Breathtaker Collection
To know Chase Darrow is to love her. But to love Chase Darrow is certain death.
There is something about Chase that draws men to her like flies to honey. Although a more apt metaphor might be ‘like moths to a flame.’ One kiss of Chase’s lips draws the life out of a man, slowly aging him and eventually leaving him dead. Even the men around her she doesn’t kiss just love her and want to make her happy.
The problem is that there’s something within Chase that forces her to seek out company. She’s tried living alone without success. She’s tried throwing herself at bad men who deserve a bad death. She even tried romancing an older man who would be content to just have a beautiful trophy wife to look at. Unfortunately, nothing has worked. Eventually either she or they push for a kiss and the inevitable happens.
When Chase’s latest relationship ends with a dead billionaire, she finally gets the attention of the American government. Thinking she’s some natural-born superhuman, they dispatch their oldest and most powerful home-grown superhuman agent in turn – an invincible slab of testosterone simply known as “The Man.” He has a talent for killing and not much use for empathy. This sets up a long manhunt and a confrontation between the unrelenting and the irresistible. What will prove stronger? The Man’s ability to deal death or Chase’s tainted love?
Originally published as a four-issue miniseries by Vertigo Comics in 1990, Breathtaker is the definition of a cult classic comic. It was well-regarded upon release and saw a trade paperback collection in 1994. However, because it was intended to be a one-and-done story, it fell into obscurity compared to other mature readers’ titles of the age that were longer-running and sought out for film and television adaptations. This may be because Breathtaker is distinctly designed for the world of comics.
No less a luminary than Walt Simonson speaks on this point in the introduction to this hardcover collection. The way a train silhouette becomes a roof to the three panels under it showing a conversation on said train. The way a checkboard pattern sets up the layout of the room beyond. There are many visual tricks like this that might be replicated on film, but nowhere near as well. Marc Hempel and Mark Wheately crafted one heck of a visual extravaganza, with the writer painting several sequences that punctuate key moments of the story.
That story is what truly makes Breathtaker memorable beyond the outstanding visuals. While many comics have explored the idea of a superpower that is more curse than blessing, few have done it with the same political acumen. Beyond the psychological torment Chase experiences as a woman who just wants to be loved despite knowing she is literally poison, Breathtaker examines the paradoxical nature of sex and sexuality in American society and media. Women are encouraged to be sexy yet are looked down upon as harlots who seek to drag good men down. Likewise “The Man” is held up as the epitome of everything a man should be – a cinematic action hero in the flesh – despite being an unpleasant bore.
Breathtaker is rated M for readers 18 and up by Titan Comics and rightly so. With a plot based around love, death, sex, and power, this title requires a certain level of life experience to fully appreciate. Beyond that, it depicts numerous scenes of sexual content and aggressive violence that it should go without saying are not suitable for children.
Breathtaker Collection
By Mark Wheatley
Art by Marc Hempel, Mark Wheatley
Titan, 2025
ISBN: 9781785867354
Company Age Rating: 18+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
