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JINN-A REVIEW
How many readers recall a cool little TV show called I DREAM OF JEANNIE? It star Larry Hagman, who later went on to be JR on DALLAS, and Barbara Eden. He was an absent minded astronaut and she was a genie who lived in a bottle and caused all sorts of trouble for her “master” whenever she tried to grant him wishes. It was a fun little comedy back in the Sixties that had the censors up in arms because she showed her navel...OOOH!Okay, so maybe when you’re six years old it seems a lot cooler than it was. But Image Comics, specifically creators Brian Haberlin and Whilce Portacio, have taken that concept of the genie in the bottle, turned it on its’ ear and made it look absolutely NOTHING like the TV show OR the Christina Agueilera song. JINN is a funky, off-times witty tale of a genie and a thief, if you can imagine that!
The tale begins with one of the MANY sub-plots. An archeological team is digging through the pyramid of Egypt when an amazing find is uncovered. Amidst the rubble, statues and artifacts, a bone is discovered. A large bone. The bone doesn’t belong to a dinosaur, as one of the team surmises. It belongs to that mythological creature called Cyclops. At least that is what hot shot archeologist Damion Jackson believes. He better believe right. Based on his previous track records, Jackson is not exactly well received in the scientific community. And to prove just how stupid he is, he finds a fancy scroll casing and proceeds to crack it open.
Not very bright at all!
Over in San Francisco, Karen Somers, professional burglar and well built thief is engaging in another night time robbery and stumbles across a murder victim in the process. Soon it’s a bevy of local cops chasing her down. As she makes her escapes she crosses the path of a man who, even though she doesn’t know it, will change her life. “I wish I could get cleaned up,” she mutters as she makes her way home in the disgusting trenchcoat she has plucked from the trash to hide her skin tight black costume. No sooner do the words leave her lips than a thunder storm appears, soaking her to the bone.
The following night, after a less than pleasing visit with her family, Karen finds herself served with a warrant and arrested. That’s what happens when you’re a career criminal. That’s also what happens when your dad is a retired cop. A grilling an a line-up later, and the little lady is back on the street, along with a new cop on the force with a very unusual facial tattoo.
Well, it isn’t long before our good little girl is back in trouble yet again. The local tough guy in town, a cigar smoking dude in a white suit named Milo, quizzes her about the botched theft. She leaves, but with one of Milo’s men tailing her.
Before she goes far, she runs into a tall, long haired man (who smart readers will have realized we have seen twice before) with a strange facial tattoo. He claims he needs to speak with her and that she is in danger. No sooner does he say that when a car races down the street. Before it can hit our young lovely, the man grows to enormous size and stops the speeding vehicle.
Well...certainly not something you see every day.
And, follows a quick escape around the corner, the tall dark haired man explains that he is Karen’s Jinni. Prove it, she says. “Make me a diamond the size of my fist.” Zap!(yes, that IS the sound effect used!). There’s a big ass diamond that magically appears. Before further explanation comes across, Milo’s boy Ferente shows up and threatens the pair. Karen wishes that Roland the Jinni would go away. POOF! He’s gone.
But he is soon replaced by a blonde man who makes s moldering heap out of Ferente. He too is a Jinni, an evil Jinni who has sworn to kill all the masters of Roland the Jinni.
The back story to all of this is that, a half million years ago, Jinni’s held power. But they lost a battle which they could never win and their punishment was to serve man. Not to mention that Jinni cannot kill Jinni. But there is a trick. If seven of a jinni’ human masters dies by unnatural causes, the Jinni must take their own life. That is the law.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Karen will make the seventh kill and, with this Jinni’s powers, it is only a matter of time before he completes his task and kills our girl. Not to mention what the deal is with the mysterious Dr. Francis Meyer.
I truly have mixed emotions about this series. At first glance, especially with Haberlin and Portacio behind it, you figure it will be mysterious and fun. And it is kind of a fun romp. It has mystery and their are some fun elements. But while Haberlin and Portacio CREATED it, they don’t actually do the book. That’s left to Gabriel Rearte, no slouch by any stretch of the imagination, and J. Cameron. I think it’s safe to assume this is not JIM CAMERON. But it’s kind of a let down because it is NOT Haberlin and Portacio.
Okay, so that having been said, is it worth $3.00 of your hard earned money? It’s kind of too early to tell. I’m curious to see where issue #3 is going to take the plot. Personally, I think the whole concept of “run and hide from the evil Jinni” will grow old fast. Very fast. A lot of whether this series is going to succeed and continue to capture a readership is going to depend on where the subplot in Egypt takes it. There’s something brewing here, but how much weight to it bring to the overall plot.
So, if you’ve got $3.00 to spare some week, pick it up and check it out. Or hit the bargain bins at your next comic show and sample it for less than cover price. The art will keep you entertained and the story will too.