Customer Reviews

Jinx: The Definitive Collection

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Brian Michael Bendis is probably today's most successful comic writer. At the very least, he's the most visible, penning a slew of high profile titles for Marvel and practically guiding the core Marvel Universe single-handedly, even while he continues to write the critically acclaimed Powers series.

But Bendis didn't get his start with superhero comics. His first truly notable work - and some, including myself, would argue his very best work - is right here in crime comics like Jinx. This, when set alongside Goldfish and Torso, make for an impressive body of noirish crime fiction which proves that, like his Marvel work or not, Bendis is the real deal.

Here we have a story about three people - a bald, stupid young crook; a young grifter who wants out of the crime life; and the bounty hunter woman he falls in love with - who are chasing after a hefty payday right within their grasp ... if they can work together without killing one another, that is. If Quentin Tarrantino filmed his movies with 1940s technology, they'd look like this.

Jinx may have been originally published as a comic series, but make no mistake, this is a graphic novel in the truest sense of the word. It's dense with dialogue and plot, rich with characters, and is just BEGGING to be on the big screen. Bendis' artwork (that's right, folks, Bendis used to draw) is moody and full of shadows. His page layouts are bold and dynamic. Sure, he does a poor job showing action, leaving the reader confused until the text clears up what they just saw, but that's a minor niggle, since most of the action here is made up of intra-character interplay.

And that interplay is a joy to read. Bendis sometimes pushes it a bit too far, trying too hard to make the conversations seem real by inserting dozens of pauses and repeated words, but by and large this Mamet-lifted style sings, flies off the pages, and engages. You can hear these people chatting clear and a bell. Wonderful.

As mentioned earlier, when set next to Goldfish (a sort of sequel to Jinx) and Torso, Bendis' early body of work is highly impressive and highly readable. You can't go wrong with any of the three. If you like crime fiction especially, this is a must read.

I must admit I was disappointed with this story. Sorry to those who found Jinx to be an amazing independent effort from Bendis, but I just couldn't see what the hype was about. Interestingly enough, as if there aren't enough adaptations already, I read they will be turning this into a major motion picture starring Charlize Theron as none other than Jinx Alameda. But, aside from my initial statement, I want to express certain aspects of the story that appealed to me, and others that turned me away.

The Pros: Noir makes for some of the most intriguing story telling to date, so instantly I was drawn to the Jinx collection. Knowing Bendis' popular Powers series, I figured I couldn't go wrong with some of his earlier works. Photo referencing was genius. It added a thicker layer to Jinx's world that we don't see often in the comic universe. I'm all about presentation in comics and graphic novels, and I think this was done well (albeit one portion I'll explain in the cons.) Original story crafting was a plus. Typical crime drama setting -- i.e. casual noir -- with some real tragic characters. They carry their own individuality with precision. And finally, when you take it to the streets, this is some epic storytelling.

The Cons: Right off the bat, and again, sorry to those who disagree, I could not stand the dialogue. Trying to mimic realistic (real life) conversations just doesn't work on paper. In the movies, yes, because it obviously doesn't sound so scripted. But, your eyes don't accept the words so willingly when you just wanna get through a comic book. Especially a long one, it's frustrating to read someone stutter constantly or people interrupting each other and even finishing each others sentences. And, I really don't want to see "..." several times in a bubble. But, Jinx has it all. Which brings me to the other minute "presentation problem" I mentioned in the pros, the conversation bubbles seemed to be a mess, and the tails were too long; may sound petty yes, but in a black and white, they are more noticable and distracting. And finally, I just didn't really care for the story, it took me a while to read it because there are so many slow and boring parts, I was really ready to read a crime drama, but it's not what I got. This is not a spoiler review, so I won't reveal anything about the plot. Just, letting the readers know my opinion.

The wonderful thing about comics is that they've segregated themselves from any other art form and mediums on how to tell stories. And there's always something that gets lost in the translation when they are adapted into something else (such as a movie). There's such a unique-ness to it, that only fans can appreciate, and a respect that we can give to those involved in this comic universe. So, I applaud Brian Bendis' efforts, but I, unfortunately, can't carry much of Jinx with me.

Gives a bad name for noir comics. Dialog is terrible, plotline is a weak rip-off of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly," and the art is unimaginative and bland.

Even the characters are unlovable, I thought I liked Jinx until I realized she is a whiny, two-dimensional femme-fatal wanna-be.

Go pick up "The Hard Good-Bye" instead.

With Jinx, creator Brian Michael Bendis returns to familiar territory- street-level crime fiction. He also returns to his popular character Goldfish, who previously starred in his own graphic novel, appropriately titled Goldfish.

Jinx is a prequel of sorts to Goldfish. David "Goldfish" Gold, a petty grifter, is plying his trade with his sleazeball crony Columbia, when they are almost run over by a car containing 2 dying thugs- before they die, though, they pass along a tip about a hidden stash of loot...$3,000,000.00, to be exact. The problem is, Goldfish was told the location of the loot, Columbia was told the name it's stored under. So they're going to have to play nice to get the cash. Then along comes "Jinx" Alameda, a female bounty hunter looking to get enough cash to leave her sordid job behind. Goldfish and Jinx fall for each other, Columbia decides he doesn't want to share, the REAL owner of the cash comes looking for it....you can just feel the trouble brewing......

The story is well-told, and the book itself is HUGE; a tremendous value for your money. I loved the way that Bendis told the stories of the bystanders at the Arcade. It really made the scene take on more urgency by turning the onlookers into real people, as opposed to potential victims. Jinx is a great character; one of the most fully-developed females in comics, and I loved the dialogue- it's really Bendis' strong suit.

The bad...? The same as all of Bendis' other collections- POOR PRODUCTION VALUES. The introduction to the book has the usual transposed pages, a trademark of Bendis. There is also the typical mind-boggling array of misspelled words throughout the book. Bendis seriously needs an editor, and his wife just ain't cutting it.

You'd probably want to read Goldfish first- It'll make the ending easier to follow. And check out Torso, also by Bendis. It's amazing!

Brian Michael Bendis is probably today's most successful comic writer. i liked the subject it tackled i love the art of brian michal bendis this is a good book

Before being the main writer at Marvel, Bendis was an indie comic book writer. Writing Torso, Goldfish, Fortune and Glory. Jinx was one of the things that brought him mainstream as Joe Quesada, the editor in chief of Marvel Comics, offered Bendis to write Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man based on his writing in Jinx. Quesada didn't like the art, but he loved the writing.

I can understand Quesada not liking the art for Marvel comics, but it works perfectly for this noir tale. The art is photo realistic at times and full of shadows. It makes us focus much more on the dialogue, which is Bendis strength.

Bendis is very inspired by David Mamet when writing dialogue and I think it works great in this comic. The conversations seem real and it is nice to see unfinished sentences and realistic flirting around in the comic book. The book deals with mainly three characters and all of them are well developed, specially Gold and Jinx. Columbia, the third character, is not as intelligent as the other two, but his mistakes make for a lot of funny moments to happen and also for a lot of the tension to happen, because while not being very bright, he is a very dangerous fellow.

Jinx is a good noir story.

Jinx is very early Bendis (anyone remember 1997?), both illustrated and written by Marvel's latest flagship writer. Jinx tells the parallel stories of a down-on-his-luck con man and a female bounty hunter (the title character). Their paths coincide in a few places, and, at the close of this first volume, it looks like they'll go on to many merry adventures. Jinx is a nice little indy - the protagonists (even the foul 'friend') are all entertaining and surprisingly engaging characters.

It feels more than a little dated - like a combination of Swingers and Out of Sight - but pulls it off with great charm. I'm not sad that Bendis decided to concentrate on his writing - Jinx has great visual style, but isn't groundbreaking as much as 'aggressively independent'. Nice for a break, but hard for a series.

Jinx is one of those crime caper stories. Dodgy characters abound. In fact, the three main characters are dodgy. A con artist dodgy type, a bounty hounter dodgy type, and an annoying dodgy type are what we are presented with.

when the possibility of obtaining a whole lot of loot brings some of them together, violence and the usual follow.

This is not Bendis' best work (that would be his work on "Daredevil"), but it is an interesting crime tale that has an ending as abrupt and as unlikely as they come.

Jinx may be the title character, but she's not the most interesting person in the book. That would be Goldfish, her new partner in a quest for a few million dollars. He comes across as a man you could hang out with but never truly trust. Jinx just seems like a lady you wouldn't to deal with after ten minutes or so.

Of course, there is Bendis' trademark dialogue (he writes some of the best dialogue in comics, which is no easy feat), and his art, which is sometimes a little hard to follow. I always thought he worked best when working with another artist (though is "Fortune and Glory," which is illustrated by him, is fantastic).

There are better crime tradepaperbacks out there. (Any of the "100 Bullets" series comes to mind.) But this is the one you should give people who aren't into comics, because it will when the art medium some new fans.

There is a scene in JINX (and this gives nothing away) in which writer/artist Brian Michael Bendis deviates from the plot to show us people in an arcade talking. These aren't central characters - a few of them are walk-ons to The Story, and some of them are extras who are hardly seen again. Very little of what they say has anything to do - even tangentially - with the plot. So for 19 pages, background actors are given the chance to tell their stories, their thoughts, their dreams.

Brian Michael Bendis is certainly not the first writer to have an idea for the back story for every one-line character who appears - almost every hack sci-fi writer is at least that obsessive, if not more so. The difference is, Bendis' background tangent isn't merely fanboyish wankery. When Bendis' background characters talk, their stories are INTERESTING. They are funny, they are layered, they are compelling, and there is far more to them than the characters say. After 19 pages, you find yourself wishing not that Bendis had avoided delaying the story, but that you could spend another 19 pages with these extras.

In fact, what Bendis DOESN'T give you is the real genius of JINX. It is a masterpiece, a five-star treasure, a genuine thrill from beginning to end. It is one of those books you finish and wish it had gone on for another 100 pages or more. (Perhaps Bendis feels the same, which is why THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION contains almost two comics' worth of appendices and additional material.) Bendis' characters don't just ACT. They BREATHE. They pop off the pages and sing and dance and move. One of the reasons the book feels like it should be longer is because - for all their flaws - you find yourself not wanting to say good-bye to Goldfish and Jinx and, yes, even Columbia. Bendis may also be the only writer other than Quentin Tarantino who can give characters pages of dialogue about the comparitive merits of letterboxing in films without sounding like a bad rip-off of Quentin Tarantino.

There is something else that Bendis can do that no other comics creator can. (Or, at the very least, no other writer has tried.) Bendis can draw scenes in such a way that the LESS you see, the more involved into the scene you become. His shadows have weight, meaning, a life all their own. Like Spider-Man's black costume, they seem to move and ooze, following their own laws of physics. Within a few pages, the shadows have become not something to HIDE the action, but rather, the audience's eyes into the scene. If I re-read JINX a thousand times, I doubt I would ever determine how it is that he somehow makes the audience feel more intimately involved in a scene when it is drenched in shadow than when it is flooded with light.

This is a conscious decision on Bendis' part. He is capable of the clean line drawings of Sal Buscema - and he proves it in one scene - or the moody pseudo-realism of Bernie Wrightson or the abstract solidness of Dave Gibbons. He CHOOSES not to draw JINX this way. When he uses xerography to depict an object, he objectifies and isolates that object, sets us apart from it. Thus, when an entire flashback scene is done through xerography, it detaches us from the action and makes us feel as though the memory which is objectively "true" is somehow less real to us than a more subjective and fantastic one.

When other writers use tricks like these, they seem like show-offs. Even Alan Moore verges dangerously close to OCD with his obsession to detail and showmanship at times. Bendis never falls into this trap. JINX is a tour-de-force - a re-imagining of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and Tarantino movies and French New Wave and film noir into a wholly new and original art. Reading JINX is reading a comic book for the first time. Others have complained about the typographical and printing errors, but even those lend a certain grubby charm to the book - like secretly reading a 14-year-old girl's diary in the days before 14-year-old girls posted their diaries to the Internet for the whole world to read, or like seeing a dirty word written on the men's room wall at a Catholic middle school. Reading JINX is like sharing a taboo secret with a small group of strangers.

It is sexy, thrilling, dangerous and insanely cool. It is also utterly brilliant. If you like comics, or if you like crime fiction, or if you just like damn good stories period, JINX is a must-read.