Review by Frank Plowright

As he broke into the comics industry Ed Brisson wrote a fair number of critically acclaimed crime stories that really deserve wider attention (see recommendations). Murder Book is almost a statement of intent, distilling his craft into sixteen bleak short stories about the dispossessed, the deluded and the disgruntled, pushed into corners and making desperately wrong decisions. While black and white is the template for noir comics, it’s strangely inappropriate for a selection of stories lacking any judgement in presenting their succession of errors.

That’s not to downplay the art. Whether selected by Brisson or paired with him by Dark Horse editors, the artists are likewise a bunch of creators on the verge of something better showing just what they can do. Given the real world nature of Brisson’s plots, all supply a form of naturalism and not a single one fails the assignment, although in a couple of cases excess black ink is used to draw attention away from weak spots. Jason Copland draws more pages than anyone else, always good and varying his style slightly from story to story, becoming tighter or looser. He’s the artist on ‘Fathers and Sons’, the most harrowing of the collection. That’s for having a child wander into a lesson being applied in what happens if you owe $80,000 dollars to the wrong people and have made it public you’re not inclined to pay it back.

Brisson’s cast are recognisable as people you’ll pass on the street corners, or squeeze past in the pub and make assumptions on the way they are. Some are just victims paying an extortionate price for misguided, but legal behaviour, but more likely they’re stupid. A couple are smart enough to see beyond their immediate needs, and the twist in their tale is they could get away with it. But not always.

Look for it, and you’ll spot a common thread running through many of the stories, but that’s just window dressing, as they stand by themselves as glimpses into worlds you want no part of.