Glad I gave it a try

Cover tpb Vol. 1
Jinxworld/DC Comics
Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, Bill Sienkiewicz and Michael Avon Oeming
Release date: May 2019

The advance solicits for this series caught my eye with its mixture of comics culture and international spycraft. Add in the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack, and I was very curious. The fact that the narrative was a fictionalized version based on some actual events from David Mack’s life was just icing. And now that I’ve held the book in my hands and read its contents, I can attest that it did not disappoint.

Mack writes the graphic novel’s foreword and tells a bit about the real-world events that both inspired and led to this book’s creation. As I’m already recommending you go and buy Cover, I’ll let him tell those details for anyone who follows my recommendation and heads to their LCS.

As for the fictionized story, it follows fictional comic book artist Max Field, who is gaining no small renown for his latest creation, “Ninja Sword Odyssey.” Suddenly, he finds himself being recruited by a government spy who wants Field to engage in some basic spycraft under the cover of attending international comic conventions. The novelty and thrill of being a covert spy, however, quickly takes a dangerous turn for Field as he learns that his recruitment is not a unique situation and that not everyone is recruited by the same side.

I’m usually more of a story consumer, and it’s no secret that Bendis can weave quite a story when he is hitting on all cylinders as he is in this book. I’m sure Mack also had a hand in the writing chores here as this is his story. But I have to give a lot of credit where it’s due on the art side of this book, too. Mack uses a more traditional comic book cartooning style for much of this book than I am used to seeing from him, but that feels right in the passages about the conventions and the fictional creator’s everyday life. Mack’s excellent painting skills are also expertly showcased in the sequences of “Ninja Sword Odyssey” that are presented here, and also show up from time to time in the more intense moments of Field’s life (as depicted above). Bill Sienkiewicz and Michael Avon Oeming also lend their talents to portions of the book that need additional styles to further differentiate portions of the narrative. So the art style truly follows and shapes the story being told in different ways at different times in this book.

Overall, it adds up to a very nice, engaging package that was a joy to read. Well done, all!

It's Beautiful. I Don't Know What Else To Say.

I've recently finished reading the first Kabuki trade collection written and illustrated by David Mack, Circle of Blood. The title character is an assassin in modern Japan. Kabuki has not had a typical nor a happy childhood, but her journey of self-discovery, as told in this six-issue arc, is both compelling and breathtakingly illustrated.

Kabuki is one of those books I've often heard people comment on favorably, but never tried before. Finding a decently priced copy of this initial trade for sale online helped convince me to correct that oversight.

And I'm not quite sure what else to say about the book.

A few dozen pages into the story, I didn't think I was going to like Kabuki overall. I hadn't planned to trash the book or anything; as I've said before, I do not believe a book can't have merit just because it isn't my favorite. Too many people like Kabuki for my lone opinion to make this or any other a "bad" book.

But as I continued reading, I found myself liking the tale more and more. Just not in ways I'm finding it easy to put into words.

I'm not a big fan of stories revolving heavily around the Japanese society, martial arts, the Yakuza and such. That's likely at least part of the reason why I've never picked up a copy of Kabuki before this. No special dislike for the culture or people, either, mind you, but no special fascination or interest for it. But this is truly a universal tale which could be told using another culture as a backdrop very easily.

Mack's art and writing in this book are, as I said, simply wonderful and somewhat ground-breaking, too. This book doesn't look like a conventional comic in either its layout or design. Mack uses the words and art together so that text becomes part of the art and the art truly helps advance the story in ways beyond how sequential art is typically utilized.

There are issues with readability that stem from that, however. The lack of a traditional panel layout means it can be hard to know where your eye should go next on some pages, but these instances are very few in this book. More prevalent are a few legibility issues which may not have been present in the original issues of this book. For instance, white text is often printed on black backgrounds, but the muddy effect this can cause makes the text hard to read in a few spots. Also, there are some pages where the text is so far to one side of the page that the large size of this collected volume makes it hard to see all of the text close to the spine.

So I ended up liking Kabuki's story in Circle of Blood. I did. Some stories, a reader likes so much, he or she wants to know what happens to the characters next, even if more tales utilizing those characters were never written. But this arc reads quite well as a done-in-one. I know Kabuki's tale continues, but I am content to simply stop with the last page of this volume and not read more of her journey. At least at this point. Maybe someday, I'll change my mind.
Does that mean the story is bad or failed to engage me? I don't think so; I liked it too much to believe that. But it didn't engage me to the point that I want to buy the second or third collections right now. That doesn't usually happen.