Most private detectives in crime fiction are established ones. So, it’s easy to think that their journey towards being a gumshoe was one of forward progression. Sometimes finding your calling is a messy business though where you take two steps forward and one step back. That’s certainly been the case for Alex Segura‘s Pete Fernandez.…
In Murderabilia by Carl Vonderau, William MacNary is the son of a serial killer who dismembered and photographed his victims. Decades after his father’s crimes, William is linked to a copycat murder, forcing him to confront the man he’s spent decades trying to forget. Crime fiction is rife with stories of serial killers. These monstrous…
Join Dave Richards for a Marvel-Netflix retrospective as he recalls some of the most notable comic adaptations and looks ahead to next steps for the series. On June 14th a fun, fascinating, and often frustrating era of television comes to a close with the release of the third and final season of Marvel/Netflix’s Jessica Jones,…
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 Jr, and colorist Jasen Smith’s…
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 fiction, and really any good…
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 stepped out of the shadows…
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 superpowers. It’s especially interesting at…
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 in the exciting twists and…
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 what it meant to be…
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 vengeance force them to navigate…
