Review by Ian Keogh

In the mid-1990s the rivalries between US hip-hop artists escalated from lyrics to street killings, so when Max Allan Collins used that theme for Bad Rap in 2003 it was based on a relatively recent reality. From it Collins constructs a decent procedural mystery.

Collins establishes the stupidity of the cleverly named Busta Capp in the opening chapter, but although the CSI crew are called in, the immediate consequences of maintaining his reputation aren’t the primary investigation. They’re soon off to a second location where a corpse has been found in a limo. Collins wisely chooses to avoid full swearathons in the dialogue, but that highlights he’s not the most convincing when with street language. He’s far better with the dry oddness of Gil Grissom’s personality, while as on TV screens, the remainder of the cast are largely there to move the plot forward.

Bad Rap follows the pattern of earlier CSI graphic novels with Gabriel Rodriguez doing the hard work of telling the story, while Ashley Wood provides painted insert scenes, here not just restricted to flashbacks. Rodriguez is solid, if responsible for some stiffly posed figures, ensures the CSI cast can be recognised and provides background detail. Wood, though, while only responsible for half a dozen pages per chapter, so often applies minimal effort. Can you make out what’s going on in the first panel of his sample page? It’s supposed to be video footage, but looks as if he’s pasted a layout sketch into the first panel, and plain hasn’t bothered with the remainder. It’s the worst example of laziness, but far from the only one. It’s a shame, as when Wood makes an effort his sketched flashback scenes resonate.

Collins matches the TV show for surprising information supplied via forensic details, and as before, Matthew V. Clemens is credited for the forensic research and assisting with the plot. Central is an event reuniting bands of the 1950s and 1960s hosted by a thinly disguised Casey Kasem stand-in. It serves to gather music industry figures from across the decades in Las Vegas, along with their long held grudges in what’s always been a shady business. More deaths occur, and at times it seems Grissom’s acting more like a standard detective when out of the lab.

It’s going to take an extremely astute reader to nail Bad Rap’s culprit before the revelations come tumbling out, and Collins ensures they all fit tightly. An incredibly rushed final page is poorly handled, but by then we know everything we need to and can head for Demon House.

All three CSI serials by the creative team of Collins, Rodriguez and Wood are also combined for the first CSI Case Files.