New Comics Wednesday Week 18 - Random Acts of Violence

I like horror movies.  I like crime.  I like Jimmy Palmiotti.  Not sure how this book escaped my gaze when it was solicited in Previews a few months ago, but it did.  Had I not been following Mr. Palmiotti's appropriately titled blog, Listen To Jimmy, I would have missed it completely.  But I've been following along, catching the few preview pages here and there, and each time it was mentioned, I had to ask myself if I was going to plop down the requisite coin on the counter in order to make it mine.

So let me say from the almost start, Image comics made a fantastic decision in pricing this book at only $6.99.    Had it been more expensive, it would have been a tough choice.  But less than $7 for a full color 70ish page Prestige Format? Sold.

Random Acts of Violence is the blood soaked graphic novel where life imitates art as we follow the process involved with creating the ultimate horror comic book character.  Ezra and Todd, two comic book creators and best of friends, pool their money together to self publish their first creator owned comic, featuring their murderous creation, Slasherman.

The thin line between fact and fiction is shattered as they travel cross-country promoting their work and start running into seemingly unrelated car crashes and crime scenes.  Things quickly turn from bad to worse as they learn their work has inspired these horrific crime scenes...and that one of their biggest fans has their eyes on the boys themselves.

Now for some nitpicks. 

First, Random Acts of Violence is great title for an anthology of crime stories.  So good, that's what I was expecting, and now that I've heard it, want nothing more than to steal it.  Had I read the back cover, it would have been apparent this was not the case, but the $6.99 price blinded me.  So I was disappointed when I saw this was just one story.

Secondly, Slasherman?  That could be the worst title for a comic ever.  Sure, you know what your getting, but it sounds so 70's low-budget.  But supposedly, it's a great book.  At least that's what all the characters keep telling me.  And make no mistake, the opening six pages, which are "the book within the book" are good.  Good enough to get a printer to rush to a second printing, not so sure. 

Okay, done with the complaints now.

The meat of the story is enough to chew on.  It's interesting to watch two creators, both with distinct personalities, respond to the demands of their new found fame.  And never having been on a signing tour, I can only hope it's exactly as depicted.  I'm a fan of road trips, and who wouldn't love visiting multiple comic stores over a few days?  And that Mark Waid fanboy story must be passed around like herpes because I've heard it from at least three different creators, and yet it's still interesting each time.

The copycat killer, while not original at all, was given an interesting spin.  What was suppossed to be a "story pitch" turned into a massive typographical error/ reason to kill, and it really illustrates just how important a good editor can be.  If I ever have a contest on this site, you can be damn sure I'm going to triple check every word.

But the absolute best part of the book was the art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo and Paul Mounts. 

Caracuzzo, who has previously done work for Palmiotti and Gray on Jonah Hex and The Last Resort, channels a bit of Guy Davis, and absolutely nails each crime scene.  Mounts colors perfectly set the tone, with each setting receiving it's own atmospheric hues.   The only page that disappointed was actually one panel, where there was an obvious screen capture from Newsarama.

Random Acts of Violence earns a solid B, mostly because I love Grindhouse, and this would fit right in on a Saturday morning double feature.  Just keep Eli Roth away far from it.

The Short Con Week 18 - Mike Lancer and the Syndicate of Death

I'll admit it, thanks to my nose barely coming out of The Girl Who Played With Fire (more on Thursday), I didn't really have time to read a short story and write some witty comments.  So the plan was to cheat.  I grabbed my yet unread copy of The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics, picked the shortest possible story, and decided that would do.

The joke was on me, as I ended up reading half the book.  With writers and artists such as Dashiell Hammett, Alex Raymond, Will Eisner, Mickey Spillane, Charles Burns, Ed McBain, Jack Kirby, and Max Allan Collins, this book truly offered the best of both crime fiction and comics.  And at 400 pages for $16.99, all wrapped in a Jordi Bernet cover, this book is a must own.  Okay, I do own it.  But it's a must read, and I should probably be hit about the face and neck with it's own hefty dimensions for not reading any of it sooner.

I could talk about many of the stories, and I probably will in the future, but today I must merely be content with Mickey Spillane and Harry Sahle's story, Mike Lancer and the Syndicate of Death.

Of course the story is good, it's Mickey Spillane.  His terse, concise writing is perfect for shorts.

Mike grabs his feet, and swings him against the wall's corner, and Marty's spine snaps.  "And that saves the state's electric bill!  You have minutes to live, Marty...talk!"

In six pages, there wasn't much room for twists and turns, but the story was rock solid.  The same can be said for Harry Sahle's art.  It's not flashy, but I'm sure not much in 1942 was.  But it was easy to follow and well drawn.

The story was a perfect gateway to the rest of the high quality stories.  Had it sucked, I might have had time to write more.

45 Minutes Week 18 - Eric Balfour will kill this!

The silly named Syfy network has started production on Haven, a hour long drama based on Stephen King’s Hard Case Crime novel, The Colorado Kid.The show, which will air on SyFy July 19 at 10 p.m., follows a shrewd FBI agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose of Jericho and ER) with a lost past who arrives in a small town in Maine to investigate a murder. She soon discovers that the town, Haven, is a refuge for people with a range of supernatural abilities.

Haven also stars Eric Balfour (the creepy tall thin dude with the silly facial hair who seems to either destroy every show he is on, or is just plain annoying on the good shows on which he does manage to appear.  Seriously, what does this guy have on producers?) as the mysterious Duke Crocker and Lucas Bryant, a guy I've never heard of, as local cop Nathan Wuornos.

The pilot is directed by Adam Kane (The Mentalist, Pushing Daisies), and written by The Dead Zone (the other Stephen King based show which, because of my love for the movie, and the fact that I'm creeped out by a buff Anthony Michael Hall, have never seen) team of Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn, who serve as executive producers of the series. Scott Shepherd (Tru Calling, The Dead Zone) is the showrunner.

From everything I've read, The Colorado Kid novel is going to be the backstory of the television show.  It's been a long time since I read the book, but that seems like a good idea.  While the novel was a great read, I certainly can't see that one particular story being anything more than a mini-series.  As a springboard, it might work.

I'm of two minds concerning this news.  As a Maine resident, I'm almost legally obligated to love and enjoy all things Stephen King.  Most of the time, that's not a problem.  The television shows/miniseries have run hit and miss for me, with the one highlight of years past being the criminally ignored Kingdom Hospital.  That was a show that could have held on for years had the average American television viewer had an attention span longer than this sentence.  So, another television show leaves me skeptical, especially on SyFy, the same network that brings us an insane amount of garbage.

But, this was the book that brought me into the Hard Case Crime series, thus beginning a years long love affair.  And the story was good!  Very few mystery stories have the balls to not actually solve the mystery on which the book is about.  Quite brave.

So, based on my loyalty to the book, and despite everything going against it, I will watch this show once it makes it on the air.  I have no hopes that it will be either good, or last longer than an episode or two, but I hope I am wrong.  In the meantime, I will definitely re-read the book before then.

Cover of the Week 18 - Sexy Beast

To the Mattresses Week 17 - Across the Pond

With all the volcanic action of the past few weeks, my attention has been turned to Europe, and their inability to travel.  How would I react if I was stuck in place, unplanned,  for well over a week, most likely without the funds to feed and shelter myself?  (I've never purchased travel insurance.)  Would I turn to minor crimes to provide for myself?  Shoplifting?  Pick-pocketing?  Who knows?  But it sounds like a great start to a novel.

Not that Europe is in need of great crime stories.  So, for the month of May, I'm going to focus on Europe, and the stories they have to tell.

For movies, I'm going British all the way.  Movies such as 44 Inch Chest, Rock 'n' Rolla, Get Carter, The Italian Job, Mona Lisa, and countless others will hopefully find their way into my DVD player.  I'm ready to get more than enough Michael Caine into my system.  That sounds weird.

But fo the twist, I'm going to theme my reading habits as well.  Stieg Larsson's final book in the "Girl" series, The Girl Who Kicket the Hornet's Nest comes out May 25th.  This is cause for celebration, not only for a hightly anticipated book, but also of an entire country's contribution to the crime genre.  Writers such as Larsson, Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, and Henning Mankell have all written amazing books, or so I have heard.  I've only read Larsson, but The Man Who Smiled and The Laughing Policeman are sitting on top of the pile, waiting to be read.  And who knows, I might not limit the reading to Sweeden.  Both Norway and Finland have great writers as well, Jo Nesbo coming to mind.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions for any writers I might have not mentioned yet.

Friday Night at the Moview Week 17 - Detroit 9000

" It's the murder capital of the world.  And the biggest black rip-off of the decade, and a white cop squeezed in the middle."

Good film to end the month on.  Directed by Arthur Marks, yeah, him again, Detroit 9000 stars Alex Rocco, better known as Moe Greene, as Lt. Danny Bassett and Hari Rhodes as Sgt. Jessie Williams.   In a nice role reversal, Bassett, the white guy, is the street smart cop while the black guy is the well educated by the books cop.  These two wouldn't normally have anything to do with one another, but after a near half-million is stolen from a political fundraiser, it's up to them to solve the crime.

There are obstacles along the way.  The press, with their constant meddling, are determined to turn this into a "black/white" thing.  Could the honkies have ripped off the black politician, hoping to keep him down, or could fellow brothers have pulled the job in hopes of blaming the honkies.  It's pretty damn tricky.  Especially when it's learned that the good politician might not be such a fine fellow after all.  I know, I know, crooked politicians are done to death, but it always makes for decent motive when crimes are involved.

Bassett and Williams are good cops.  Through decent detective work, they follow up the leads and go about actually solving the case, twisting through many dead bodies, prostitutes,  all leading to a rather lengthy shootout, and a smart twist at the end.  Only problem with the shootout was about 5000 bullets were fired, and maybe six or seven actually find the target.  I guess they don't train the rest of the force that well in Detroit.  But the twist, that was nice. 

Besides Rocco and Rhodes, there are some good roles for the supporting actors.  The actors hold their own, especially Scatman Crothers as Reverend Markham.  He's charasmatic as hell, and steals almost every scene he is in.  Vonetta McGee, Ella Edwards, Herb Jefferson Jr. and Rudy Challenger also make the most of the parts they have.

But what makes the movie worthwhile is the story.  Orville H. Hampton wrote a solid script, with very few moments that don't hold up under scrutiny.  Everything happens for a valid reason, leading to a very satisfactory viewing experience.  Detroit 9000 isn't as flashy as other films in the blaxsploitation drama, but as a police procedural it works quite well.

 

The Long Con Week 17 - The Crime Writer

I'm a big fan of books on writing, the "how to" that promises to show you all the nuts and bolts needed to construct a novel like its a cheap bookshelf from Target.  I take them for what they are, realizing that there is no magic formula for writing, let alone writing a "blockbuster novel" that so many of them promise for your hard earned $14.95.  But it's always interesting to read advice on how to craft stories, from both professionals and academics, and the only way to separate the genius from the cash in is to actually read the damn things.  Luckily, good or bad, they usually entertain me.

The manuals are usually the ones that suck, and suck badly.  Those are often the books that promise you a great book in 30 days, or 15 steps, etc.  They deal primarily in formula, but what they usually lack in imagination, they often offer a solid baseline.  Get writing.  Whether or not I choose to follow your particular set of rules, at least you are encouraging me to actually get off my ass and write.

The good book will give you the basics of theme, character, and story construction.  The building blocks for writing the novel will be there in black in white, not quite a formula, but at least a road map.  They'll go a little more in depth into the craft than the simple "how to" book.  Books such as Story by Robert McKee are an example of these.

A great book, however, will give you that feeling that you've been told a great secret.  Often, these books are from writers telling you up front they might be full of shit.  There are tricks that have worked for them, and while they might not conjure magic for everyone, they are worth a shot.  Most of their word count might not even be on rules and regulations, but anecdotes and stories, which instead of offering guidance, might be more concerned with inspiration.  It's no coincidence that these gems are writen by writers at the top of their field.   Look no further than Stephen King's On Writing, or Lawrence Block's Telling Lies for Fun and Profit for examples of excellence in entertainment, as well as education.

So what does Gregg Hurwitz's novel, The Crime Writer have to do with today's topic.  It's a piece of fiction, not likely to be shelved with the MLA manuals at Borders.  It probably won't even pop up as a suggestion as you search for Writers Digest guides on Amazon.    What it did do was teach me a hell of a lot more about writing than I ever expected.

Drew Danner, a celebrated crime writer, has recently committed murder.  His ex-girlfriend, brutally stabbed, was found underneath his seizure ridden body.  It should have been an easy open and shut case.  He was found on the dead body, murder weapon with his prints all over it.  Only problem for the DA, Mr. Danner had a brain tumor, which not only effected his memory of the incident, but his behavior leading up to it.  Drew is found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.

But Drew doesn't think he actually did it, no matter what the evidence, or the Los Angeles media, have to say about it.

Since he is not an investigator, Drew goes about solving the case the only way he knows how, by writing it.  He brings his technical advisors into the case, willingly or not, and slowly pieces together what may have happened the night of the murder.

Hurwitz pulls out all the tricks in this captivating novel, including addition of the manuscript that Danner is writing, notes and all.  It's a sneak peak into the mind of a writer, and the inner editor that exits in our heads.  He follows through on leads, no matter how off-beat or far-fetched, because he knows that anything can be explained, and more importantly, that anyone is capable of anything.  It's a fantastic read, and a fascinating  look into the writing process, fictional or not.

"I believe in narrative.  But I don't believe there's a reason for everything and that matters work themselves out for the better."

Find out more about Gregg Hurwitz at his website, http://www.gregghurwitz.net/