Will Eisner’s John Law: Angels and Ashes, Devils and Dust #1

Will Eisner’s John Law: Angels and Ashes, Devils and Dust, #1 April 2006, IDW Publishing
writer/artist: Gary Chaloner

Making this one quick. We’re off to San Diego within the hour.

I’ll confess, I’ve never read Will Eisner. I know, I know. That’s like loving Jesus, but never reading the gospels. I intend to change that. I just don’t know where to start.

So why not with this issue by Gary Chaloner, featuring characters created by Eisner? John Law is solid detective noir: a reclusive straight arrow gumshoe, a dame in need, the shoeshine boy with just enough chops to be useful, all expertly depicted in a black and white as stark as Law’s sense of right and wrong. Two stories in thirty pages, lacking a bit in the action department, but pouring on the suspense and emotional grit. Chaloner’s deceptively cartoonish style is fitting for this cast of characters; he nails the square-jawed detective and the round-faced sidekick, who actually steals the show in both stories. If this is what an Eisner admirer can do, I’d love to read the original.

Some housekeeping: not sure what my Internet situation will be in San Diego. If I can’t log on, I will write reviews daily and post them all on Monday. How can I not continue A Comic A Day at the gosh-darned Con? That’s like loving Jesus and not going to church.