I am ridiculously fired up over what comes out through the new Crime Line series of books from DC/Vertigo Comics. Shepherded in by Will Dennis, Kiel Phegley at Comic Book Resources gives us a great outlook of what to expect.
Karen Berger [VP of Editorial introduced panelists Jason Starr, Peter Gross, Jeff Lemire, Chris Gage, brothers Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon (who when asked why they have different last names, Ba joked,”It’s all fake names”), Max Allan Collins and Gary Phillips.
First of all, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon are doing a Crime Line book? Oh, that’s goddamn brilliant. Their book is called “Daytripper” which is about an Obituaries writer who becomes embroiled in a case beyond his control. The book is going to come out some time around the end of 2009.
Other books discussed: “Nobody” writer/artist Jeff Lemire talked about his ongoing series “Sweet Tooth,” which is about a human/deer hybrid wandering the road in post-apocalyptic earth. That’s going to be a cool one I’m sure.
Brian Azzarello’s “Filthy Rich,” which I’m sure is going to be a total gem. Azz is the best crime writer working in comics now. Modern luminary Ian Rankin is going to be doing a “Constantine” story, and doing a book called “Dark Entries.”
Peter Milligan is contributing “Bronx Kill,” about a writer who is the black sheep of his family of Irish cops, and gets involved in a case when he’s suspected of his family’s murder. Workaholic Christos Gage is also doing a book (I swear I feel like Gage is writing at least six books now) called “Area 10” about someone who experiments in Trepenation which is the art of drilling a hole in your head to enhance awareness.
There are many more including works from Anderson Gabrich, John Evans, Gary Philips, and more. However the highlight for me is Max Allan Collins’ “Return to Perdition.”
“Initially Dreamworks didn’t want anyone to know [the movie for ‘Road to Perdition’] was based on a graphic novel, and the media loved it,” said Collins, who explained that the slow pace his artist worked on precipitated him to write two prose novels while the film took off and the brand expanded. “Right now, there’s one story left, and I said to Will at a con, ‘What would you think of instead of my doing a prose novel, bringing it full circle with a graphic novel?'”
Taking place in the early ’70s with the grandson of Tom Hanks’ character in witness protection and finding out that the government has been hiding the fact that his father lives and the “Watergate-esque” drama that springs from that setup.
Collins announced that his former “Ms. Tree” collaborator Terry Beatty will reteam with him for “Return to Perdition.”
“Road to Perdition” was easily my favorite comic to film adaptation. I’m not a Sam Mendes fan, but I do think this was the best movie he ever did. So, the fact that Collins is bringing the conclusion to this is a Must Buy in my book.
Sources: CCI: Vertigo New Ongoing Series/Crime Line [Comic Book Resources]. Daytripper photo [via Fabio Moon’s Flickr].
