Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote
Penciler & Colorist: Terry Dodson
Inker: Rachel Dodson
Letterer & Designer: Jeff Powell
Color Flats: John Ercek
Editor: Will Dennis
Cover Artist: Terry Dodson
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 25, 2024
China has risen from poverty to become a global superpower in a generation. What form does their espionage take in the USA? And what toll does it take on their agents? Let’s leap into The Manchurian #1 and find out!
Story
Chinese spycraft is corporate espionage. Chinese agents don't pay their informants. Instead, they look for stable but indiscreet employees. In World War II, the US government warned its citizens that Loose Lips Might Sink Ships. In the 21st Century, instead of warships bringing troops to the frontlines or cargo vessels transporting food to bombed cities, the idiom applies to ships of commerce that provide essential goods and services to people across the globe.
In The Manchurian #1, Jillian Ames-Xu is one of the good people. When she learned her husband was passing corporate secrets to his homeland, she wanted to help. She continues after his death. But without his guiding hand, Jillian grows careless. Calvin Low, her guardian angel, pleads with her to stop. Calvin worries that Security will notice her accessing restricted files. But Jillian's love for her husband knows no bounds. Even after his death, she goes above and beyond to further his causes.
Like Calvin Low, Virginia is a Guardian Angel. She protects the American agents who pass along corporate secrets to China. But their superiors worry about Calvin. They send Virginia to warn him against growing too close to Jillian. Virginia reminds him that he should eliminate dangers to their operation, not protect them.
Luna Garcia and Calvin Low have a good life together. But despite her love for him, Luna knows Calvin lies to her. She doesn’t understand why. Luna’s concern grows when she finds an empty container of prescription drugs in the bathroom trash. Luna wants to help Calvin with whatever he is going through. Calvin would like to be honest with her, but he can't. Calvin vows to break up with her and let her find someone better, but not yet.
While Calvin struggles to protect Jillian, forces close in on him. In addition to his superiors, the multinational corporations are losing billions to Chinese espionage. Their pockets are deep. For some of their agents, Calvin’s actions cross the line. It’s not just business anymore. It’s personal.
The Manchurian #1 scoops secondary players into its net and intersperses Calvin’s scenes with reports on Chinese espionage. As the tension mounts, Calvin struggles to carry a load his superiors wish he would abandon. Pornsak Pichetshote weaves all the plot strands into a compelling tapestry that should satisfy readers while leaving them wanting to know more about Jillian, Luna, Virginia, and Calvin.
Art
As Calvin rises from the ocean in his swim trunks, a blonde regards him from a chaise lounge. Calvin helps her out of her bikini as they trade the patio for her bedroom while her brother smokes a cigarette outside. People chat about their research in restaurants, bars, and at home. Jillian wears protective goggles as she sits before a workstation with three monitors and a microscope. She glances behind her and frowns.
Terry Dodson adorns his pencils and Rachel Dodson’s inks with scene-specific limited palettes. Interiors and evenings often feature grayed pinks and purples, such as when Calvin meets Jillian at a modern art exhibit, hovers above a target like James Bond in Goldfinger, or meets her in a dark alley. Dodson favors green, brown, and blue for daytime scenes, such as when Calvin meets the blonde and Virginia. But the pinks and purples dominate The Manchurian #1, as Calvin spends more time in the shadows and darkness than in the light of day.
Jeff Powell shares Calvin’s thoughts as white uppercase letters in red narrative boxes and a security analyst’s reports as white lowercase words in black narrative boxes. Font size ranges from generous to small amid black and gray words in white dialogue balloons. Giant white letters introduce the locations and players in Calvin’s struggle to protect Jillian and claim the ultimate prize of 21st-century espionage. Sound effects suggest a caring side to Virginia's nature and punctuate an event that could shatter Jillian's fragmenting perspective in The Manchurian #1. Thanks to Image Comics and The Horizon Experiment for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
A conscientious Chinese spy struggles to knit together his fraying personal life while protecting a grieving widow from her corporate masters and his superiors in The Manchurian #1.
Rating 9/10
For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
Preview interior art at the Image Comics website.
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