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Jinxworld
Jinx
Hot writer Brian Michael Bendis pens this graphic crime novel about a bounty hunter, two grifters, and a treasure hunt that propels this character driven crime comic book classic. This extra large edition carries with it the entire epic story, behind the scenes/making of, script excerpts, and an art gallery to complement this daunting work of comic crime fiction.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
10 people are currently reading
586 people want to read
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,417 books2,569 followersA comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
October 23, 2011
I picked this up at a book signing by Bendis last week. I haven't read it in years and years, and I've read so much of Bendis since that time, I wasn't sure how this would hold up.
As indie comics go, this is a winner. It's amazing how much of Bendis' talent for dialogue was already there in the beginning, and how well he tuned into that talent and focused on it. I'm also impressed by the art renderings - I totally forgot that Bendis used to do the art for his books, and I would've encouraged him to keep up this side of it (there's much worse from non-writing artists out there, believe me), had his career not taken off so much as a writer.
The story is pretty thin - just a few set pieces in which to let his characters breathe - but there's three more books' worth of plot after this too, so it's hard to judge the full merits of this fraction of the story arc (and I don't remember the rest of the storyline so I won't embarrass myself by guessing at it).
Most of all, this reminds me why I like Bendis' work so much - he tunes in closely to how people act around each other, and what happens when unusually unlike personalities synthesize into something unlike either of them.
As indie comics go, this is a winner. It's amazing how much of Bendis' talent for dialogue was already there in the beginning, and how well he tuned into that talent and focused on it. I'm also impressed by the art renderings - I totally forgot that Bendis used to do the art for his books, and I would've encouraged him to keep up this side of it (there's much worse from non-writing artists out there, believe me), had his career not taken off so much as a writer.
The story is pretty thin - just a few set pieces in which to let his characters breathe - but there's three more books' worth of plot after this too, so it's hard to judge the full merits of this fraction of the story arc (and I don't remember the rest of the storyline so I won't embarrass myself by guessing at it).
Most of all, this reminds me why I like Bendis' work so much - he tunes in closely to how people act around each other, and what happens when unusually unlike personalities synthesize into something unlike either of them.
October 28, 2019
I'm not hard to please and this book kept it relatively simple. Believable characters, impossible situations and a desperate hope. This delivers the goods. Is it the most original story of all times, no. Did it piss me off completely? (oh yeah) I mean why couldnt this story have a happy ending? No Bendis had to go all alpha male and crap all over the joy. Some fricking writer/artists drive me nuts! I get it, it's gritty but come on. Sucking the joy out of life doesnt make a story more "real." People do experience bouts of pleasure in life and it's a crying shame that instead of inventing a way for everyone to get a piece this revoltingly talented guy(Bendis) had to cop out. But it is a true testament to his amazing talent that I was seriously rooting for all the people, even the loose cannon. This book hurt me because it is so forward in so many ways the art is just next level and the juxtaposition of flashback and memory is seamless. It it sharp, witty and expressive in a way that is hard to duplicate. He delivers more story in black and white than some ppl with a rainbow of color. So am I taking an entire star off because I didnt like the end? Nope I didnt like intro either. David Mack is alot of things intro to a masterpiece, not so much. Yep it is a masterpiece tho. I didnt like the ending and the audio masturbation of an intro aside, this is everything you could ask for in a urban noir book. it's actually 4 and a half stars.
October 21, 2010
I was hoping I'd be more into this than I was, considering how much I love crime novels and noir and comic books, but I just couldn't quite get into it. I feel like some graphic novels really try too hard to be cinematic, to the point that you'd rather watch the movie of it than actually read it. This is definitely the case with Jinx, which isn't badly written per se, but the stark black and white silhouetted drawing style made it hard to figure out what was even going on in a lot of the action sequences. Frank Miller uses stark black and white with great stylistic flourish. Here, it just starts to get in its own way. I couldn't help longing for simple outline drawings of the characters where I could actually see their expressions and actions.
January 23, 2022
Continuing my complete Bendis Jinxworld reading. This was the follow-up to the GN Goldfish but is a prequel of sorts. Here Bendis gives us Jink who is a far more of an interesting character than Goldfish, but not much else. What works here are same things that made the first one fun, pulp crime noir goodness with witty dialogue. However, the plot is thin and actual story is decompressed over more issues than necessary. Bendis stretched out between moving the series from Calibar to Image at the time. I had always hoped for more Jinx tales somewhere down the line. As Bendis went mainstream to Marvel I imagine at least that Jinx is in the blueprints that eventually made Jessica Jones.
January 8, 2025
3.5 stars. This ended up being a pretty cool story about two street criminals, Columbia and Goldfish, and a bounty hunter named Jinx. Jinx and Goldfish cross paths and start a potential relationship. Meanwhile, Goldfish and Columbia accidentally happen upon info on where 3 million dollars might be stashed. Only problem is they each have a separate piece of the info leading to said money. Columbia being a major screwup makes Goldfish not trust him. Jinx ends up finding out about the money too and now Columbia thinks Goldfish and Jinx are trying to kill him. I had a good time watching this back and forth unfold and all the nonsense they get into waiting to see if either would ever get the money. Solid stuff.
June 4, 2020
#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the February 1997 edition with a theme of "Crime":
JINX #1-5 (Caliber Comics/moving to Image Comics)
JINX is a crime story.
David Gold, a/k/a Goldfish, is a con man. He and his partner Columbia have been making small time money off various scams, but the disdain they have for each other is starting to explode into violence. Indeed, Columbia is intent on dissolving their partnership with a bullet. Then a dying man, who knows where three million dollars of stolen mob money is hidden, crashes into their lives. But Goldfish and Columbia each end up getting different halves of the location before the man dies. Now they're each trying to figure out how to get the other half of the information and all the money.
JINX is a love story.
Walking into a diner one evening, Goldfish sees a strikingly beautiful woman sitting in a back booth writing in a book. He's intrigued. For him, it's love at first sight. And she's not lagging far behind. Only they can't quite explain to each other why both of them are carrying guns at their first meeting. But that doesn't stop David from arranging a date with Jinx Alameda.
Jinx is a bounty hunter.
Jinx Alameda is not a happy person. The cops hate her for infringing on their territory. The crooks hate her for hauling their butts back to jail. And Jinx is not too fond of herself either. She's taken enough hits in life professionally and personally to be justly cynical, but she's thinking David Gold might be worth taking a chance . . until she sees his face on a wanted poster . . . and learns about the three million bucks. This time, she swears, she's only looking out for herself.
JINX is a damn good book.
Brian Michael Bendis is the writer/artist of one of the slickest crime comics going. His knack for dialogue is dead on. His art is dark and moody. JINX compares favorably to the works of Quentin Tarantino. It's fresh and audacious and loaded with surprises. It follows up Bendis' high quality A/K/A GOLDFISH series from a couple of years back (now collected in trade paperback and available through Caliber Comics), but the JINX storyline is totally independent of that series. Both books contain lots of harsh language and are for mature readers only. Oh, and after issue #7, JINX is moving to the ever-growing stable of quality books over at Image Comics. Watch for it.
Grade: A-
JINX #1-5 (Caliber Comics/moving to Image Comics)
JINX is a crime story.
David Gold, a/k/a Goldfish, is a con man. He and his partner Columbia have been making small time money off various scams, but the disdain they have for each other is starting to explode into violence. Indeed, Columbia is intent on dissolving their partnership with a bullet. Then a dying man, who knows where three million dollars of stolen mob money is hidden, crashes into their lives. But Goldfish and Columbia each end up getting different halves of the location before the man dies. Now they're each trying to figure out how to get the other half of the information and all the money.
JINX is a love story.
Walking into a diner one evening, Goldfish sees a strikingly beautiful woman sitting in a back booth writing in a book. He's intrigued. For him, it's love at first sight. And she's not lagging far behind. Only they can't quite explain to each other why both of them are carrying guns at their first meeting. But that doesn't stop David from arranging a date with Jinx Alameda.
Jinx is a bounty hunter.
Jinx Alameda is not a happy person. The cops hate her for infringing on their territory. The crooks hate her for hauling their butts back to jail. And Jinx is not too fond of herself either. She's taken enough hits in life professionally and personally to be justly cynical, but she's thinking David Gold might be worth taking a chance . . until she sees his face on a wanted poster . . . and learns about the three million bucks. This time, she swears, she's only looking out for herself.
JINX is a damn good book.
Brian Michael Bendis is the writer/artist of one of the slickest crime comics going. His knack for dialogue is dead on. His art is dark and moody. JINX compares favorably to the works of Quentin Tarantino. It's fresh and audacious and loaded with surprises. It follows up Bendis' high quality A/K/A GOLDFISH series from a couple of years back (now collected in trade paperback and available through Caliber Comics), but the JINX storyline is totally independent of that series. Both books contain lots of harsh language and are for mature readers only. Oh, and after issue #7, JINX is moving to the ever-growing stable of quality books over at Image Comics. Watch for it.
Grade: A-
July 31, 2011
Bendis! What can I say about this? Bendis can write. He's my favorite comic writer. His stuff isn't just super heroes saving the day (even when he's writing about super heroes saving the day), it's pieces of life captured on paper.
It's good solid writing, with good solid well rounded characters. Once I got into this, I hated putting it down. It's a good con story. It's got all the twist and seedy characters the add tons of color to this black and white tale.
Bendis is really known for his dialogue and it really shines in this one. I love that when his characters are sitting around smoking or eating with eachother, they're telling stories. They're not always thinking plot plot plot. They're real. They get sidetracked. They tell jokes to each other.
If you like David Mamet's movies, or maybe Confidence or Pulp Fiction even, you'll probably really like this graphic novel. I loved it.
It's good solid writing, with good solid well rounded characters. Once I got into this, I hated putting it down. It's a good con story. It's got all the twist and seedy characters the add tons of color to this black and white tale.
Bendis is really known for his dialogue and it really shines in this one. I love that when his characters are sitting around smoking or eating with eachother, they're telling stories. They're not always thinking plot plot plot. They're real. They get sidetracked. They tell jokes to each other.
If you like David Mamet's movies, or maybe Confidence or Pulp Fiction even, you'll probably really like this graphic novel. I loved it.
April 5, 2012
While I enjoyed Brian Michael Bendis' disturbing true crime graphic novel Torso considerably more, Jinx is an excellent, complex crime series that features some truly lovable and fascinating characters. The story is solid, but what makes Jinx so fun to read is the clever, often times hilarious dialogue. The mysteries within may get solved a little too quickly for my liking, but that's just about my only complaint. I most definitely intend to read more of Bendis' work in the future.
May 24, 2016
Bendis en su mejor faceta: la de los diálogos inteligentes y los personajes abatidos. Una joyita.
June 28, 2012
Good dialogue, a very noir storyline revolving around bounty hunters, grifters, and some missing loot. Pretty typical early Bendis in that sense. The real drawback is the inconsistent art (I didn't know Bendis did art). It's done in a mix of standard black/white ink and photocopying, like a cheap zine, sort of. This is, sometimes, very cool and moody. But other times it gets overly muddy and distracting. Also, the plot gets a little thin at times; sometimes, this gives the characters room to chat and move around, other times it's sort of a waste of space. Anyway, if I didn't already know what had become of Bendis, I would definitely hunt out more of his work.
April 10, 2014
I read this graphic novel for my comic book club. I found the story to be pretty engaging overall. I really like the way Brian writes dialogue for the characters.
The downfall of this novel is the readability of the text bubbles. Sometimes the pages have your eyes rolling all over the place because they're trying to squish so much text into one page and it can be disorienting at times. Plus, although I get why they're doing the black and white artwork, I found it sometimes hard to read because the text blended in with the art.
The downfall of this novel is the readability of the text bubbles. Sometimes the pages have your eyes rolling all over the place because they're trying to squish so much text into one page and it can be disorienting at times. Plus, although I get why they're doing the black and white artwork, I found it sometimes hard to read because the text blended in with the art.
August 29, 2011
Good art, fun story. What's really terrific about Bendis is his dialogue though. He writes the most realistic conversations I've ever read in a comic book - maybe in any book. Want to read more of his stuff.
On the second read, can't imagine why I didn't give it 5 stars to begin with. One of the best comics I've read - completely original in story and again, the dialogue is completely untouchable.
On the second read, can't imagine why I didn't give it 5 stars to begin with. One of the best comics I've read - completely original in story and again, the dialogue is completely untouchable.
May 7, 2011
This quickly vaulted onto my list of 'best things ever.'
I'd ask where this book has been all my life except that I know I bought it over a year ago and just only now bothered to read it.
Nonetheless. One of the best things ever.
ETA: Re-read! Apparently when I read this two years ago, it left me totally incoherent with how much I liked it. Definitely holds up -- though, God, some parts are intense -- and now I have to try to put it into words.
I'd ask where this book has been all my life except that I know I bought it over a year ago and just only now bothered to read it.
Nonetheless. One of the best things ever.
ETA: Re-read! Apparently when I read this two years ago, it left me totally incoherent with how much I liked it. Definitely holds up -- though, God, some parts are intense -- and now I have to try to put it into words.
March 5, 2012
When I requested this from the library I had no idea what it was about, so I was kind of excited when it was a gritty crime noir type thing. Two grifters and a bounty hunter go looking for 3 million in cash. Loved Jinx and watching her get to know Gold, especially their dialogue. The different art styles were really interesting although I did once have a little trouble distinguishing male characters from each other.
January 11, 2017
It's hard to put my finger on it, but reading this just felt like I was reading a B-movie. The characters reacted unrealistically dramatic to circumstances, the dialog had its fair share of cheese, and the story arc seemed pretty flat. There were several times when I thought "what? yeah right." And that was distracting. I'm a sucker for crime fiction, and it did scratch that itch. But overall there was just something lacking.
March 15, 2012
I had to start this book maybe 3 times before it clicked and I was able to finish. A lot of the things I don't like about Powers are on display here, but Bendis' storytelling vision is clear enough to make this enjoyable and educational. Plus the backmatter is actually worth your time, and that's always a pleasant surprise.
March 13, 2017
Thrilling page turner that proved very satisfying.
Very much enjoyed the art style, however at times it was (perhaps deliberately?) difficult to tell exactly what was going on. Not the biggest problem in the world but I would occasionally find myself going back to the big 'splashes' after realising in the following panels someone had been shot (or similar).
Very much enjoyed the art style, however at times it was (perhaps deliberately?) difficult to tell exactly what was going on. Not the biggest problem in the world but I would occasionally find myself going back to the big 'splashes' after realising in the following panels someone had been shot (or similar).
August 8, 2007
Nice early story from Brian Michael Bendis. For those comic book readers out there that wonder how he broke into Marvel, check this out. When he was hungry he did some great work, and this is a great example of it. It makes the insipid superhero work he does now even more painful to read.
January 23, 2013
This is like watching a Tarantino film in graphic novel form; an engaging storyline, with lots of small-talk and almost pointless dialogue stitching the whole meandering thing together. I really enjoyed it.
January 8, 2019
While visually disorienting at times, Jinx is a statement on the deconstruction of the art of comics. It's also fun and captivating.
August 24, 2019
3.5/5 stars
April 27, 2015
Reseña de David Fernández para Zona Negativa:
http://www.zonanegativa.com/jinx-de-b...
En 1995, un semidesconocido guionista de Cleveland iniciaba, de la mano de la editorial independiente Caliber Press, la publicación de una peculiar serie titulada Jinx. La colección se centraba en las aventuras y desventuras de una cazarrecompensas, dos timadores de poca monta, y un botín de 3.000.000 de dólares.
Apenas 10 años más tarde, Jinx se ha convertido en un pequeño clásico de los cómics de género negro, y ese guionista semidesconocido, en uno de los profesionales más influyentes del cómic americano. Su nombre: Brian Michael Bendis.
Brian Michael Bendis, (Cleveland, 1967), es uno de los más famosos y productivos guionistas del cómic mainstream contemporáneo. Desde sus inicios ha destacado por moverse como pez en el agua dentro del género negro, mostrando un indudable talento para los diálogos.
A partir de pequeños éxitos como Fortune and Glory, Goldfish, Fire, Jinx o Torso, llamó la atención de las grandes editoriales, impacientes por contratar sus servicios. Desde ese momento, se ha mostrado como uno de los autores más prolíficos del medio, firmando los guiones de títulos tan dispares como Sam & Twitch, Hellspawn, Powers, Alias, The Pulse, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Daredevil, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Six, Avengers, New Avengers o Secret War.
Al indudable éxito que ha alcanzado en las listas de ventas hay que sumarle el reconocimiento de la crítica, pues en los últimos años ha recibido multitud de nominaciones y galardones por parte de los medios especializados. Buena muestra de ello son los 5 Premios Eisner que luce en su currículum (talento merecedor de especial reconocimiento por Torso, Goldfish y Jinx en el año 2000; mejor nueva serie por Powers en 2001; mejor serie regular por Daredevil en 2003, y mejor guionista en los años 2002 y 2003).
En los últimos tiempos, diversifica su actividad con incursiones en distintos campos, como el cine (proyectos de adaptaciones cinematográficas de Powers, Jinx y Torso), televisión (ha producido la enésima serie de animación de Spiderman), y videojuegos (Ultimate Spiderman).
Actualmente, además de guionizar multitud de series para La Casa de las Ideas, se halla inmerso en la coordinación del macroevento Marvel de turno: House of M.
En la contraportada de la edición española del tomo recopilatorio de Jinx puede leerse la siguiente sinopsis:
“Tras realizar Goldfish, Michael Bendis tenía claras varias cosas: no había acabado de explorar al protagonista de su anterior trabajo; no quería que su próximo personaje fuera un desarraigado; sabía que no iba a repetirse a si mismo; creía que no valía la pena decir nada sobre la policía (según él, eso ya lo había hecho la serie televisiva “Homicidio”) y, por último, era el momento de profundizar en la psicología femenina.
De todo eso surgió esta historia: la vida de Jinx Alameda, una cazarrecompensas dura e implacable que combina la captura de delincuentes con el inicio de un romance con David Gold, jugador de ventaja que se esfuerza por abandonar el mundo del crimen, a pesar de los esfuerzos de su socio por conseguir todo lo contrario”.
Partiendo de esta premisa, Bendis construye de forma más que coherente un puñado de personajes que bien podrían haber salido de las páginas de una novela de Elmore Leonard, una película de Quentin Tarantino, o un episodio de Los Soprano. Perdedores, soñadores, timadores y timados protagonizan esta peculiar crónica de la búsqueda de un futuro mejor, camuflada en forma de una típica “caza del tesoro”.
Jinx Alameda y David Gold, carismáticos personajes principales, tienen mucho en común: un medio de vida dudosamente legal, un traumático pasado que ha condicionado su presente, y la convicción de haber regido su existencia por principios, creencias y objetivos erróneos. Parecen querer huir de sí mismos, renegando de unas frustrantes vidas salpicadas de violencia y sueños rotos. Y quizás por ser tan parecidos, se ven reflejados el uno en el otro, encontrando fuerzas para desear compartir un futuro mejor. Siempre y cuando Columbia, incordiante colega de Goldfish retratado a imagen y semejanza del propio Bendis, no se cruce en su camino.
Curiosamente, David Gold repetía protagonismo tras la novela gráfica Goldfish, historia de un crimen, que pese a haberse publicado con anterioridad al cómic objeto de esta reseña, narra hechos sucedidos con posterioridad, siendo su lectura perfectamente comprensible de forma independiente. En cuanto a Jinx, la joven cazarrecompensas, Bendis la recuperaría para el arco argumental Bounty Hunter Wars, de la serie Sam & Twitch (Image Comics, 2000).
Contando con un sólido guión, la fluidez en el desarrollo de la historia sólo se ve frenada en momentos puntuales, debido principalmente a las limitadas dotes artísticas de BMB (especialmente confusa es la escena del centro comercial). Pero voluntarioso e imaginativo, el autor se vale de curiosos recursos narrativos para paliar, o en el peor de los casos disimular, las posibles lagunas de este disfrutable y muy recomendable cómic.
Como curiosidades, en lo que se refiere al apartado gráfico, cabría comentar la colaboración no acreditada (al menos en la edición española) de Michael Gaydos en el capítulo titulado “Sarku”. Aquí tenéis una muestra de su trabajo.
En cuanto a la edición española de este tomo recopilatorio, a cargo de Planeta DeAgostini Cómics , tiene como únicos puntos positivos la relación número de páginas-precio (416 págs., por 18 €), y la inclusión de material adicional (una hilarante introducción a cargo de David Mack, un peculiar sketchbook, y explicaciones del autor). Por contra, la encuadernación y la calidad del papel no hacen justicia a un cómic que merecería una presentación más digna.
Estilísticamente coherente, y muy cercana tanto temática como visualmente a sus obras primerizas, Jinx continúa la senda iniciada por Goldfish, historia de un crimen y Torso, el descuartizador de Cleveland , geniales cartas de presentación de un hábil y talentoso guionista especialmente dotado para el género negro. Lamentablemente, y pese a la calidad de títulos como Powers, Alias o Daredevil, el salto a las grandes editoriales ha frenado su evidente progresión, perdiendo gran parte de su originalidad y frescura en beneficio de fórmulas tan estáticas como repetitivas.
De todas formas, las arriesgadas, violentas, divertidas, y en ocasiones toscas viñetas de Torso, Goldfish, Jinx o Fire, permanecerán indelebles en la retina de muchos lectores como muestrario de las virtudes de un autor que al parecer, y por desgracia, ya ha ofrecido lo mejor de sí mismo.
Un saludo y hasta la semana que viene! (eso espero)
http://www.zonanegativa.com/jinx-de-b...
En 1995, un semidesconocido guionista de Cleveland iniciaba, de la mano de la editorial independiente Caliber Press, la publicación de una peculiar serie titulada Jinx. La colección se centraba en las aventuras y desventuras de una cazarrecompensas, dos timadores de poca monta, y un botín de 3.000.000 de dólares.
Apenas 10 años más tarde, Jinx se ha convertido en un pequeño clásico de los cómics de género negro, y ese guionista semidesconocido, en uno de los profesionales más influyentes del cómic americano. Su nombre: Brian Michael Bendis.
Brian Michael Bendis, (Cleveland, 1967), es uno de los más famosos y productivos guionistas del cómic mainstream contemporáneo. Desde sus inicios ha destacado por moverse como pez en el agua dentro del género negro, mostrando un indudable talento para los diálogos.
A partir de pequeños éxitos como Fortune and Glory, Goldfish, Fire, Jinx o Torso, llamó la atención de las grandes editoriales, impacientes por contratar sus servicios. Desde ese momento, se ha mostrado como uno de los autores más prolíficos del medio, firmando los guiones de títulos tan dispares como Sam & Twitch, Hellspawn, Powers, Alias, The Pulse, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Daredevil, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Six, Avengers, New Avengers o Secret War.
Al indudable éxito que ha alcanzado en las listas de ventas hay que sumarle el reconocimiento de la crítica, pues en los últimos años ha recibido multitud de nominaciones y galardones por parte de los medios especializados. Buena muestra de ello son los 5 Premios Eisner que luce en su currículum (talento merecedor de especial reconocimiento por Torso, Goldfish y Jinx en el año 2000; mejor nueva serie por Powers en 2001; mejor serie regular por Daredevil en 2003, y mejor guionista en los años 2002 y 2003).
En los últimos tiempos, diversifica su actividad con incursiones en distintos campos, como el cine (proyectos de adaptaciones cinematográficas de Powers, Jinx y Torso), televisión (ha producido la enésima serie de animación de Spiderman), y videojuegos (Ultimate Spiderman).
Actualmente, además de guionizar multitud de series para La Casa de las Ideas, se halla inmerso en la coordinación del macroevento Marvel de turno: House of M.
En la contraportada de la edición española del tomo recopilatorio de Jinx puede leerse la siguiente sinopsis:
“Tras realizar Goldfish, Michael Bendis tenía claras varias cosas: no había acabado de explorar al protagonista de su anterior trabajo; no quería que su próximo personaje fuera un desarraigado; sabía que no iba a repetirse a si mismo; creía que no valía la pena decir nada sobre la policía (según él, eso ya lo había hecho la serie televisiva “Homicidio”) y, por último, era el momento de profundizar en la psicología femenina.
De todo eso surgió esta historia: la vida de Jinx Alameda, una cazarrecompensas dura e implacable que combina la captura de delincuentes con el inicio de un romance con David Gold, jugador de ventaja que se esfuerza por abandonar el mundo del crimen, a pesar de los esfuerzos de su socio por conseguir todo lo contrario”.
Partiendo de esta premisa, Bendis construye de forma más que coherente un puñado de personajes que bien podrían haber salido de las páginas de una novela de Elmore Leonard, una película de Quentin Tarantino, o un episodio de Los Soprano. Perdedores, soñadores, timadores y timados protagonizan esta peculiar crónica de la búsqueda de un futuro mejor, camuflada en forma de una típica “caza del tesoro”.
Jinx Alameda y David Gold, carismáticos personajes principales, tienen mucho en común: un medio de vida dudosamente legal, un traumático pasado que ha condicionado su presente, y la convicción de haber regido su existencia por principios, creencias y objetivos erróneos. Parecen querer huir de sí mismos, renegando de unas frustrantes vidas salpicadas de violencia y sueños rotos. Y quizás por ser tan parecidos, se ven reflejados el uno en el otro, encontrando fuerzas para desear compartir un futuro mejor. Siempre y cuando Columbia, incordiante colega de Goldfish retratado a imagen y semejanza del propio Bendis, no se cruce en su camino.
Curiosamente, David Gold repetía protagonismo tras la novela gráfica Goldfish, historia de un crimen, que pese a haberse publicado con anterioridad al cómic objeto de esta reseña, narra hechos sucedidos con posterioridad, siendo su lectura perfectamente comprensible de forma independiente. En cuanto a Jinx, la joven cazarrecompensas, Bendis la recuperaría para el arco argumental Bounty Hunter Wars, de la serie Sam & Twitch (Image Comics, 2000).
Contando con un sólido guión, la fluidez en el desarrollo de la historia sólo se ve frenada en momentos puntuales, debido principalmente a las limitadas dotes artísticas de BMB (especialmente confusa es la escena del centro comercial). Pero voluntarioso e imaginativo, el autor se vale de curiosos recursos narrativos para paliar, o en el peor de los casos disimular, las posibles lagunas de este disfrutable y muy recomendable cómic.
Como curiosidades, en lo que se refiere al apartado gráfico, cabría comentar la colaboración no acreditada (al menos en la edición española) de Michael Gaydos en el capítulo titulado “Sarku”. Aquí tenéis una muestra de su trabajo.
En cuanto a la edición española de este tomo recopilatorio, a cargo de Planeta DeAgostini Cómics , tiene como únicos puntos positivos la relación número de páginas-precio (416 págs., por 18 €), y la inclusión de material adicional (una hilarante introducción a cargo de David Mack, un peculiar sketchbook, y explicaciones del autor). Por contra, la encuadernación y la calidad del papel no hacen justicia a un cómic que merecería una presentación más digna.
Estilísticamente coherente, y muy cercana tanto temática como visualmente a sus obras primerizas, Jinx continúa la senda iniciada por Goldfish, historia de un crimen y Torso, el descuartizador de Cleveland , geniales cartas de presentación de un hábil y talentoso guionista especialmente dotado para el género negro. Lamentablemente, y pese a la calidad de títulos como Powers, Alias o Daredevil, el salto a las grandes editoriales ha frenado su evidente progresión, perdiendo gran parte de su originalidad y frescura en beneficio de fórmulas tan estáticas como repetitivas.
De todas formas, las arriesgadas, violentas, divertidas, y en ocasiones toscas viñetas de Torso, Goldfish, Jinx o Fire, permanecerán indelebles en la retina de muchos lectores como muestrario de las virtudes de un autor que al parecer, y por desgracia, ya ha ofrecido lo mejor de sí mismo.
Un saludo y hasta la semana que viene! (eso espero)
December 18, 2019
This was okay, IF you can stand Bendis. I happen to like him, but can I see why you wouldn't. This shit is VERY Bendis with almost a third of the book being tiny panels and a TON of dialogue. It's a cool story, and an obvious homage to an unexpected classic, one which I GREATLY appreciated when I realized it ("Mamma mia! - It's a mamma mia! - What? Nothing! Don't push it, let it happen. There's gonna be be a mamma mia!")
Unfortunately, there's a bit too much digression for my tastes which I really should have expected given the author. It's more Pulp Fiction than Reservoir Dogs. Still, a True Romance/ Sin City mash up sounds fun, and it is. It'd be a fun little low budget crime flick. They talk in the back about an animated series and that sounds terrific, but I haven't seen whether or not it ever got made.
Anyway, fun crime comic, non-superhero, Bendis dialogue... I mean, you should know by now if you're in.
Recommended to crime movie aficionados, talky comic book fans and anyone who enjoys cape-less comics.
Unfortunately, there's a bit too much digression for my tastes which I really should have expected given the author. It's more Pulp Fiction than Reservoir Dogs. Still, a True Romance/ Sin City mash up sounds fun, and it is. It'd be a fun little low budget crime flick. They talk in the back about an animated series and that sounds terrific, but I haven't seen whether or not it ever got made.
Anyway, fun crime comic, non-superhero, Bendis dialogue... I mean, you should know by now if you're in.
Recommended to crime movie aficionados, talky comic book fans and anyone who enjoys cape-less comics.
November 16, 2021
This is a nice hardback collected edition of a foundational early miniseries by Bendis, while he still illustrated his own stories. It's fascinating to me to see the credits change chapter (or issue) by chapter (issue): especially initial publisher, Caliber's late Gary Reed. This title, giving the name to Bendis' Jinxworld imprint and website, went from Caliber to Image (Shadowline & Jim Valentino's section, look like) to Marvel (Icon imprint) to DC (Jinxworld imprint). What I read (thanks for the loan, Fulton County Public Library) is an Icon collection with some nice collected process and back matter drawings and writings, nicely printed in crisp (though smaller than 8 1/2 x 11", say 6 x 10"? Someone correct me.) black & white for this Cleveland noir crime caper.
I overlooked Bendis early publishing, until about the time he took on Daredevil, and missed this. This story rocks, though it feels rough.
Your mileage may vary: recommended, on that basis.
I overlooked Bendis early publishing, until about the time he took on Daredevil, and missed this. This story rocks, though it feels rough.
Your mileage may vary: recommended, on that basis.
November 30, 2023
A pretty alright crime noir book that revels in Bendisisms of you’re into that kind of thing. While the dialogue and art can be a bit difficult and confusing to get through, what Bendis has to say about greed and how he contributes to the crime genre definitely make it worth reading. It unfortunately has a bit of a subtext of male paranoia (which Bendis is aware of, as seen in his discussions at the end of the book) which informs concepts of women as greedy manipulators, but within the context of this story, it could be hidden away underneath the themes of greed and how people change because of it. The character work is mostly well done and while I went into it hoping for less “Bendis” since he had something to prove and no power to abuse at this point in his career, I instead got a testament to his style that honestly made me somewhat respect it.
July 8, 2020
Maybe it was edgy at its original release, but it's not to my taste. I like to be able to tell what's going on in the artwork. And the 'realistic' dialogue made everyone seem like they had a stutter, rendering it difficult to read. Characters and plot were okay, I guess. Hard to get invested with the barriers of the 'gritty' artwork (where you can't tell one character from the other) and oft unintelligible dialogue.
November 21, 2022
A typical crime story of criminal who want to go straight. Each character had flaws too deep to overcome. From very early on, you get a sense of foreboding that it will all not end well. The structure of the stories owes a lot to Tarantino. The structure that jumps around and seemingly disconnected conversations about pop culture could come straight from one of his movies. The black and white art work is appropriately dark for this type of noir.
January 29, 2024
This is technically a 1 and 1/2 star review. I’ve always been a fan of the independent publisher for graphic novels. Seeing that the story was colorized in black and white, and centered around a female protagonist solving crime, it had me intrigued. However, the story wasn’t memorable and I realized while reading it, I would forget what happened pages ago. Definitely a disappointment!
September 27, 2020
Probably more like 3 and 1/2 stars because it's a neat premise and the dialogue is written well (BMB is quick, realistic, and quippy), but it's just too long. I truly felt it could have been reduced in length by plenty of scenes, probably a couple issues too.
April 2, 2021
Boring garbage. The art is atrocious making most actions scenes difficult to follow, to much page space is given over to his attempts at making Woody Allen/Tarantino style dialogues, the plot is hacky nonsense with no emotional depth or intriguing twists.
Hard pass on this one.
Hard pass on this one.
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