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Hi guys...
New to the forum. I've been in and out of comics since I was a kid but haven't really read anything in 8 years.
Was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations for detective/noir style comic books. I picked up The Good Asian and Newburn recently but I haven't read comics in about 8 years so would have missed a lot!
Apologies if this has been answered already. I did a search but couldn't find anything.
Cheers!
Anything by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips- (criminal, fatale, kill or be killed, Reckless, Scene of the crime)
That Texas Blood by Chris Condon and James Phillips.
Cobra: The Last Laugh is one of my fav neo-noir comics. It was part of a reboot of GI Joe at IDW, but it stands great on its own. About this guy Chuckles going deep undercover, and it would do Raymond Chandler proud. It had a lot of buzz at the time, rightfully so, I recommend it often.
Getting into John Wagner's work on Judge Dredd is always a good choice too, for the Blade Runner fan. Lots of noir tinged stuff, often then side by side with humor a la Coen brothers etc. Just a genre writing feast. America by John Wagner is one of the classics.
And for something more grounded, Button Man by John Wagner is a cool crime comic.
[center]Definitely, you can't go wrong with BENDIS (the indy version):
[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torso_(Image_Comics)"][B][I][U][SIZE=5]Torso[/SIZE][/U][/I][/B][/URL]
[img]https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/1107681.jpg[/img]
[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.K.A._Goldfish"][B][I][U][SIZE=5]A.K.A. Goldfish[/SIZE][/U][/I][/B][/URL]
[img]https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/1003043.jpg[/img]
[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinx_(Image_Comics)"][B][I][U][SIZE=5]Jinx[/SIZE][/U][/I][/B][/URL]
[img]https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/1003033.jpg[/img][/center]
Absolutely want to second the Brubaker/Phillips "Criminal" series! And Bendis-when-he-was-great titles, Jinx, Goldfish, and Torso, and his Jessica Jones, and Pearl series. And then....
I have four short boxes' worth of 'detective/crime' comics, including: Ms. Tree, a Mike Hammer/Mickey Spillane style, vigilante/detective series; Tinsel Town--a four-issue, straight-up lady-cop in 30s Hollywood;
Ruse--a 6(?)-issue, more victorian and droll ltd series; Thief of Thieves-- Robert Kirkman's high-toned caper series; the manga adaptation of tv's "Sherlock" (more for style than mystery);
annnnnd-- short series from the past, including Jazz Age Chronicles, Hawaiian Dick, White Out (detective in Antarctica), Gun Honey (recent), Weird Detective, Bozz Chronicles (much like Ruse, but with an Alien as detective), Resident Alien (but less comedy and more detection than the tv show), Smoketown, Angel City.... oh, and that Frank Miller guy did a whole bunch of hard-nosed, hard-core, crime comics called collectively "Sin City."
Fellow lurker who also really enjoyed The Good Asian & Newburn, and of course stuff Brubaker & Phillips have done. I still read hero-oriented stuff, but in the last several years I've gradually migrated to other genres, especially crime and noire stuff. Image and DH have really put out some great stuff and appreciate the suggestions. You might like Lobster Johnson and/or Francavilla's Black Beetle run (not Image but...). Costumes for principal characters involved in each, but not over the top and pretty subtle. Both have same vibe to me as Good Asian given set in similar eras and urban settings.
Anyhow, thanks for starting this thread and giving me a lot of new material to put on my list. I was literally in my comic book shop the other day asking about recommendations for new crime/detective titles because I had finished Good Asian and latest Newburn issue, and have read most of the great Brubaker & Phillips stuff.
Just finished a full-series re-read of Gotham Central, and very much recommend it as a very cool police procedural largely tangential to all the masks and capes 'infesting' the city other than how the cops respond to the costumed wackos, and, of course, The Bat.
Technically, I suppose the first run of Witchblade could qualify as a detective comic, given Sara Pezzini is a police detective.
[QUOTE=armlessphelan;6106347]Technically, I suppose the first run of Witchblade could qualify as a detective comic, given Sara Pezzini is a police detective.[/QUOTE]
[center]Couldn't agree more. I was hesitant to mention it, because I didn't think the OP would take the suggestion seriously. :(
[img]https://2.bp.blogspot.com/ajlyZV5-mmI77VCAimfwL88FR1GeLxfH3OTc2Y9YGUjBEQvJOSOshXTp3jpzvb1BWoGUjb1VWMXI=s1600[/img][/center]
Titan Comics is reprinting the classic Ms. Tree in TPB. Volumes 1-3 are out. May have to check Ebay because I believe the first 2 are sold out at Amazon. Volume 4 is out in October.
That's great-- I've just finished re-reading a bunch of them. Sure hope the books are straight black and white--never cared for the duo-tone of the comics.
I bought The Fade Out in my travel to L.A, by Brubaker, Phillips and Breitweiser, and I’m currently halfway through the story: it is great. A well built crime noir story in the context of post WWII Hollywood, with all its secrets and corruption. I got it in a box set of the single issues, and I love the extras, plus it has no ads, save from promotions of other comicbooks by Brubaker and Phillips, put at the end of the issue, so they don’t interrupt the flow of the story.
There’s also Blacksad, one of the best comics ever. Maybe you have already read it, but the authors, Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, released a new book last year (which I haven’t read yet) and a sequel is coming out in 2023, so it’s a great time to jump into/ continue this great crime noir series.
Stray Bullets is my go to recommendation for great noir comics. Sin City is also must read!
[QUOTE=Chubistian;6136344]I bought The Fade Out in my travel to L.A, by Brubaker, Phillips and Breitweiser, and I’m currently halfway through the story: it is great. A well built crime noir story in the context of post WWII Hollywood, with all its secrets and corruption. I got it in a box set of the single issues, and I love the extras, plus it has no ads, save from promotions of other comicbooks by Brubaker and Phillips, put at the end of the issue, so they don’t interrupt the flow of the story.
There’s also Blacksad, one of the best comics ever. Maybe you have already read it, but the authors, Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, released a new book last year (which I haven’t read yet) and a sequel is coming out in 2023, so it’s a great time to jump into/ continue this great crime noir series.[/QUOTE]
Maybe I am wrong but there must be a Blacksad game as well. Also two great choices. Seconded.
Black Dahlia by James Ellroy and David Fincher from BOOM!Studios.
[QUOTE=batnbreakfast;6137283]Maybe I am wrong but there must be a Blacksad game as well. Also two great choices. Seconded.
Black Dahlia by James Ellroy and David Fincher from BOOM!Studios.[/QUOTE]
There's a Blacksad videogame indeed, but I haven't played it yet. I read somewhere that when it came out, it had a series of bugs. No idea if they were fixed though.