Review by Ian Keogh
To celebrate French film festival POLAR running for 25 years, a graphic novel anthology was commissioned, and this English language reprint is an expanded version. Even those who routinely pick up translations of French graphic novels are likely to be encountering most contributors of the 21 stories for the first time, with Jean-David Morvan possibly the best known. Fullsome biographies are provided at the end of the collection for those wanting to investigate further.
In English language comics the short story has somewhat fallen into disrepute, no longer seen as an end in itself, but as a tryout format for new talent who’re left to sink or swim. It’s a shame considering what was achieved in seven pages or less by Will Eisner on The Spirit or John Wagner and assorted artists on Judge Dredd, but First Degree is an anthology celebrating the form, some contributors achieving nirvana in just four pages, such as Jean Puchol’s story of a disgruntled neighbour.
There’s a powerful start from American contributors David F. Walker and Michael Lark who make an opening statement by having the police committing the crime, and there’s barely a dull moment in what follows. We have period pieces, pre-meditated slaughter, the seduction of taking a life, comedy, the hitman’s viewpoint and a look a hundred years into the future among others.
Artistically there are no rules. Some contributors work in colour, others in black and white, and within the latter there’s the variety of linework, wash and charcoal. The representational sits side by side with symbolism and the surreal. The sample art displays the polar artistic opposites. Alain Paillou’s cartooning is simple, but expressionistic in service of a clever story hinging on an obscure fact from Jean-François Miniac, while the extraordinary detailed first page of Éric Liberge’s story makes you wonder why so little of his back catalogue has been seen in English. His is a clever contribution, connecting a very prevalent present-day fear with atrocities in the past.
Occasionally you might wish for a little more in the way of backgrounds from an artist, or a writer giving a little more thought to concealing elements of their plot, but the imagination and variety is notable. In short, no fan of crime stories is going to be disappointed.
