Where the Body Was

I am a big fan of and have read and reviewed pretty much every series or book that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have collaborated on, but Where the Body Was is special among a fantastic body of work. It is their most evocative and character-driven work to date, and I not only could not put it down but I was also moved greatly by the plights of its characters. 

The events of this story occur in 1984, and they involve an array of people from the neighborhood. There are juvenile delinquents struggling with drugs and dabbling in theft, a woman who is bored of her marriage with her psychiatrist husband, a guy who likes flashing his police badge and bossing people around, a wandering veteran who camps in the nearby woods, a young girl who patrols the neighborhood in a superhero outfit, and the local neighborhood watch. For some reason, someone has also hired a private investigator to tail one of these people, and soon enough there is a dead body on the street.

Untangling that mystery is one thread in this book, but several more follow the exploits of the various characters. They all have their own sets of surprises and internal struggles, and it was excellent to get to know each of them from the narrative but also from the narration that they provide from the present. The coloring work by Jacob Phillips especially shines here, as he changes pallets to differentiate from the past and present.

The result is not only a compelling and deftly constructed whodunit but most impressively a series of character studies that play out similarly to a true crime documentary series. That all of this emotion, action, and depth was created in the space of 144 pages is nothing short of incredible. I urge anybody who loves a great crime story to check this simply superb book out. 

The reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. Zac Owens stated, "Their work has never been so paradoxically raw and thought out."  Justin Harrison wrote that it "is good comics made by folks who know good comics. It’s a joy to read and well worth checking out." Brad Gullickson concluded, "I'd rank it at the tip-top of their collaborations."

Where the Body Was was published by Image Comics, and they provide more information about it here. It contains profanity, drug use, nudity, and sexual situations and is intended for readers mature enough to handle those things.

Reckless

I have read pretty much everything that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have published. Together they have produced some of the most compelling and well crafted crime/suspense stories of the past couple decades, sometimes melded with superhero tropes, supernatural tales, movie history, or even westerns. Of late, they have moved from producing monthly comic books to original graphic novels, and Reckless is the first of a series.

The titular star of this series is Ethan Reckless, an ex-student radical from the 1970s who has flamed out and taken up residence in a run-down movie theater and who takes on private cases for those he deems worthwhile. For a price. In this book, he runs into a woman from his past and is faced with a case that brings up lots of baggage. I know all of this seems cliche to those who relish a good pulp tale, but the way the story is executed and paced is pitch perfect. 

The artwork clearly displays a love for the recent past, with accurate depictions of old locales and cars, as well as hairstyles and fashions. This book is homage not only to classic pulp authors like Donald Westlake and John D. MacDonald but also past decades. The coloring by Jacob Phillips resembles that of classic paperback covers, adding to the tone and timbre. I loved getting swept up in this story, and there were just enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. It's another winning piece of genre fiction from these masterful creators.

Even the exposition is interesting!

All of the reviews I've read of this book have been glowing. Jake Owens wrote, "Reckless showcases all that the comic book/graphic novel genre is capable of. Exquisite art and skillful dialogue meet in a display of subtlety that weaves together and makes something much larger than the sum of its parts." Zac Owens called it "nearly perfect." Justin Harrison summed it up as "a damn compelling introduction to an intriguing anti-hero."

Reckless was published by Image Comics, and they offer a preview and more about the entire series here. It features violence, drug use, and sexual situations so it is suggested from readers mature enough to deal with those topics. And if you like this book, there are four subsequent sequels.

Pulp

I have read pretty much every comic Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have created. Their past series, like Sleeper, Criminal, Incognito, Fatale, The Fade-Out, and Kill or Be Killed, have blown me away with their blend of action and intrigue in noir fashion. In the past, these books have been published serially as comic books and then collected as trade paperbacks, but with My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, they tried their hand at a stand-alone graphic novel. I really dug that book, and it must have been successful in a number of ways, because the duo has embarked on publishing a series of individual graphic novels. The first is this one, Pulp.

Although it is not set in the same universe as Criminal, it shares that series' feel and tone. The narrative here focuses on Max Winter, an aged writer of western pulp stories. Getting up in years, he is worried about money issues, heart problems, making sure his partner Rosa is squared away in the eventuality of his death, and the rise of fascists who support Hitler in pre-WWII New York City. Facing a lower page rate and also a thinning revenue stream as his publisher hires younger and cheaper writers, Max starts plotting a robbery. It turns out that the westerns he writes are not totally fictional, and what is more, a Pinkerton detective has noticed that these stories smack of crimes he once investigated. 

As you can see from the excerpt, one of the strong parts of this book is its intertwined accounts of different time periods. These shifts are clearly marked with changes in coloring, which is here done by Jacob Phillips. The artwork and storytelling are lean and mean, building a highly detailed and recognizable situation and characters almost immediately. This graphic novel is more of a novella in terms of length, but it's a dense, enjoyable read. Although the story itself may be treading somewhat familiar ground for a pulp-type tale, it is exceptionally well-crafted. Sometimes you just crave a great piece of genre fiction, and this book is just that.

The reviews I have read of this book have been largely positive. Publishers Weekly wrote, "The only disappointment in this tight, fast-paced homage to multiple pulp traditions is that it’s so short." Bruno Savill de Jong concluded, "Brubaker and the Phillips remain a fantastic team for satisfying and compelling crime stories. They might have remained in their comfort zone, but for the moment, they show little reason to move out." Tom Shapira wanted a little bit more out of this book, opining, "It gives you exactly what you expect, without challenging you in any meaningful way, while providing the illusion of challenge."

Pulp was published by Image Comics, and they provide more info about it here.