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Cousin Joseph


Summary: The second part of a trilogy.  Sam Hannigan is a Bay City detective who is trying to keep his town safe, as well as America itself.  Unfortunately, like a number of noir characters, Sam isn't the cleanest of officers and neither is the world around him.  Borrowing heavily from old classic gumshoe-type movies, we following Sam throughout his days, dealing with his community, working the streets, obeying his higher-ups, and partaking in some nefarious doings.  A myriad of characters in Bay City are representative of the American way of life in the big cities during the 1930's.  From union strikers trying to get fair wages from their apathetic bosses to the fear of communism and blatant prejudice.  Like all noir protagonists though, Sam begins to have a change of heart, turning his world more ambiguous.  Unfortunately, that change is not without its consequences. 

Reference: Jules Feiffer (2016). Cousin Joseph. Liveright Pub. Corp, New York.

Why I picked it up: I've always enjoyed film and book noir, like Out of the Past with Robert Mitchum and Double Indemnity with Barbara Stanwyck and Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake) Parker series.  So, when some comic book publishers started printing out their versions of noir, it was only natural that I pick them up.  (Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips' Fatale comic series is a prime example of great comic book noir.)  So, when I read the reviews for Jules Feiffer's work, I decided to give it a try.

Why I finished it: The characters are spot on for noir and the storytelling is perfect. The characters are pure noir, all the way down to the dialogue.  The portrayal of California cops of the mid 1930's reminded me of the Coen brothers' movie Barton Fink and it's LA cops.  Even though the protagonist Sam is of that same ilk and has a matter-of-fact stance with regards to violence ("Nothing personal, it's just business."), I couldn't help but like the guy.  Then when the tables are turned and he finds himself on the other end of the "business", I started rooting for him, like Walter Neff in Double Indemnity, in the hope that everything turn out all right for him.

Recommendation: Obviously, people who gravitate toward noir like myself will truly enjoy this graphic novel.  Feiffer's illustrations are ideal for the genre, although at times, I can imagine that for people who aren't regular comic book readers, his depictions can be a bit confusing.  However, aficionados of graphic novel noir will appreciate his artistic expression.  This one is definitely a good read, as is the whole trilogy, for the living room sofa.

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