RARA-AVIS: Re: Apology to Kevin

From: Kevin Burton Smith (kvnsmith@thrillingdetective.com)
Date: 02 Sep 2009

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    For the record, Jacques' allegedly insensitive use of the word
    "handicapped" is NOT what I objected to in my original reply to him. And any pressure for him to "apologize" for using the word, if any such pressure even existed, did not come from me.

    Got that? IT DID NOT COME FROM ME.

    So please, spare me the snide pot shots, and spare us all the usual whining and hand-wringing and off-topic pontificating about the evils of political correctness. Those arguments were already growing tiresome back before Reagan was even senile.

    Let's get back to crime fiction.

    Anyone read Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Manchette's WEST COAST BLUES yet? Tardi's simple, B&W, vaguely cartoonish style belies the dark bleak mood of the story, a bored, angsty French businessman's freefall into hell, thanks to a random chain of events, but also forces us to really look at the characters as real people. It's a trick Tardi's used before, in adapting other hard-boiled and noir novels (most notably the Malet adaptations), but it's a good trick, and he does it well.

    I tell ya, it's turning into a banner year for graphic novels for hard- boiled crime fans. BRITTEN AND BRULIGHTLY, the PARKER adaptation, and now this.

    Any updates on the new Vertigo books? Are they worth the price tag?

    Kevin

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