Randy:
Moonstone Books is probably best known for their interpretations of licensed material like the World of Darkness or old favorites like The Phantom or Kolchak the Night Stalker. What Don and I are taking a look at this time, however, is something that keeps with that editorial philosophy but is just a little bit different, playing more off of classic literature or noir characters.
Don:
The publisher is branching out into newer material, experimenting with original works. They don't always hit the target, but they are exploring different genres and material that one doesn't often find in comics.
Legacy of the Invisible Man: Smoke & Mirrors
written by Dave Ulanski
illustrated by Art Nichols
Don:
It's been a century since the notorious Invisible Man plagued a small town in England, and now, the greedy owner of a small hotel discovers the almost indecipherable notebooks of the madman who cracked the secret of invisibility. He seeks out another brilliant mind who might be able to put the pieces of the forumla back together, and he learns of an American chemist... one who just happens to be related to the original Invisible Man. The pair forms a partnership, but one of them decides a double-cross is in order.
Randy:
Most of us are probably familiar with the Invisible Man from Alan Moore's interpretation of the creepy and terrifying character in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Ulanski definitely keeps with that interpretation of the character in his work on Legacy of the Invisible Man. However, while Moore has mostly stuck with Griffin, the original, Ulanski uses the story of the original Invisible Man to spin off a similar tale of madness and corruption in modern times. The resulting story feels fresh in terms of characters and plot, but plays nicely off the themes of the original as well.
What I like most about Ulanski's script, I think, is the ambiguity that exists within it. While Roch is definitely our sympathetic protagonist, even the oily Wayland Hall gets time to develop as a character, and I was never entirely sure who the culprit was in the "invisible crimes" being committed. Ulanski uses thought balloons, a rare device these days, to get us into the characters' heads so we can see their insecurities and flaws clearly, and the result is that even with the limited space he is given, he manages to flesh out the characters and conflicts fairly deeply.
Don:
I guess our opinions diverge. The story takes a long time to get under way; it's only about halfway through that the real plot and conflict emerge. Ulanski's idea is a clever one, but the ambiguity of the plot that Randy mentions is pretty transparent, and the Invisible Man's "victim" comes off as rather dim as a result. Ulanski pushes it too far and fails in his attempt to mislead the reader by dressing up the wrong character in the Invisible Man's trademark bandages and glasses. The script keeps shifting in tone as well, trying to be creepy at times, challenging at others, and sometimes, even coy. It made for an inconsistent read.
Randy:
The artwork on Invisible Man, while serviceable, is not quite as impressive as the story. Nichols has a style that is best described as sketchy, and there seems to be an inconsistent approach to detail. On some occasions, background elements or faces will be strongly delineated, and at others they look like dashed-off, uninked place-holder sketches. Such an approach could work if it were helping to establish the story, but it seems to be random where the detail is inserted. Wolak & Groszewski's coloring also seems a bit garish and one-note, but it doesn't really interfere with the storytelling to any degree.
Don:
Nichols's work here reminds me of the styles of Dick (Freemind) Giordano and Jim (Tomorrow Stories) Baikie. It tells the story clearly, but it just doesn't capture the dark atmosphere that this script calls for.
Moonstone Noir: Boston Blackie
written by Stefan Petrucha
illustrated by Kirk Van Wormer
Don:
Boston Blackie is not just a burglar... he's a great thief, but some bad timing and a drug problem gets him caught in the middle of a job. But it's not just theft he's charged with, but the murder of a little boy. After a brief stint in prison, Blackie sets to the task of finding out what really happened that night when the drugs turned his memory into a haze. Aided and dogged by a dame detective, Blackie fears that he'll discovers he's actually guilty of killing a child.
Randy:
I was surprised to find a "Boston Blackie created by" credit in the opening credits of this book, as I had no idea the character originated anywhere other than in Petrucha's imagination. Fortunately, it seems a familiarity with the character isn't necessary, as Petrucha quickly sets up Blackie as a crook who has his own set of ethics, but a drug problem that may have compromised them in the past.
Don:
I'll admit it... I love the concept of Moonstone Noir. This piece of historical crime fiction is a lot of fun to read, and it reminds us that yesteryear might not be the idealized, innocent concept we sometimes make it out to be. Lines between lawmen and con men blur in a deliciously dark, black-and-white story.
Randy:
Petrucha's plot is full of twists, and there's a fair amount of depth to the plot. As with too many of Moonstone's books, I feel like the story was crammed into the space it was given a little bit, and wished for either a story continued over more than one of these mini-graphic novels or a bigger graphic novel, but Petrucha does create a pretty effective set of characters in Blackie, Detective Steach and Whitey. The overall story relating to the diamond and the kidnapped kid flows well and ends in a satisfying manner. I wasn't quite as sold on the romantic elements with Blackie, his wife Mary and Steach, as it felt like we were to accept the attraction at face value rather than seeing any reasons for it, but that's mostly a background element at any rate.
Van Wormer's art looks familiar to me, but I can't put my finger on whose work it reminds me of. At any rate, while the black and white artwork does occasionally give me trouble in figuring out which character is which, in general I found it to really convey the atmosphere and tone of the story. Van Wormer especially shines on props and background, whether it's the shot of San Francisco in 1906, the spectacular designs for the Greene Mansion both inside and out and little details like the diving suits.
Don:
At times, I was reminded of Steve Bissette's or John Totleben's gritty, organic styles, and at others, Guy Davis's simple but textured approach. His slightly exaggerated style gives these noir characters a lot of personality, and he does well in the black-and-white motif. It's a shame he didn't use some grey tones to add a little more depth to the visuals, but overall, the art is a treat and serves the story well.
Moonstone Noir: The Hat Squad
written by Jay Faerber
illustrated by Eric Yonge
Don:
A 1950s B-movie starlet approaches the Hat Squad -- a quartet of the roughest, toughest cops in Los Angeles who refuse to let the rules get in the way of their job -- and asks for their help, but they dismiss her concerns. But when she turns up dead not long after their encounter, the case gets personal, and Sgt. Jake Thurman and his men tear through Hollywood looking for the killer.
Randy:
This was probably my favorite of the books reviewed in this column. The Hat Squad is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for in hard-boiled pulp fiction comics. It doesn't hurt that Faerber and Yonge are playing with a concept that I've always found interesting, and which was played up so effectively in James Ellroy's books or L.A. Confidential the movie, but they really nailed the concept of these tough cops in a pre-Miranda era. As someone who sometimes gets frustrated by the legal minutiae involved in modern-day police procedurals, I found something cathartic about seeing a group of cops who will get someone who's guilty even if they can't quite prove it in a court of law.
Don:
The loose-cannon riff was satisfying, but what I enjoyed more about it is that when the Hat Squad hits a dead end, when they know they've done all they can do, there's still a tone of defeat in the roundabout way justice is meted out. Despite their seeming disregard for the rules, they're still after justice, and when they have to settle for revenge, it leaves a bitter taste.
Randy:
Mind you, there's more to Hat Squad than borderline vigilante justice. The personalities of the characters, from the guilt-ridden leader Jake to the new guy Danny, are well-established, as is the tight nature of the group dynamic. The mystery of who killed Sheila is an interesting and relatively twisted plot with a couple red herrings, and it fits nicely into the format that Faerber has been given to tell his story. But if I were pressed to tell you my favorite parts, they would probably involve the sequences that show off what gave the Hat Squad its reputation, whether it's the opening sequence that shows them sending a few mobsters back where they came from or the revenge visits by the group on Ganza and his crew after they dared to mess with the family of one of the Squad.
Yonge is a great artist for the story, and that's largely down to his ability to keep things moving. To be sure, he's got the basics like keeping the characters distinct, but what really makes it work for me is how he conveys the speed at which the Hat Squad moves. Driving to check out a suspect, crashing into a door, rousting the mob, beating up a few mobsters, everything is conveyed with the right sense of action. And his depiction of the murdered Sheila Rivers is also fairly horrifying and effective.
Don:
There's a classic 1970s look to Yonge's style. Names like Irv Novick, Bob Oksner and Curt Swan came to mind when one thinks of artists who may have been an influence on Yonge's work. Though the story is in keeping with the Moonstone Noir name and the art is presented in the black-and-white format, Yonge tends not to use heavy inks to achieve the atmoshere. The brighter tone is in keeping with the sunny setting, but the artist still manages to tap into the darker atmosphere of the story and characters.
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