There are several things which make no sense to me in the world of comics and such. There is no official release of The Green Hornet TV show from the 60's starring Bruce Lee, there is not collection of The Inferior Five from DC, and there has never been a high-quality reprint of Jim Steranko's remarkable noir comic digest Chandler from Fiction Illustrated. There have been rumors now and again and a few failed attempts, but how is it possible that this work, a major story of length by a renowned artist who has very little material out there to reprint. But somehow this has never happened. More's the pity. Chandler is the third installment of Fiction Illustrated from Byron Preiss.
Red Tide begins when the hard-boiled detective Chandler is approached by a man who claims he has been poisoned by gangsters who wish to cover up a mass murder at the docks some days before. He and other witnesses are being targeted and he wants Chandler to revenge him before he dies seventy hours later. Chandler reluctantly takes the case and begins to investigate the original crime which took place on the docks when a group of folks were leaving a gambling boat. Chandler discovers that an old flame of his is deeply involved in this horrific situation, and he finds himself torn between the past and the present as people die around him and his investigation.
Red Tide hits most all of the expected notes from a story of this kind. We have the misanthropic detective who is competent if not inspired, we have the gorgeous and possibly dangerous dame from his past, a tough as nails female taxi driver, an overwhelmed police force, and gangsters of many kinds armed with gats of various sizes. This story has a singular momentum as it drives to its designated ending seventy hours from its start. Steranko used his panel construction to mark the time with mostly regular panels ticking off minutes relentlessly. The text of this story is rendered in a strict twenty-six lines per page in the style most famously used by Hal Foster's Prince Valiant. That lets Steranko's art, produced from pencils, work its magic minus the marring of words. There are some truly beautiful passages and images in this work. I wish Steranko would reprint it sooner than later. But at least I have the original.
If you would like to enjoy the artwork of Red Tide check out this link.
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If any comic artist could be called "cinematic", it would be Steranko during this particular period. I've got this stashed away somewhere and will have to have another look after your post.
ReplyDeleteSteranko and his inspiration Eisner were the absolute best as communicating the same feel and mood on a page as film noir. I wish this would arrive in a more durable edition.
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