Disclaimer: All of the comics reviewed in this column were either comped by the respective creators/companies, or purchased from Dr. Volts Comics in Salt Lake City.
BIFF! BANG!! POW … WOW!!!
By Jerk-Bot
RICHARD STARK’S PARKER: SLAYGROUND (hardcover graphic novel, black and white, 96 pages, IDW Publishing, $17.99)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Richard Stark (source material); Darwyn Cooke (script, art and letters).
On the big screen, Parker has been played by the likes of Mel Gibson (in 1999’s Payback), Lee Marvin (Point Blank, 1967), Robert Duvall (The Outfit, 1973) and, most recently, Jason Statham (in the hopefully-forgotten 2013 thriller Parker).
But despite the pedigree of the actors and filmmakers (including acclaimed directors John Boorman and Brian Helgeland), no one has really done justice to the character and works created by Richard Stark — a pseudonym of the late, award-winning crime and mystery novelist Donald Westlake. In fact, the only truly great adaptation of either has been a series of graphic novels, from writer/artist Darwyn Cooke (Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score, DC: The New Frontier, Will Eisner’s The Spirit).
The animator-turned-comics creator has turned out to be the perfect “comics translator” for the character, a smart but often-brutal thief who sometimes makes the mistake of associating with the wrong conspirators. In nearly every one of the Stark-written Parker books, a smartly-planned heist goes awry, usually due to greed and/or incompetence of the part of the others.
In the latest of the Parker GNs, Slayground, Parker and two others rob an armored car loaded with money from an athletics stadium. However, in their haste to get away from the law, on icy roads, their getaway car crashes, leaving the others unconscious and injured. Parker, though, takes the cash bag and finds shelter in a nearby amusement park that’s closed for the season.
Unfortunately, his troubles are only beginning. The son of a local crime lord has spotted Parker and wants the haul for himself – and he’s got quite a crew of armed thugs to help him. Worse, the only way out of the park is through its now-heavily-guarded entrance.
Slayground also includes an adaptation of Stark’s The 7th, material that was originally published as part of the Martini Edition, a compilationof the first three, Cooke-adapted books (The Hunter, The Outfit and The Score). In The 7th, Parker tries to chase down a would-be thief who has stolen the loot Parker and his cohorts
THE GOOD.
Artistically, this might be the strongest of the four Parker books, which is really saying something, considering it comes from first-rate draftsman and designer Cooke.
His depiction of the opening armored-car heist is not only easy-to-follow, it’s a designing marvel. And so is a foldout “map” that shows the layout of the amusement park, something that’s crucial to your understanding of later plot development. (Let’s just say that Parker doesn’t plan to go out without a fight and leave things at that.)
Cooke also leaves the ‘60s-era settings and trappings intact, and his somewhat cartoony character designs actually work well in that regard. They’re deceptively simple and appropriately noirish.
THE BAD.
Even with the inclusion of The 7th, this is by far the slimmest of the Parker volumes to date. To be fair, it’s also the most modestly priced — $17.99, as compared to the $24.99 the other hardcovers fetched. As a result, the stories fly by very quickly, and may want you leaving more. (If you’re lucky, this may be your first in the series, and you can play catch-up with the others.)
THE UGLY.
“Parker will return in 2015,” the final page proclaims, which means this will be the longest wait between new Parker volumes. Sigh.
IN CONCLUSION.
Any complaints about the seeming slightness of the material are minor at best. This is beautifully designed and written stuff, perfect for any noir or thriller fan, as well as Cooke or Stark aficionados. Also, it’s a complete package, easily among the best comic works produced in 2013. Hopefully it will receive the same amount of attention that its predecessors did.
Jerk-bot, better known in human form as Jeff Michael Vice, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music