Scene of the Crime

Rating:
Summary: Why this book is different than most comic mysteries.
Review: A few years back I was working nights in a tiny used bookstore. The business was slow, but steady, and while I could read at the counter, inevitably I was interrupted just as I was getting into whatever I was reading. My solution to this was to start reading mysteries, a genre that I had loved in TV or movies, but never cared for that much in books. So I thought I could read a mystery and not care if I got interrupted, and if I didn't finish the book by the end of my shift, I could just flip to the end and find out who did it. I know, this is horrifying for mystery fans to hear. But my point is, I ended up falling in love with the genre, at least in the hands of some authors. So, when I was setting out to do a book for DC, I decided to try my hand at a mystery. One of the things that has always bothered me about mystery comics is that they aren't really mysteries. They are just crime comics, filled with gore and voilence, and not much secrecy at all. So, I wanted to do something different, I wanted to do a mystery that followed in the footsteps of my favorites, like Ross Macdonald, and Raymond Chandler, a book that was about the aftermath of murder, and the reasons, too. So I, along with artist Michael Lark, did something rare in comics. And according to the vast majority of readers, we succeeded. I hope you'll give this book a try, it's for fans of the serious mysteries, the psychological, secrets buried in the past ones. My personal favorite kind.

Rating:
Summary: Fine mystery, good cast of characters.
Review: I like detective stories only when they're well told. Dashiel Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Walter Mosley, Robert Parker, and Sue Grafton are the only ones I read regularly. Brubaker's work here is in that class.

Brubaker creates a great family-tangled-in-the-past mystery a la Ross Macdonald and adds a cast of supporting characters for the private detective that is only rivaled by those created by Robert B. Parker, from a persnickety crime-scene photographer to a bellicose national-agency private operator.

The real contribution this book makes to the genre, though, is its protagonist, Jack Herriman, whose youth makes for a refreshing contrast with most classic detectives but whose former morally questionable lifestyle, which began at the age of 14, gives him a moral depth of greater immediacy than that of most private eyes. While other detectives have seen everything, this kid has already done everything. This gives the story a new perspective, which Brubaker makes the most of.

I hope Brubaker takes time out from his regular series, Deadenders, to write more Herriman stories. And I hope Michael Lark sticks with the book, too -- his work is as good here as it was in Terminal City.

Rating:
Summary: Eyes On Murder
Review: Jack Herriman is a young private eye in San Francisco. He lives above Scene Of The Crime, an art gallery specializing in photos of crime scenes that were taken by his uncle Knut. Paul Raymonds, a SFPD detective sergeant and old partner of Jack's father, tells Jack he's sending a special client over in the morning. The relationship between Jack and Raymonds is strained, partly because Raymonds is cheating on Jack's aunt. The next morning, Jack meets Alex Jordan, a woman he figures out is Raymonds' lates girlfriend. Alex says her sister Maggie has vanished, and that she might be at a hippie commune called Lunarhouse. Once inside Lunarhouse, Jack finds himself up to his eyeballs in trouble. Maggie was there but is gone now, and some of the commune's big bouncers chase Jack from the scene. In no time at all, Jack's quest takes him through the dark alleys of the city, the bleak fall-out from emotional pain and suffering of a family, and force his own black rage and weakness to the surface so he has to finally deal with those things. Secrets are everywhere--even Jack has them.

Ed Brubaker currently scripts he BATMAN monthly comic, the CATWOMAN comic in which he revamped the character, POINT BLANK, SLEEPER, a SLAM BRADLEY back-up and THE COMPLETE LOWLIFE. Also a cartoonist, Brubaker's work has been nominated for many Eisner Awards. Michael Lark is a favorite artist on noirish-type comics. His graphic novel, THE LITTLE SISTER, written and drawn by him, based on Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novel of the same title. Other work includes TERMINAL CITY, short stories for Vertigo's WINTER'S EDGE, SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE WORLDS, and BATMAN: NINE LIVES.

Brubaker's natural feel for crime writing lends Jack Herriman's world the luster of a dark and gritty reality. San Francisco is accurately portrayed without ever stepping too close to becoming a travelogue or a stereotype. The mystery and murders at the heart of the story, the years of loss and betrayal that come to culmination and spark to unleash the homicidal blaze that rocks Jack's world and leave him both more and less than what he had been are all played out honestly. Brubaker's got a gift for dialogue and allows the characters to come on stage and introduce themselves in ways even the excellent first-person narration can't quite do. Jack's world is full: he has his uncle and his uncle's girlfriend, Paul Raymonds--his dead father's partner, Steve Ellington--a friend and private eye for a big investigations firm, and an ex-girlfriend of his own that he can't quite get over. Besides getting entranced in the rich mystery that Brubaker presents, readers also get to wander through the impressive tapestry of pain, misery, loss, guilt, and half-truths that are Jack's life. The story offers quiet jokes, deep characters drawn in a few knowing lines, and the intensity of a steadily depressed spring. As Jack narrows the scope of his investigation, readers know that all hell is about to break loose: especially when additional bodies drop out of the woodwork and the violence escalates. Michael Lark's artwork is awesome: dark and moody, readers can smell the smoke in the seedy bars and will check the seats before sitting.

SCENE OF THE CRIME: A LITTLE PIECE OF GOODNIGHT is a wonderful graphic novel in the vein of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective novels. Brubaker says that Ross MacDonald was his favorite crime novelist, and a lot of the movement and rhythm of this tale shows that interest. Private eye fiction lovers who have never discovered the intricate joy of a graphic novel couldn't find a better place to start exploring the genre. Fans who already are familiar with Brubaker's work on BATMAN or CATWOMAN will want to add this one to their collections if it's not already there.

Rating:
Summary: All about the Twists...
Review: okay folks, lets face it, private eye stories are usually pretty predictable; PI gets hired on a case (mostly by a beautiful woman), does some digging, finds out more than he figured, puts it all together and catches the bad guy/guys. the art of a good story is how the author twists up those cliches and keeps you turning pages. well, ed brubaker has written a pretty twisty story here. the PI, jack herriman, takes on a missing persons case from a woman looking for her sister. he manages to find the sister pretty quickly but thats when the problems start, people die, questions stack up and he finds out fast the case is far from wrapped. the artwork, by michael lark, is quite good and does a very serviceable job of storytelling. overdrawn comic hero art would totally not work here and the slightly subdued colors fit the book perfectly giving it a slightly noirish feel without overdoing it. sorry, my plot summary wasn't more descriptive but you'll want to experience this for yourself. if you like quick paced mysteries this'll be right up your alley. this is a brilliant work of fiction and art... comics? for kids? ...not this one...