Just because Inception clocks in at 148 minutes doesn’t mean you’ll want to leave Christopher Nolan’s dream world when the film ends. No, there’s no sequel talk – yet – but we do have some action on the flipside, a prequel. It comes from Inception co-producer Jordan Goldberg in the form of a comic called “The Cobol Job.”

The action in the comic is what takes place right before the movie begins. Cobb, his second in command, Arthur, and architect, Nash, are hired by a company called Cobol Engineering to steal some information from Proclus Global’s chief engineer regarding an expansion plan. Cobol is trying to secure a job that would have them install an oil pipeline up the eastern coast of Africa and their financer on that project is Fischer Morrow, Proclus Global’s rival. The problem is, the necessary information doesn’t lie in the mind of that chief engineer, but his superior, Mr. Saito.

The events within the comic may precede those in the film, but that doesn’t make this a must-read before checking out the movie. In fact, it might be more meaningful if read after the film. Even if you’ve seen Inception, “The Cobol Job” doesn’t do much in terms of solving the vast amount of questions the film leaves you with, but at least offer some background information explaining what Cobb and his crew were up to during the film’s opening sequence.

On top of all that, the illustrations and display technique is quite impressive. Of course the panels of drawings cannot compare in the least to seeing the action unfold on screen, but it’s still an effective effort. For anyone who’s engaged in Inception, the mild endeavor to quench some of the thirst for more is greatly appreciated.

Click here to check out “The Cobol Job” for yourself.

By Perri Nemiroff