Author Brian Michael Bendis is as busy as he can possibly be between two Superman titles and a brand new line of creator-owned titles. This week, his Jinxworld line is debuting a brand new title crafted with one of his longest-standing artist relationships David Mack. The duo has worked on various Marvel titles, crafting the beginnings of his highly acclaimed “Daredevil” run and coming in for the occasional contribution to his Marvel projects over the years as well as mini-series like “Daredevil: End of Days.” The premise of the new title revolves around a comic book creator who finds himself embroiled in a tangled web involving the CIA.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by David MackYears in the making, from the award-winning team of Brian Michael Bendis and multimedia sensation David Mack, comes a brand-new graphic novel experience. And it’s all kind of based on a true story. Sort of…
Deep in the American intelligence community, someone realizes that comic book creators, who travel all over the world to sell their wares, might make the perfect cover for operatives in the dangerous, topsy-turvy world of intelligence and counterintelligence…and that’s when all hell breaks loose. This is the story of the time the world of comics and the world of international spywork smashed together—with unexpected results!
Artist David Mack, follows his Emmy-nominated work on Jessica Jones and his critically acclaimed video work for Dashboard Confessional and Amanda Palmer, brings another completely unique vision to this driving comedic spy story that is also a beautiful Valentine to all those creators who sit alone and make beautiful stories.
When Brian Bendis and David Mack announced they were creating comics about the people that make comics, I initially perceived the idea as too insular. However, upon reading the installment and taking in some of the truth inherently baked within the concept, I was intrigued. Getting to know the meager creator behind the series, Max Field and relating comparing him to Bendis was highly intriguing.
In a pop-up imprint meant to push the medium of comics, a title like “Cover” does a great job experimenting with the form and finding some truths to the story. Max and Julia’s relationship is the core of the issue and Bendis and Mack do a great job fleshing out their relationship.
Julia and Max are both portrayed extremely honestly through Bendis’ adept dialogue between the pair. Watching the paranoia from Max depicted through the various art styles of David Mack is a great way to experience a comic.
Mack is a stylistic chameleon loading the issue with intrigue. At various moments the issue takes on the form of a typical noir story, an indie title and the distinctive painterly style cultivated by Mack. Mack finds exceptional ways to blend each moment to work with his approach to the story. There are a litany of styles on display at any given moment that can change on the very same page. The approach doesn’t feel disjointed and lends a lot of personality to the narrative. The storytelling and direction of the issue are minimalistic, allowing a direction like this to work very well.
One aspect of Mack’s contribution to the issue that I never expected to see was his “Kabuki” style inspiring the duo’s initial “Daredevil” contribution. These pages are beautiful and lend some additional subtext to the story. The page blending Max’s domestic life with the world of the story as he is working is a bold way to tell a comic book story. The dinner scene between Max and Julia is another incredible feat, blending several different styles of comic book art to depict the mysterious aura of Julia.
This issue is exceedingly well-paced by Bendis as well. Bendis fleshes out the world and direction of “Cover” really well before even adding Julia to the mix. The last page has an excellent cliffhanger which should direct readers to the next issue seamlessly. Bendis’ dialogue in the story is restrained and interesting. Julia’s demeanor and body language communicate interesting ideas that follow her dialogue very well. Bendis’ script for the issue builds up tension very well. It takes a considerable amount of time before readers have a solid idea about what the story is about. The slow build is what makes the issue intriguing. Bendis builds to the moment with lots of precision and crafts the story with the utmost care.
Continued below“Cover” has a great energy pulsing from the very first page. It takes time before fans are given the confines of a story but the relationship between Max and Julia is so fascinating readers should not experience difficulty in following the story. In addition, Bendis made an incredibly strong decision in giving the issue a more loose structure for Mack to experiment with. “Cover” stretches the medium of comics by adapting to so many different styles. However, these changes and experimentation never get in the way of the story itself.
“Cover” is a debut issue that should not work with a self-reflexive premise and minimalistic story. However, thanks to the pacing, artistic liberties and excellent dialogue, “Cover” is easily the best of the Jinxworld debut titles thus far and a fascinating new property. Mack and Bendis have an exceptionally creative new direction for a story seized incredibly well in the brand new story. I hope Bendis and Mack will continue down this methodically paced story direction with care as they start to introduce more elements of the plot.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – “Cover” #1’s gorgeous artwork and strange sense of humor make the title a wonderful addition to Jinxworld!
