Detective 1945.

Hard Boiled Boys and Girl from Northern Irish bubbling talent pool Daryl S. Lucy Shaw and Tommie Kelly deliver a slice of Noir crime drama that satisfies and surprises in equal measure. Detective Joseph roberts has returned from action in The Pacific  where he was witness to and also responsible for the sort of war time atrocities that can change a man forever. Where a man's soul can become damaged by the horrors of life in the meat grinder. Yet imagine returning home to discover the steel and stone canyons of New York concealing horrors of its own. In this jungle there is no beast so fierce as man. Daryl S and his team rediscover this lost world and breath color into its black and white palette. Its a thundering 45 blast of a first issue that echoes a glorious pulp heyday in a new and invigorating burst of storytelling. To my old eyes all involved in this fine new comic are much too young to speak the world weary tones necessary to talk Noir speak convincingly yet they do so with aplomb.
           I met Daryl S at the Drawn In  Comic Workshop I spoke at in the Crescent Arts Center and I am dazzled to see him carry through an idea he was almost giving voice to then from inception to completion. From a first lonely line on a blank challenging page to this lovely perfectly formed comic book. The seed that has germinated in this wonderful blossom of a Black Dahlia was just taking root in Daryl's imagination then.
We discussed script writing and in particular that night how to construct a flashback sequence that would not confuse a reader, how to use past tense as part of an on-going tale without too bold a stroke, that a readers brain would assimilate without them being aware of it. I can now see the sequence he was having a problem with that night but in the reading I assimilated without being aware. Just as he intended.
              Also how refreshing it is to see a comic where the characters have actual human features. Where the young and the old share panels in a way that is increasingly rare in comics, in television and on the cinema screen. It takes courage to show ordinary human beings in an industry dominated by Olympian physiques and perfectly constructed profiles. Where all the main characters look as though they have been grown in the petrie dish of a central casting agency or a modelling agency. At times I fear the media have assured the frightful vision of Logan's Run and we live in the time of Carousel. At least on television and in cinema.
               Daryl has assembled a nice creative team to make his vision a reality. Lucy Shaw's script is Raymond Chandler Sharp and his colorist Tommie Kelly brings a pulp fiction adult wash to the proceedings. Their confidence in their abilities ensure this is not a pastiche of the period but a worthy addition to the black mountain of crime fiction. It is hard to believe that this is this creative teams first effort together as they hit the ground running and prove themselves a trio to be reckoned with.
                This is only the first issue and should you, the discerning tasteful person you are, get the chance please do not hesitate to take a walk down the mean streets of Detective 1945.
                 You will be in the best of company.
                 Noir dont get no more noirish than this.