all of his mental prowess to not only escape with his life once again, but to turn the criminal world upside down to get away.
“A Calculated Man” #1 has a lot on its plate. It begins in medias res, dropping us right into the most current moment of Jack Beans’s life, which, while he has the upper hand in the moment, and in most scenes, things are not going to be easy on him. The former accountant for the Keys crime family, Jack spent six years doing his job to the best of his ability, but after a specific turn of events that we are not yet privy to, he decided to turn to the FBI for help and to get out of the business. This first issue gives us a lot of information on Jack, either spoken directly from him within certain scenes or through an incredibly dense info dump via Federal Marshal Omaha Avery. Avery has been assigned to Jack during his tenure as state’s witness, and is getting some assistance from up and comer, Elene Santos. So, the majority of Avery and Santos’s scenes are a history lesson for both us and Santos. It, unfortunately, isn’t the most compelling or original way to tell a story or give exposition, but Tobin is a gifted enough writer that it isn’t completely dull. Its main flaw is that because it is so much information moving between both speech bubbles and narration boxes, that it can be easier than usual to get a little lost in which portion of the writing is the most important and following where it flows.
Between the marshals’s scenes and following Jack in his current escapades, is a bit much as Jack too has plenty to share with us and a Keys family member he has kidnapped to use as a scapegoat and hopefully allow him to get away mostly unnoticed and slip back into hiding. The story is mostly only interesting because of the kind of character that Jack is, but what could feel like an important and special story mostly falls flat. The parts end up being more than the sum. Interesting characters that are on their way to being fleshed out, some mildly intriguing reveals, harsh violence, and a (possible) race against the clock all make for what should be a collar grabbing narrative in the same vein as a comic like “Criminal” and while we could be on our way to something to something like that, it just does not seem likely. Stories should never be rushed, and judging what’s to come based on one entry is not my style, but the finished product of this opening issue did not grab me the way I had hoped. It’s collapsing under its own weight. Cramming a lot of details that do feel consequential, but also muddled and lost the swirl of storytelling. Tobin’s work on books like “Bunny Mask” proves that he can take a layered story and run with it, but there is simply something off with this effort and it just did not work for me.
The inclusion of Alberto Alburquerque’s talent on this series also feels out of place. I am a fan of everything I’ve seen him do previously, most notably a substantial run at Marvel and some work at DC, he has a fun style that is finely honed. It is a blend of pure illustration that borrows elements and detailing from realism. It’s nice to look at for sure, but does not gel with this story. I kept waiting for a more humorous vibe to emerge, similar to another crime-comedy series “Chew” from Image Comics. While we are dealing with an oddball sort of character in Jack Beans, the softer style matched with Mark Englert’s bright palette took away pretty much any and all dread or stakes from this story about very bad people. Even the violence and scarier moments felt held back by it. With a full team of creatives on this book that I like and truly admire, this first issue, while not bad by any means, has given me more nits to pick than a deep enjoyment.
Final Verdict: 5.5, A heightened crime story with an engaging, but wholly unlikable protagonist that seems a bit confused as to what tone it is trying to set and take moving forward.
