Shots From The Studio #21

This week I’d like to talk a little bit about Darwyn Cooke. When I say a little bit that’s just I mean. As one of my favorite artists I could write an entire segment about every project he’s worked on but today I will limit it to “Parker”.

   Parker, the hardboiled, noir, career criminal, was created by author Donald Westlake. Under the pen name Richard Stark he published the first of 24 Parker novels, The Hunter, in 1962.

   Now unlike other noir staples Parker wasn’t a rogue cop or down on his luck PI. He was a criminal, a heist man specifically. And not the anti hero,  criminal with a heart of gold but a cold, calculating professional thief who will do whatever it takes to finish a job and in the case of The Hunter finish his fellow thieves who betrayed him.

   In 2008 artist and writer Darwyn Cooke who, at the time, was best known for the relaunch of Catwoman and the period piece epic Justice League: Final Frontier began working with IDW to adapt the Parker stories into graphic novels. The first if these was an adaptation of the aforementioned “The Hunter”. It garnered great praise with readers and critics alike.

   Cooke took great care overseeing every aspect of the books design, writing and artwork…and it shows. He had been a fan of the original novels for decades and it really comes through in his adaptations. The art is gorgeous with each volume colored in a different monochromatic style. The pages drip with an authentic mid century design aesthetic that really pulls the reader into the seedy underbelly of this grim world filled with grifters, thieves and and dangerous women.

   The series consists of four hardcover graphic novels; The Hunter, The Outfit,  The Score and Slayground. There is also an oversized softcover book called The Man with the Getaway Face which acts as a narrative bridge between books one and two. There were meant to be more books in the series but unfortunately Cooke passed away in May of 2016 after a short bout with cancer.

   The four volumes are still in print and there is a collection called Parker: The Martini Edition that collects The Hunter and The Outfit along with some supplemental material. If you a fan of the works of Mickey Spillane, Frank Millers Sin City or of film noir I highly recommend these amazing books.