Hard Boiled Comics

(Goodbum, 2005)
™ and © 2005 Steve Earnhart
Series numbering continues in Hard-Bullied Comics #3

Billy Blackburn is a detective in a futuristic L.A. that isn’t much different from the present, except aliens are among us (without a sinister agenda) and mutants work as strong-arms. Writer Steve Earnhart makes much of his affection for Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, but eschews a great deal of Marlowe’s appeal in Blackburn, which was that he didn’t talk tough to the reader, only to other characters as need be.

In his inner monologue, Marlowe showed the values and vulnerabilities that he always acted on, but only voiced to people he could trust. Blackburn’s schtick seems like it’s primarily concerned with convincing himself. Almost-poetic lines that trip and fall, don’t help, such as “a wading-pool whale out of his depth, alone in an ocean, searchin’ for stars.” The characters are very much the kind broadly sketched by an imaginative teenager: a murderous clown, a sadistic banker named Knuckles, and a hammerhead hitman. That said, there’s some nice forensic detective work tied into the plot at the end.

An earnest effort, but ultimately, a bit unfocused.

— Brendan McGinley

Jump to issue:

Notes

Writer

Artist

#1

Cover Price: $2.95
3 copies available from $1.91

Steve Earnhart

Marcelo Carmona, Harsho Mohan Chattoraj

#2

Cover Price: $2.95
1 copy available for $1.28

Steve Earnhart

Rudolf Montemayor