Murder Me Dead

December 1, 2014
Murder-mystery noir comics are as old as the medium itself, with many pedestrian outings blunting the edge of the genre, but a handful of modern creators like Darwyn Cooke, Frank Miller, and Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips have produced contemporary classics that rival the great noir comics. Add to this list Lapham, not only for his Eisner Award-winning Stray Bullets, but this knife-edged crime tale back in print after a decade. Quintessential noir protagonist Steven Russell goes on the run after his wife's suspicious-looking suicide, pursued by police, private detectives, and his own conscience and dark past. It's a credit to Lapham's skill as a writer/artist that this nearly 15-year-old story feels reads sharp and fresh. His portrayal of realistic facial expressions, body language, and kinetic action elevate the solid story. Lapham uses black skillfully in his panels, drawing the eye at a controlled and subconcsious speed across the page, and his pace is comparable to a fine noir film: much of the final chapter is portrayed in two large panels per page, increasing the speed and visceral impact in the revelation of the book's central murder. Its skillfully subverts the clichés and stereotypes of crime saga comics with a slow-burning fuse of dark, deftly choreographed violence and existential dread.

November 15, 2014
An independent who got into mainstream comics without losing his personal style (reminiscent of the late underground comics creator Spain Rodriguez), Lapham is a big fan of noir. This lesser-known indie opus, though obviously as visual as any movie, has the broader scale of time of a novela few years rather than the usual hours, days, or weeks more typical of film noir. It's about a piano player and a femme fatale, old high-school classmates who remeet after his wealthy wife is found dangling from a ceiling fan. The plot that unfolds thereafter is twistier than a tornado, and just about when it seems it will finally observe some much-needed dramatic unities, it unfurls a flashback that puts a nasty spin on the proceedings. But when you reach it, ask yourself, does our antihero, too? The stark black-and-white figures in thick lines and shadows give it an even more classic feel. Very nifty, so much so that this mainstream edition of a decade-old indie original is as welcome a revival as can be.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)