Ms. Marvel Iman Vellani And Marianna Ignazzi Announce ‘Chachu’ — A Neo-Noir, Coming-Of-Age Drama
by Olly MacNamee
Actor Iman Vellani, star of the Disney+ Ms Marvel series, is channelling her own coming-of-age experiences in the entertainment industry in a new Image Comics’ five-issue miniseries. Chachu, illustrated by Marianna Ignazzi (Exquisite Corpses, Self Help) and coloured by Jordie Bellaire (Absolute Wonder Woman, Redlands) will “reinterpret the classic neo-noir private investigator story.”
“Set in 1979, Chachu follows Leila, a 19-year-old Pakistani-Canadian girl with a penchant for film and pulp novels, who travels to California hoping to connect with her estranged uncle — her “Chachu” — a middle-aged, semi-retired private eye once famous for marrying the starlet he was initially hired to find. But when his wife mysteriously vanishes once again, the two are forced on an impromptu road trip investigation that transforms her first taste of adulthood into a thrilling confrontation of family secrets, unresolved grief, and the fantasies both she and Chachu have built their lives around.”
Speaking about the book, Vellani said:
“I’ve always been deeply curious about comics as an art form because of their capacity to hold contradiction — arguably better than any other medium. That became especially meaningful to me while writing Chachu, which grew out of this tension between mourning my youth while I still have it, and an incessant urge to come-of-age already.
“It’s been an immense privilege to build my first original series alongside such an accomplished roster of collaborators, all of whom challenged and supported me in ways that made this book far better than anything I could’ve imagined on my own or in therapy.”
Ignazzi added:
“From the very first reading of Iman’s script, I could already picture this ’70s world revealing itself through reflections in sunglasses and rearview mirrors, slowly emerging through cigarette smoke and neon lights. I tried to capture Leila and Chachu’s journey through strong blacks and a graphic style that could still feel emotional and deeply narrative. Seeing my pages come to life through Jordie’s colors has been wonderful—she brought an incredible atmosphere, warmth, and cinematic depth to every scene.”
Chachu #1 is out on Wednesday, 5th August from Image Comics.
