Review by Frank Plowright
John Law is an unusually persistent feature, popping its head above the wall every couple of decades or so. Will Eisner originally created four stories for a comic never actually published in the 1940s, but with changes to the art reworked them as inclusions for his Spirit newspaper feature. In the 1980s the stories saw print as the originally intended comic for the first time, and in 2004 permission was given to Gary Chaloner to create new material also featuring other Eisner creations. The results first saw print as the Dead Man Walking collection in 2006, but this hardcover resequences Chaloner’s work for the better, and includes a new story.
This collection opens with greytoned versions of Eisner’s four stories before their transformation, so featuring the one-eyed, hard boiled police detective. Their quality is hallmarked by the opening two episodes registering among Eisner’s most highly regarded Spirit stories when reworked for that feature. None of the poignancy of a man discovering what’s become of his childhood sweetheart is lost in this version.
Chaloner contributes two-thirds of the the collection, and he achieves a balance few other creators might have attained. The actual drawing is attractive, clean and individual, notably Chaloner’s own rather than a slavish imitation of Eisner’s style, yet gloriously incorporating many visual devices Eisner introduced to comics. The very first page provides action within oversized title lettering, views through rain drenched windows abound and cartoon youngsters mix with more realistically drawn adults. Despite Eisner suggesting Law feature in modern day dramas, Chaloner was adamant that the 1940s suited him best.
That Law isn’t liked by his fellow cops at Crossroads Central Precinct is played up, and so are his tenacious qualities. He has the same regard for justice as the Spirit, but is a darker character, leading with his fists rather than a quip. After a couple of shorter stories Chaloner takes 35 pages to integrate Law with other Eisner creations Lady Luck and Mr. Mystic, neither of them seen in anything other than reprints since the 1940s, and he also reformats shoeshine boy Nubbin. They’re all involved in the case of a film star supposedly kidnapped by mobsters. Again, Chaloner echoes Eisner by Brenda Banks being Law’s former girlfriend, but moving beyond Sand Seref to involve her parents, who still resent him. Chaloner also adds depth to Law by a never completely revealed close association with a gangster, but how he lost an eye remains a tale untold.
A final story indicates how Chaloner would have moved forward had the revival continued. He introduces four further Eisner characters, this time real obscurities, to form a police squad under Law. They seem too mismatched, but with only this crowded introduction to go on, much would have depended on what Chaloner did next.
Chaloner’s stories are good, but the feeling can’t be escaped that they’d have been more compact under Eisner, and perhaps they’d have worked better as connected seven page episodes. A sequel following up on Nubbin’s involvement is certainly stronger for that. However, whether by Eisner or Chaloner, the art is extremely seductive.
