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The Grifters, by Jim Thompson
I've read a number of Jim Thompson's excellent crime noir novels, but for some reason I'd never gotten around to reading The Grifters. I saw the movie when it came out (screenplay by Donald Westlake!)...
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Noir and horror for your kindergartner
Caldecott winner Jon Klassen, is one of the most respected and beloved contemporary children's book authors and illustrators. Kids love him—and adults do, too. (more…)
View ArticleYes, an Iranian vampire western film noir
It's in Farsi, it's beautifully-shot film noir, it has a female lead, and you have to see it. (more…)
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Made to Kill: 1960s killer-robot noir detective novel
Christopher has done this sort of thing before. His 2011 debut, Empire State, was weird and glorious and noir, but nowhere near as hard-boiled as Made to Kill -- indeed, very little is. Ray...
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Become a vigilante superhero in this interactive tale about wealth inequality
Vigilante superhero tales tend to revolve around seeking justice outside of a failed system, and the idea that one man or woman can cause real change within that system by punching people. In short,...
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Watch The Agitated, a dark and twisted noir stop-motion short
If Raymond Chandler was writing for the Brothers Quay, it might feel like The Agitated, a fantastic new short film directed by Preston Maybank. The stop-motion animated film tells the dark, witty, and...
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Illustrations depict future noir in brooding shapes and shadows
Illustrator Maxim Zhestkov demonstrates how simple shapes and gradients can convey a mood in his Future Noir series. The small silhouettes of humans give an eerie sensibility to the images. (more…)
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Nihon noir: Tom Blachford's gorgeous midnight shots of Tokyo
Tom Blachford chronicled Palm Springs at midnight (previously). Now he's back with Nihon Noir, a Blade Runner inspired look at Tokyo at night, like this imposing shot of the Edo-Tokyo Museum. (more…)
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"The Grand Dark": Kadrey's latest is a noir, dieselpunk masterpiece that's...
Regular readers will know Richard Kadrey (previously) from his bestselling Sandman Slim series, but as much as I love those books, I think I love his latest, "The Grand Dark" -- a noir/dieselpunk...
View ArticleRichard Kadrey discusses his new dieselpunk noir novel "The Grand Dark"
Earlier this month, I reviewed Richard Kadrey's new novel "The Grand Dark" for the LA Times; as I wrote, "His latest is “The Grand Dark,” a noir, diesel punk book set in a Weimar world of war trauma,...
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The Black Ghost: superhero noir comic starring an antiestablishment vigilante...
[Before he was a crime writer, Alex Segura was busily overseeing the edgy, amazing reboot of Archie Comics. Now, he's murging his murder-mystery career with his comics life, in The Black Ghost, a new...
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"The Black Ghost" is a fun Latina twist on urban noir superheroes
Marvel found a lot of success with their street-level Netflix series, focusing on those less-super superheroes like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Across town, Batman has always been one of the most...
View ArticleWhat if the Mighty Mighty Bosstones changed genre every 15 seconds
I've never had to knock on wood, but after watching this, it makes me wonder if I could.
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Michael Connelly's imaginary Blue Note albums
Police procedural novelist Michael Connelly is a connoisseur of jazz music so it's no surprise that his most famous character, LAPD detective Hieronymus 'Harry' Bosch, is also a deep enthusiast of the...
View ArticleDavid Lynch's latest 10-minute animated short "FIRE (POZAR)"
David Lynch has finally uploaded FIRE (POZAR), the experimental animated short he did in 2015, to his new David Lynch Theater on YouTube. To create it, Lynch shared the still drawings he'd done for the...
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An elegy for the dying breed of San Francisco private eyes
I've always enjoyed reading and writing detective fiction; really, if any story has a noir vibe, I'm in. I'm certainly not alone in, but I've also found it curious considering how little we actually...
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Watch a once-lost silent neorealist gangster movie made by the Clash
In the summer of 1983, Clash frontman Joe Strummer decided to make a movie. The band had recently parted ways with drummer Topper Headon, and tensions were boiling between the remaining members of the...
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Jazz Maynard: European comics at their finest
Are you looking to take a sabbatical from the superhero exploits of American comics? Maybe the manga tropes you've come to love are starting to get a little too repetitive. If so, boy, do I have a...
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The art of Juanjo Guarnido
Aren't European comics just the best? Aside from the plethora of genres accessible to European comics, its craftsmanship consistently rests at the apex of the medium. The book that served as my gateway...
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Secret Identity is a fantastic crime novel set in the seedy 70s comic book...
Alex Segura has his roots deep in comics. He's worked at Wizard and DC, even served as the Co-President of Archie Comics before his current role as a Senior VP at Oni Press. And all the while, he's...
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Pulp Power is a gorgeous tribute to the art of classic crime serials
Pulp Power: The Shadow, Doc Savage, and the Art of the Street & Smith Universe [Amazon] is an absolutely stunning new coffee table book celebrating the art of old pulp heroes like The Shadow and...
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Nicolas Winding Refn's neo-noir thriller series, Copenhagen Cowboy, coming to...
Nicolas Winding Refn, aka NWR, is known for his neo-noir films (Driver, The Neon Demon). From this Netflix trailer, it looks like he'll be bringing his hyper-stylized, neon-lit sensibilities to...
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The Other Barrio, a San Francisco noir crime-buster movie
The short-story-to-movie genre is one of my favorites. The already challenging genre of a compact and capacious story-telling, condensed dialogue, or rendering of the calendar as an inadequate and...
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Take a lurid look at LA noir
Right from the get-go Taschen's massive 475 page book "Dark City: The Real Los Angeles Noir" is visually arresting. The 50's black & white crime scene photo on the triple-thick book cover is shot...
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Secret identities, pulp storytelling, and audio comic books with Alex Segura
Alex Segura has always been a busy dude, and since committing himself to writing full-time last year, he's only gotten busier. Still, he found a little time to chat with me about a burst of books that...
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