Comic Books are a medium where pictures and words combine in magical ways that allow creators to fully realize story concepts that seem insane or unworkable like, “Calvin & Hobbes meets James Ellroy.” That particular elevator pitch though is how I would best describe writer David Pepose, artist Jorge Santiago… Read more
The Chaos Function by Jack Skillingstead is an intense, high‑stakes thriller with a science‑fiction twist that asks: If technology enabled you to save the life of someone you love, would you do so even if it might doom millions? The idea of choice and consequences are an essential aspect of crime… Read more
Dave Richards reviews 1987’s comically action-packed Miami Connection, in which a rock band whose members are proficient in Taekwondo stand up against a band of motorcycle ninjas who have tightened their grip on Florida’s narcotics trade. Feudal Japan’s ninja may have a reputation for being invisible warriors, but in the 1980s they… Read more
Dave Richards suggests comic books for fans of Marvel’s Netflix Shows, some of which are being pulled from Netflix or canceled. Marvel Comics prides itself as being “the world outside your window,” which means it’s a place where the grittiness of the real world collides with the fantastic elements, like… Read more
Dave Richards interviews author MD Marie about Vindication, her new four-issue comic series, and collaborating with artists Carlos Miko and Dema Jr. Combining the comic medium and crime fiction, Vindication grapples with biases and flaws of the criminal justice system. Crime fiction is like a healthy and great-tasting dessert: the frosting is… Read more
In The Coming Storm by Mark Alpert, America is on the brink of collapse and devastated by a brutal government trying to silence its citizens. Crime fiction often explores the reasons why people break the laws that govern human behavior. What would happen though if science changed the definition of… Read more
Sins as Scarlet by Nicolás Obregón brings Kosuke Iwata to Los Angeles where he now works as a private detective. Crime stories are often about metaphorical underworlds populated by hapless underdogs and vicious, powerful elites. Our tour guides on these stories are usually detectives whose quests for truth, justice, and/or… Read more
This week’s guest columnist is Gotham City’s Dark Knight Detective, Batman. This time of year his shadowy city is illuminated with bright, holiday lights. Those lights are meant to usher in a happy season of peace and joy. He knows though that they can cast a metaphorical shadow on people… Read more
When the first season of Netflix’s adaptation of Marvel’s Daredevil hit the streaming service, I blew through it. It featured some pretty fantastic characters and casting in the form of Boardwalk Empire‘s Charlie Cox as the title character and Vincent D’Onofrio as the chief antagonist, Wilson Fisk, AKA the Kingpin of… Read more
A classic type of crime fiction tale is the hunt for the mysterious serial killer. It’s a subgenre that has inspired books, television shows, movies, and narratives in several other mediums. The serial killer is a staple of horror fiction as well. In fact, the entire slasher film subgenre embraces… Read more
