Hard Case Crime/Titan Comics 2016
Original Story by Walter Hill
Adapted by Matz
Illustrated by Jef
Translated by Edward Gauvin
SPRUNG FROM THE POKEY AND SET ON A FINAL MISSION OF MURDER, HITMAN ROY ‘TRIGGERMAN’ NASH HEADED TO THE CITY OF ANGELS IN SEARCH OF HIS MOBSTER MARKS. BUT FOLLOWING A BUST-UP AT THE KLUB KOKOMO, IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE OUR STONE-FACED HERO FOUND HIMSELF BACK INSIDE A PRISON CELL…
This is a great crime drama it’s like one of those historical shows we see on A&E or something. Where the bad guy, Roy, gets busted out of the joint to do one last job and goes off to do that and find the love of his life. It’s well thought out and scripted and there are plenty of questions to be asked along the way. Now I understand why Roy, they faked his death and got him out to do the job, but it also feels like he’s being set up so that once this is done he will be done for real. So will that aspect come into play, I have no idea but I gotta admit that i’m thinking this means that the story is doing it’s job it’s got me thinking of the possibilities that could come into play.
I really like the interiors here. The attention to detail is pretty amazing to see. The look and feel of the characters thanks to the clothes and trends of the era have a great authenticity about them. The use of page layouts through angles, perspective and the use of backgrounds really get you into the story beautifully. It’s like we’re looking at a slice of history here and it really grabs the imagination in the best ways possible.
The way the story is structured so that we see Roy have to figure things out as he’s going along is great. He’s got to not only find the two men in question and find the money they stole but he’s running afoul of not only the cops here but the local muscle as well. Even though he’s got a pass from Chicago to be here and these guys know what he’s after that doesn’t always mean what we think it does. The fact that we’re dealing with Mob types always means that there will be suspicion about the true motives of anyone who comes into town.
With the growing cast of characters and the unexpected ways they come together I have to say with each issue i’m getting more and more into this story. We do finally get to meet Lena this issue as well and that whole scenario is so well done it’s eerily uncanny. I mean that couldn’t have played out with any more drama and foreboding to really make the head spin. That these guys can make these scenes play out like this and then on top of all that to be able to keep adding these twists and turns so we have no idea what’s going to happen next, well yeah that’s powerful writing.
Gangsters, hitmen, women and all that entails is brought back to the limelight with aplomb here. It’s a story of duty and love and so much more that makes it as deadly as it is romantic and that’s a hard line to balance but these folks make it look easy!