Category: Crime

Zodiac Killer Code Cracked?

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That’s Corey Starliper.  Have you ever heard of him?  I hadn’t either until recently.  Corey claims to have broken a code that has stumped experts for over forty years.  Not only that, in breaking the code, Correy believes he has solved the mystery behind the identity of the Zodiac Killer.

If true, this is a major, major breakthrough.  Of course, if it was true, don’t you think you’d have heard of Corey Starliper somewhere other than here?

Drive: Crime Classic in the Making

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Have you seen the trailer for “Drive”?  It is the best looking trailer I’ve seen in a long time and if the movie turns out to be as good as the teaser indicates, then we are in for a crime classic.  The source material is more than solid since it’s based on the crime novel Drive by James Sallis [that I reviewed here].

Ok.  Enough of my praise.  Check out the redband trailer and see for yourself.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

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At ComicCon this past weekend, Robert Rodriguez announced that “Frank [Miller] has written a script for Sin City 2…It could shoot as early as later this year.“

The Sin City sequel will follow the same format as the original movie with three interconnected tales. “A Dame to Kill For” will be the main title and is based on the Frank Miller story of the same name. The Long Bad Night is the second yarn with no mention of the third’s title at this point.

The Package: I’m In

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I learned about The Package by Elliot Blake and Alexis Ziritt, through Kickstarter.  I liked what I read and decided to become a backer.  Here’s what got me on board:

  • THE PACKAGE, an original 56-page crime graphic novel written by Elliot Blake and illustrated by Alexis Ziritt, is the story of Fred Cutler, a shallow mob gunman who survives an attempt on his life only to wake up and find there’s a small bomb in his chest. It was planted there by Paz Huerta, the beautiful young woman who saved his life, because she sees in him her one best chance to get something she’s wanted more than anything: revenge for the death of her father at the hands of Fred’s boss, Los Angeles gangster Rafi Vega. Like it or not, Fred’s going to have to help Paz, because she’s not taking no for an answer – and she’s the one with her finger on the detonator.

Egg #2: Hard-Boiled Stories Reviewed

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Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #2 is, not surprisingly, a follow-up to to Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #1. Like the first, it’s an anthology with all stories written by Eric Skillman.  Issue two features the art of Ming Doyle, Victor Kerlow and Evan Bryce. Let’s look at the issue…

Lost & Found by Eric Skillman and Ming Doyle kicks off the issue with an eight page story about a midwestern girl who moved to the big city after high school.  Now nearly a decade later she reconnects with Tommy, an old friend who loves to party hard.  Hanging with Tommy could be the death of her.

Skillman’s colors mesh well with Ming Doyle’s pen and ink work.  Doyle has a unique style but it felt really right for this story.

Our second tale, The Platform teams Eric Skillman with Victor Kerlow in an six page story about two subway workers who learn how dangerous it can be coming to the aide of a young lady late at night.

This story, like many of Skillman’s, has a shocker of an ending.

Our final story brings Eric Skillman and Evan Bryce together for a tale that they call Cold Feet.  Kermit and Nate are two crime partners debating whether of not the snowy and icy roads make it the right night for a robbery.  Before the night is over, they’ll have their answer.

Cold Feet was my favorite story in the issue.  I’m a big fan of Evan Bryce’s art.  Evan is always pushing the envelope and I think he had the right balance of realism/cartooniness for this tale.  Skillman did an excellent job of coloring the story — at first glance I thought that Evan had done the colors as well.  Let’s hope we see more stories from this team in the future.

I really enjoyed Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #2.  Eric Skillman is an excellent writer and has an obvious love of the crime/hard-boiled genre. He’s also been able to bring excellent artists to the table, so I’m hoping that we’re going to see future issues.

EGG: Hard-Boiled Stories #1

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Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #1 is a rare find in comics these days.  First of all, it’s an anthology.  Second, every tale is excellent in both story [all written by Eric Skillman] and art [Jorge Coelho, Joe Dellagatta, Dan Duncan, Jhomar Soriano and Connor Willumsen].  Let’s look at the issue…

These Kids Today by Eric Skillman and Connor Willumsen kicks off the issue with a three page story that packs a gut-punch ending.  A somewhat older [wiser?] guy decides to hook up with a young babe who’s mad at her boyfriend and looking for a good time.  Needless to say, good times ensue… for a bit.  I didn’t see the ending coming and that made me love it all the more.   I really liked how the line art and colors worked on this story.

Our second tale, Below the Fold teams Eric Skillman with Jorge Coelho in an eight page story about a reporter who needs to break a major story in order to keep her job.  Her luck turns when she discovers information that would save her career… but cost her much more.

Next up is Eric Skillman and Jhomar Soriano teaming to bring us Uninvited, a three page tale of suspense.  Kate Carville is the lead prosecutor against a mob boss in a trial set to start the following morning.  Kate is home alone prepping for the case when she hears someone in her house.

As I was reading this short tale I was thinking that I’d really like to see Skillman and Soriano team for a graphic novel.  I was thrilled to learn that they did [Liar’s Kiss] and that it would live up to my high expectations [future review coming].

The Real Thing [by Eric Skillman and Dan Duncan] explores what happens when a con man set to score big discovers that a female con artist is also working the same guy.  Can they trust each other so that everyone, except the mark, comes out ahead?

Our final tale is Spared by Eric Skillman and Joe Dellagatta.  It’s every woman’s nightmare to be traveling alone on a deserted road and for the car to breakdown.  That’s exactly what happens to Kristen.  Perhaps things are looking up when a stranger stops to help.  Perhaps not.  I foresaw a couple of different endings to this tale, but not the one that Skillman and Dellagatta delivered.  THAT is the sign of good storytelling.  Special props for the coloring of this story as well.

So there you have it.  Five excellent crime stories by Eric Skillman and five talented artists.  If you’ve read this far, then  Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #1 should find a home in your collection.