Emma is a brilliant and driven 16-year-old. She has paid for school with her next level inventions and is well-known for her funny and honest webcomics. Then, one day, one of the most famous billionaires on the planet confronts her with the truth about her world. Emma discovers she is the only daughter of two of the greatest, most charismatic master criminals of all time. They also stole something from that billionaire and he wants Emma to pay it back. Masterpiece #1 kicks off an intriguing heist story with an unlikely protagonist.

Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, the duo have shown off they have comic magic together. Masterpiece #1 clicks with an intriguing young girl at the center of the story, parents who you want to find out more about, and a villain you just want to punch.

The premise and concept as a whole are interesting because as presented, Bendis and Maleev make it kind of hard to like anyone. It’s thieves vs. thieves vs. a kid with an attitude. There’s a whole lot of slaps that are deserved it feels like, but I want to read more!

The duo have nailed a debut that teases enough that makes you want to find out more and get the whole story. They just create “cool.”

It helps Maleev’s art is fantastic as usual. With color by Ian Herring and lettering by Joshua Reed, everything looks great. Little goes over the top to break the reality of it all. My only quibble is a scene where Emma has a covering over her head and as it’s pulled off it looks like it has eye slits, which kind of defeats the purpose of a headcover, which fully covered her head the panel before. Otherwise, even the arrival of a mysterious character at the end feels completely plausible and normal.

Masterpiece #1 is a solid debut from a team that delivers great comics. It feels like a new concept and sets up enough you want to find out more and see where it all goes. This is absolutely another entertaining hit from Bendis and Maleev and not to be missed.

Story: Brian Michael Bendis Art: Alex Maleev
Color: Ian Herring Letterer: Joshua Reed
Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle