'Hit' #1 by Bryce Carlson and Vanesa R. Del Rey - Comic Book Hot Pick

Crime Noir in 1950s LA Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

Hit (Boom Studios)

Despite some really exceptional new releases this week - 'Star Wars' #1 (Dark Horse) based on George Lucas' rough draft, Marvel's epic crossover event 'Battle of the Atom', and DC Comics' 'Forever Evil' and "Villains month" gimmick - there was one new title that caught our attention and delivered like few others have in recent memory. Boom Studios, who should have done more publicity, has a winner in 'Hit' by writer Bryce Carlson and artist Vanesa R. Del Rey. 

Based on real hit squads of the Los Angeles Police Department of the 1940s and '50s, Carlson's 'Hit' brings the familiar tales of corrupt cops and gangsters to life with precision and style. The dialogue crackles with tough guy repartee but never sounds ham-fisted. There are plenty of so-called "pulp" comics in the market with varying degrees of quality but 'Hit' is the real deal. While others make an almost parody of the genre, Carlson and Del Rey have taken the best of Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy and created a graphic novel that they would surely approve of. Del Rey, in particular, does with pencils what John Huston and Otto Preminger did with cameras. The light and shadows highlight or trap the characters as good noir should. This is 'L.A. Confidential' in comic book form. Crime noir at its finest. Grade A.