Red Handed by Matt Kindt is an artistic graphic novel and so much more (available May 7, 2013).
Red Wheel Barrow is your average American city except for one significant trait: none of their crimes go unsolved. While this seems to have had no effect on the crime rate, the good people of Red Wheel Barrow can rest assured that hometown hero, Detective Gould, will swiftly bring any evil-doers to justice. With his embrace of technology, an established network of eyes and ears on the ground as well as his own fine deductive skills, Gould is commonly lauded by the townsfolk as the greatest detective since Sherlock Holmes.
Coming in to the tenth year of Gould’s tenure on the force, he’s faced with a wave of strange, seemingly unrelated crimes. There is a woman who steals chairs, and another who orchestrates the theft of street signs. There is an international art thief, and a pickpocket, and several people who are convinced that what they are doing is art, regardless of the consent of the other participants.
The narrative switches back and forth between Gould and the law-breakers, bringing up questions as to what it means to commit a crime. With the street sign thefts, for example, done in order to expedite the artistic process, the criminal responsible asks Gould,
Who pays for [art] grants?… The people. With taxes. They also pay for street signs. So what's the difference? A few road signs here and there get taken. And they get used for a greater good. They get replaced with the same money that pays for grants. The people's money. For something that everyone benefits from. If you steal an apple from an orchard and the farmer never notices, in the grand scheme of things… that apple would have in all likelihood fallen off the tree and rotted before it was harvested. Is that wrong?
Gould, of course, has a much narrower view of justice, and is almost wholly absorbed in the task of nabbing the guilty. This leads to friction between him and his wife, Annalyse, whose increasing alienation from him causes her to throw herself into using her neglected artistic talents to open an art gallery. Gould finally begins to see the pattern linking all the strange crimes together, but will he be able to stop the endgame that threatens to upend his ideals of truth and justice before it destroys everything he holds dear?
Matt Kindt has written a book that is a two-fold meditation on criminal activity and the artistic impulse. On its surface, Red Handed asks what it means to be a criminal, and depicts with delicacy the various paths that can lead to delinquency. He successfully shows that you don’t have to break the law to be a criminal, but also pleads for an approach to crime that is preventative instead of retributive. When Gould and his nemesis have their showdown, the latter bluntly tells him:
You're obsessed with crime after-the-fact. With glory that you can deflect with false humility. It's become a game for you. But there is humanity and people at stake. You… need to wake up… Your lack of intervention is a crime, Gould. You could prevent most of the crimes that you solve in your sleep.
Kindt also had some very thought-provoking things to say about fine art, and the parallels between artists and criminals. The saying “good artists borrow, great artists steal” is illustrated throughout this graphic novel, in loving homage to the late Chester Gould who created the iconic Dick Tracy. Like the deceased cartoonist’s, the line drawings of Red Handed are uncomplicated. Here, though, they are washed in lovely watercolors that, as with the narrative, provide an almost deceptively gentle counterpoint to the seedy crimes and violence depicted. The art is as much metaphor for the philosophical aims of this graphic novel as the story itself, quite the accomplishment in a book that is less straight-up crime noir than an endeavor to provoke discussion as to the ultimate price of art.
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Doreen Sheridan is a freelance writer living in Washington, D.C. She microblogs on Twitter @dvaleris.
Read all posts by Doreen Sheridan for Criminal Element.
Interesting title
It’s definitely worth reading. Even better if you can win a free copy!
I would like to read this.
looks like a good book.
looks fun to read.
I really want to win this.
This is something different. Wouldn’t mind tackling this over summer break.
sounds like a winner 4 me!
looks like a good read
Groovy giggles!
Sounds like a good book to read and I would love to win.
i am posting again this sounds like a good book that i would love to read
I love Matt Kind’s work! Please count me in for this.
Sounds great.
I certainly find some interesting sounding books to look for from these emails! Would love to win one too!
What great illustrations! Would love to read this book.
Can’t wait to read this one!
I love graphic novels, and this one looks intriguing!
Intriguing Title. Engages me immediately.
Love to win it! Thanks for the opportunity.
I love the look of the drawings. Amazing work.
looks like a great start to a new collection.
This one’s for me! Looking forward to checking this out for sure.
A genre I definitely want to read more of. Thanks for the giveaway
Red Handed sure is different and just what I need after reading gory thrillers. A nice light mystery with wonderful illustrations would be
a bonus. Drop my name in the hat for a chance to win this one!!
I’m interested.
this sounds a little different-love to win
Rumination on art and crime! I hope you will need my address…
Sounds really good !
Sounds like an unusually written book. Would like to read it.
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sounds good
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I saw this somewhere recently, and the concept looks interesting. Good luck to all entries. (Especially me …)
This looks interesting. I haven’t many mystery graphic novels but I’d be interested in this one.
Cool
The pictures look fun. Thanks for having the giveaway.
harnessrose(at)yahoo(dot)com
I haven’t read any graphic novels, but it sounds like a winner.
Sounds interesting.
Looks like a good read!
Graphic novels are my favorites – can’t wait to read this one!
–shaunterria
would love this
This is a very interesting concept for a mystery. Look forward to reading it and enjoying the illustrations.
Art and mystery…nice 🙂
Been collecting graphic novels for years, but most of them involve superheros stopping crimes as they see them happen. Not too many involve deductions. This book would be an interesting addition to my library.
Fascinating perspective. I’d love to read it.
Looking forward to read this.
This author is new to me and the genre is exciting…
Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
Strange crimes in graphic novel form-Yes!
Love to solve the crime ahead of time and see if I’m correct after reading ! Love the format of Graphic Novel, something intriguing about it.
This looks good.
This sounds so interesting!
I really enjoy graphic novels, as they employ two skills that I am short on. Art and story telling. This book proves that they don’t have to all be fantasy.
started out with comic books
I must admit: I’ve never read a graphic novel.
Count me in, please!
I would like to include this for my lazy summer reading!
I’m in it, to read it!
looks like a fun one!
What an odd name for a place Red Wheel Barrow. I would love a chance to read it.
You have got to love a world where no crimes go unsolved, the only thing better would be a world with no crime.
Thank you for the great giveaway please count me in 🙂
Looks very interesting.
Very nice!
I love the cover art! Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the chance
Sounds like a great book
Looks interesting! Love the art!!
I would like to view the work of Matt Kindt!
seems great
Looks cool, count me in!
How cool is this? Hope I win!
This looks great
yes i want to win this so that i can read it! thanks for the fun blog!
This sounds like an interesting book. A little bit different.
I am an avid reader. This novels appears to have a different twist.
This book looks very interesting, I hope I win so I get a chance to read it!
OOH LOOKS great!!!
I think my sweetheart would love this book.
I wonder if this book will be long?
sounds interesting
looks fun