Category: Crime

Jake Hinkson on a CrimeSpree

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Jake Hinkson the author of the highly recommended Hell on Church Street, The Posthumous Man and Saint Homicide is the subject of an interview at CrimeSpree.

Hinkson talks about his influences, growing up in the South, his love of old films and more.

Here are a couple of quotes to entice you to click over…

Hardboiled crime fiction is about toughness. Noir is about weakness.

With Hell On Church Street, I found the voice of the main character right away. It jumped right out of me. I just loved the duality of Geoffrey Webb, his surface politeness and deep-seated contempt.

With The Posthumous Man, the voice of the main character was tricky because he’s a guy who, as the story begins, has just tried to commit suicide…. He dies in the emergency room for three minutes, and then wakes up to find that he has this bizarre second chance presented to him in the person of a deeply troubled nurse. He’s more philosophical than emotionally frazzled. I mean, after you’ve been dead, what’s there to be frazzled about?

There’s a line in Saint Homicide where Daniel says, “I simply don’t know what religion means to people for whom it doesn’t mean everything.”

Dead Body Road #2 / Z-View

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Dead Body Road is a six issue mini-series published by Image.

Writer: Justin Jordan

Penciler / Inker: Matteo Scalera

Colorist: Moreno Dinisio

You won’t kill me.

Yet.   Won’t kill you yet.   Can hurt you though.

Dead Body Road #1 set the bar high.  Great writing, great art and a crime/revenge story that hit all the right marks.  If you liked loved Dead Body Road #1 then you’re going to dig Dead Body Road #2.

Gage is on the trail of his wife’s killers.  This points him toward Rachael.  Her husband was part of the gang that robbed the bank and killed Gage’s wife.  Problem is, some of the gang have gotten to Rachael first.  She’s tough, but in over her head.

Gage is outnumbered and outgunned but left with no other option than to save Rachael and avenge his wife.  

Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera continue to impress as they move the story forward.  These guys are a team to watch.

Dead Body Road #2  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence and language.  If you’re a fan of crime/revenge stories then this is for you.  

Rating: 4 out of 5

Saint Homicide by Jake Hinkson / Z-View

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His name is Daniel.  The other cons call him Saint Homicide.

Daniel is a religious man.  To say that he is being tested, if you believe in such a thing, is an understatement.  As Daniel lays out his story you see how a man of God who is a faithful hardworking and devoted husband becomes a cold-blooded killer.  

Daniel isn’t on a slow spiral out of control, he’s on a runaway freight train to destruction and just as Daniel can’t stop what’s about to happen, you as a reader won’t be able to stop turning pages.

Jake Hinkson has the ability to draw us into a world that most would never want to inhabit.  When our lives cross paths with others like Daniel we sometimes think, there but for the grace of God…  in Daniel’s case he believes that it is the grace of God that brought him to be a convicted murderer sitting in a prison cell.

As Daniel lays out his story we discover that Daniel has always been a religious man and one who stood up for his beliefs no matter the cost.  While others see him as a fanatic, Daniel knows he is a servant of God.  Daniel believes by telling his story, “by honestly transcribing blasphemies, rough language, and ugly situations as they occurred” he is “creating a testament to the glory of Christ.”

So we learn about Daniel’s hatred of abortionists and how this brought about the loss of his job as a college professor.  We wonder how Daniel, now jobless, will take care of his wife who still suffers from injuries that have left her not only physically scarred but mentally diminished.

The pressure continues to build so that when Daniel agrees to go looking for his young sister-in-law who may have run off with a thug, we know that things are not going to end well.  And they don’t.

This novella is not for the feint of heart or younger readers, but if you’re a fan of crime fiction and noir my guess is you’ll really dig this.  My only complaint is that it ended too soon.  I wanted more.  Of course, isn’t that what good authors do… leave their readers wanting more?

I’m a Jake Hinkson fan.  And like Hell on Church Street and The Posthumous Man, I recommend Saint Homicide and will look forward to Hinson’s next novel(la).

Rating: 3 out of 5

Bill Frank, Drew Moss and The Crow: Pestilence

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The cover above is by J. O’Barr for the new mini-series Crow: Pestilence by Frank Bill [writer] and Drew Moss [artist].  I love it when creators whose work I enjoy come together on a project.

I’ve been a J. O’Barr Crow fan since the character’s first appearance back in Caliber Presents.

Frank Bill burst on the crime fiction scene in a big way with his Crimes in Southern Indiana (book of short stories) and follow-up novel Donnybrook.  (I’ve read and recommend both!)

I met Drew Moss about a year ago and got two sketches from him.  Moss is a talented artist, and a funny guy.

I’m really looking forward to Crow: Pestilence and even more so after reading this CBR.com interview with Frank Bill.

 

LaTour & Aaron Preview New Crime Comic

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I’m a long-time fan [as in before he went pro] of Jason Latour’s talent.  

LaTour is a writer and an artist.  LaTour drew the page above and all the art in his DA Gallery.

Now LaTour has teamed up with writer, Jason Aaron to create a new crime comic called Southern Bastards.  USAToday recently previewed Southern Bastards, and Aaron summarized the series saying it is a…

“…love letter/hate rant to the South” mixed with the 1970s “redneck cinema” that gave pop cultureWalking Tall… It’s more a dark version of The Dukes of Hazzard if it was done by the Coen brothers…”

 LaTour posted the Southern Bastards preview at his site.  I’m getting my pre-order in to my local comics shop.  If this looks like something you’d enjoy, you should too.

Ten Active Serial Killers Who Might Be Near You Right Now

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Americans are The world is obsessed with serial killers.  We liked to read about them.  Movies and television shows about serial killers are always popular.  I wonder how our feelings about them would change if a serial killer was plying his trade near us?

TopTenz recently posted Ten Active Serial Killers Who Might Be Near You Right Now.

 

Source: Bill Crider.

Z-View: “Gravedigger: The Scavengers”

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Gravedigger: The Scavengers #1 of 1

Original comic published by Rorschach Entertainment

Free Web Comic published by Christopher Mills at GravediggerComic.com

Script, Tones, Letters: Christopher Mills

Pencils and Inks: Rick Burchett

Cover A (shown): Rick Burchett

In his world, there are only two kinds of men: the Dead and the Deadly.

Gravedigger: The Scavengers  is available in two forms: a one shot comic published by Rorschach Entertainment and as an ongoing free web-comic.  The paper comic is worth tracking down, but if you can’t get your mitts on a copy, the web-comic contains the original one shot and more.  The comic is printed as you see it online in a widescreen format.

Gravedigger McCrae (Digger to his  friends) just got out of prison after serving three years of a five-year bit. Digger’s feeling old and looking for that one final score that he can use to coast into retirement.  He may have found his golden ticket when a crime associate that he’d worked with one time before brings him in on a $800 thousand caper.  All they have to do is hijack a gunrunner’s deal.  Digger and the crew can keep all the guns and the cash… of course they’ll have to kill everyone not in their crew to get away clean.

Digger is not sure who he can trust.  Bunny was brought in by Digger, so he should be okay, but how good is okay with 800 large on the line?  B.T. is good with a gun, but looks more like a punk than a shooter.  Goodis is the pilot that’ll fly them out of there, but will he stick around if things go sideways?  Red is the one who set things up.  He seems a bit jumpy… perhaps because he’s brought Angel, his hot looking wife, in on the deal.  That doesn’t sit well with Digger.  He knows a sure way to queer a deal is to bring in a dame.

Digger’s worries about Red’s wife screwing things up take a turn when she comes on to Digger. Three years in prison, a hot young babe and opportunity make Digger’s decision easy.  Angel offers Digger a plan that will leave the two of them with the cash and a smooth getaway together.  Sure, Digger will have to kill Red and maybe a few members of the crew, but isn’t she and $800 k worth it?  Digger is in deep.  He needs the deal and the money it will bring.  He’s enjoying Angel, but knows she can’t be trusted… no one can be trusted.  The cards are dealt, so he might as well play out the hand and see who wins.

Chris Mills and Rick Burchett have created a crime comic that is a treat to read.  Gravedigger: The Scavengers is like a love letter to fans of Lee Marvin, Richard Stark Parker novels, crime movies, crime novels and crime comics.   This is one of the best one-shot comics of any genre that I’ve ever read.

Chris Mills has created a unique character in  Gravedigger.  Digger’s not a good guy.  He knows and accepts this.  Mills has a feel for all the characters, a love of the crime genre and a way with words.  I hope someday to read a Gravedigger novel or book of short stories by Mills.

Rick Burchett is the perfect artist for this comic.  His art compliments Mill’s prose.  Burchett is truly amazing in that he knows where to focus the readers eyes for the most impact. Should anyone ever do a Gravedigger: The Scavengers movie, the storyboards are done thanks to Burchett.

I am glad that Mills and Burchett are deep into their second Gravedigger story –  Gravedigger: The Predators.  My hope is that the two Gravedigger stories will lead to a Kickstarter so that we’ll get a hardcover worthy of showcasing these stories.

Gravedigger: The Scavengers is a comic for mature audiences due to adult language and situations.

Rating: 5 out of 5

 

Z-View: All Crime Comics #1

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All Crime Comics #1 published by Art of Fiction.

Writer: The Art of Fiction

Penciler / Inker (Chapters 1 & 3): Ed Laroche

Penciler / Inker (Chapter 2): Marc Sandroni

Colorist: Tony Fleecs (Chapters 1 & 3)

Colorist: Andrew Siegel (Chapter 2)

Cover: Bruce Timm

Cars, murder, revenge. Not recommended for children of any age.

All Crime Comics #1 leads with a beautiful Bruce Timm cover that is sexy, provocative with an undercurrent of bad things to come.  The design of the cover makes All Crime Comics #1 look like a beat-up pulp from the 50’s.  It definitely sets the tone for things to come.

Chapter One starts: Marko, a big Russian enforcer, beating a group of men to death in an effort to obtain information for his partner, Dodger.  Marko and Dodger stop to torture a dopehead before going on to meet up with a Dodger’s associates.  Dodger lays out his plan to kill his old partner Louie despite the fact that Louie has become a big time mafia boss and is currently doing time in a federal prison.

In Chapter Two we flashback 23 years.  Louie and Dodger are in high school.  We learn how they became friends and drifted into a life of crime.  They both fell for the high school hotie, Carla Blackman.  Carla was out of their league until Louie became a big man in the crime syndicate.  Carla then falls for Louie which of course drives a wedge into Louie and Dodger’s friendship.

Chapter Three brings us back to Dodger and his crew as they execute their plan to get into the prison and kill Louie.  Unfortunately for them Louie knows they’re coming.  A lot of people are going to die and not according to either Dodger or Louie’s plans.

All Crime Comics #1 is a comic for mature audiences due to extreme violence.  The story covers a lot of ground and spends about a third of the book with Louie and Dodger in high school.  That’s not the crime story that interests me.  It was hard to get Dodger’s fascination with Carla.  Sure, Carla was the school fox, but she had time for everyone but Dodger.  Twentythree years is a long time to carry an obsession and deciding to break in to a federal pen to kill a crime boss is a bit outlandish.  With that said, there are a couple of cool twists of plot at that point.

The packaging is great, the cover is awesome.  I liked the idea of the story.  The art was well done.

With all that said, if you think I didn’t like All Crime Comics #1, you’d be wrong.  I did.  I just didn’t like All Crime Comics #1 as much as I wanted to.

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Z-View: “Jack Reacher”

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The Pitch: ”Hey, let’s do a movie adaptation of one of Lee Child’s best selling Jack Reacher novels and get Tom Cruise to star.”

“But Jack Reacher is described in the novels as being 6′ 5″ — a modern day giant.  Tom Cruise is pretty short and fans of the novels will hate the casting.”

“Tom Cruise is in so who cares about the miscasting.  What do you say?”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “The law has limits. He does not.”

The Overview:  James Barr, a former military sniper, kills five random people.  He’s quickly caught in what appears to be an open-and-shut case.  The evidence is overwhelming.  Barr claims he didn’t do it and tells his defense attorney to get Jack Reacher.

Reacher shows up on his own.  Reacher is a former Army Criminal Investigator who is now living off the grid.  Reacher is there to prove that Barr committed the crime since Reacher knows Barr got away with a similar killing when deployed overseas.

Reacher looks at the evidence and fairly quickly determines that Barr was used as a patsy and didn’t kill those murdered.  As he digs into the case, Reacher becomes the target of those behind the killings and a bigger conspiracy.

*** Beware – minor spoilers are found below ***

The Good

  • Tom Cruise plays Jack Reacher as if he knows he is not only the smartest but also the baddest man in the room.  Reacher doesn’t flaunt either ability, but he won’t back down from showing either ability when pressed.
  • Because Cruise isn’t a 6’5″ hulk, it is even more impressive when Reacher refuses to back down.  You can see Reacher enjoys the chance to show how smart he is or whoop some butt if those who are pressing him refuse to stop.
  • The story is a good one.  It is fun seeing Cruise unravel the mystery and put together the killings so that they make better sense than the sequence of events that the prosecutors laid out.
  • The car chase is one of the best in years.
  • Cruise has a number of great lines.
  • Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, Jai Courtney and Alexia Fast are impressive in their roles.  It’s always nice to see Robert Duvall show up.

The Bad:

  • Lee Child fans who refused to see Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher.
  • The scene where two thugs attempt to beat up Reacher in a bathroom.  The first part of the scene almost plays like The Three Stooges, but then takes a turn and the second half of the fight scene works much better.
  • It would have been nice had Werner Herzog been given more to do.
  • Telling someone you didn’t see them so they won’t have to kill you and getting the response, “It doesn’t matter.”

The Ugly:

  • Being given the choice to break or chew off a finger or take a bullet to the head.

Rating:

White Suits by Frank Barbiere & Toby Cypress

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That’s a preview page for White Suits a new mini-series coming from Frank Barbiere [writer] and Toby Cypress [artist].  Barbiere summarizes the series saying…

The White Suits is an action/crime story about a mysterious group of killers known as, you guessed it, The White Suits. The group has history dating back to the Cold War… they have resurfaced in NYC and are systematically eliminating the city’s gangs. The crime lords of the city have banded together to deal with the problem, while a rogue FBI agent who has a history with the Suits is plotting her own battle. She’s been on the tail of a man she suspects was once a member and finally corners him, only to discover he has amnesia — so the two of them are on a quest for truth (and revenge) against the Suits. The story is fueled by the mystery of exactly who the White Suits are — which will come to light by the end of the mini-series.

You can learn more about White Suits here.  If it sounds like something you’d like, you can pre-order through your local comic shop.  I did.

Source: CBR.com.

Z-View: Dead Body Road #1

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Dead Body Road is a six issue mini-series published by Image.

Writer: Justin Jordan

Penciler / Inker: Matteo Scalera

Colorist: Moreno Dinisio

The men involved in his wife’s death must die.   All of them.

Dead Body Road #1 sets the bar high.  Great writing, great art and a crime/revenge story that hits all the right marks without being cliché.

Gage is an ex-cop.  His wife Anna (also a cop) was killed in what looks like a robbery gone bad.  Everybody in the building was murdered and the bad guys got away… just not together.  When the robbery turned into the OK Corral, one of the thieves (the one with the item being stolen) high-tailed it.

Now he has Gage, and the other crooks hot on his trail.  It won’t be good for him no matter who catches him first.  And how bad would it be if the crooks and Gage get to him at the same time?

Justin Jordan has created a crime story that starts with a bang and doesn’t let up.  There’s a lot going on and each scene propels us deeper into something that is much more than your typical ex-cop seeks revenge against those who killed his family tale.  This could have been a simple story of revenge, but Jordan has layered in much more.

Matteo Scalera creates visuals that have the maximum impact for each scene.  Car chases are usually boring — especially in comics.  Scalera pulls off a four page sequence that not only advances the story, but makes you feel the speed and danger of the chase.  His characters have character.

Dead Body Road #1  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence and language.  If you’re a fan of crime/revenge stories then this is for you.  Dead Body Road #1 gets my highest recommendation.

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