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The Cabbie #1
The Cabbie: Book One
Sergio Leone’s retooling of classic westerns for his “spaghetti westerns”… Stieg Larsson’s striking take on the serial killer/mystery thriller in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo… And for that matter ABBA’s fiendishly catchy appropriation of American pop music. Sometimes it takes Europeans to make gold of tuckered-out American tropes.
Add to those instances of inspired global cross-pollination the Spanish cartoonist Martí’s eye-popping The Cabbie, which spins off Martin Scorsese’s sordid urban-justice drama Taxi Driver with a graphic style that unapologetically appropriates and even refines the brutal slabs of black, squashed perspectives, and grotesque approach to human physiognomy (and its ability to withstand punishment) that define Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy.
And as Art Spiegelman (who was the first to publish Martí’s work in English, in RAW magazine) notes in his introduction, while “Gould’s graphic black and white precision and his diagrammatic clarity live on in Martí’s work,” he points out that “more interestingly, perhaps, so does Gould’s depravity.” Indeed, if anything, The Cabbie is even more savage than the legendarily brutal Dick Tracy, with its pimps, whores, petty thieves, corrupt businessmen, all swirling around the ingenuously violent “Cabbie” whose self-administered “upstanding citizen” status entitles him — in his view — to even more shocking acts of violence — especially on his quest for the stolen coffin of his father, which he’s told includes his entire inheritance!
Add to those instances of inspired global cross-pollination the Spanish cartoonist Martí’s eye-popping The Cabbie, which spins off Martin Scorsese’s sordid urban-justice drama Taxi Driver with a graphic style that unapologetically appropriates and even refines the brutal slabs of black, squashed perspectives, and grotesque approach to human physiognomy (and its ability to withstand punishment) that define Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy.
And as Art Spiegelman (who was the first to publish Martí’s work in English, in RAW magazine) notes in his introduction, while “Gould’s graphic black and white precision and his diagrammatic clarity live on in Martí’s work,” he points out that “more interestingly, perhaps, so does Gould’s depravity.” Indeed, if anything, The Cabbie is even more savage than the legendarily brutal Dick Tracy, with its pimps, whores, petty thieves, corrupt businessmen, all swirling around the ingenuously violent “Cabbie” whose self-administered “upstanding citizen” status entitles him — in his view — to even more shocking acts of violence — especially on his quest for the stolen coffin of his father, which he’s told includes his entire inheritance!
64 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1987
About the author
Martí
52 books4 followersMarti era el nombre con el que firmaba Marti Riera.
Nace en Barcelona, en 1955. Cursa estudios de Bachillerato, Arquitectura y Diseño Gráfico. Durante la época de 1975 a 1979 publica sus historietas en revistas alternativas como Rock Cómic o Star. A partir de 1979 colabora con El Víbora. En 1984 sale a la luz Taxista, que posteriormente es editado en Francia, U.S.A e Italia. En 1988 publica Monstruos Modernos y en 1989 Terrorista y Doctor Vértigo, álbum por el que recibe el premio a la mejor obra nacional del 8º Salón Internacional del Cómic De Barcelona.
Nace en Barcelona, en 1955. Cursa estudios de Bachillerato, Arquitectura y Diseño Gráfico. Durante la época de 1975 a 1979 publica sus historietas en revistas alternativas como Rock Cómic o Star. A partir de 1979 colabora con El Víbora. En 1984 sale a la luz Taxista, que posteriormente es editado en Francia, U.S.A e Italia. En 1988 publica Monstruos Modernos y en 1989 Terrorista y Doctor Vértigo, álbum por el que recibe el premio a la mejor obra nacional del 8º Salón Internacional del Cómic De Barcelona.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 1, 2021
A bizarre, grotesque parody of comics that I haven't read - as such I probably missed a few of its nuances. Or it really was just plain insane.
April 8, 2020
I've only spent minimal time with Chester Gould's work (I know, shame on me), and can't comment on the connections with Marti's art. But the story is just relentlessly over-the-top nutso.
October 15, 2023
Her yönüyle daha vahşi ve acımasız bir Chester Gould eseri olan Dick Tracy uyarlaması.Çizimler ve hikaye fena değil.
December 30, 2016
This graphic novel was not what I expected - although the introduction by Art Spiegelman does forewarn the reader, or inform the reader, about the book being part of the "raw" comic genre- which exploded into Spanish society in the 1970s with the fall of the Franco regime. The book contains a couple of sections that are "out there" - perhaps too explicit/depraved for most readers. I myself do not feel everything needs to be shown; it is usually far more effective to have explicit material or events occur "off-stage" etc. There is eye-popping material throughout the book - punches are not pulled, many times, though to great effect. This is not a graphic novel for the squeamish - as Spiegelman says, it's in the style of Dick Tracy cartoons, but much more over the top; basically the story must have been inspired by the film "Taxi Driver" but the events - sickening, violent, and even sacrilegious - are much more extreme. I can see how religiosity would have received a skewering in the Spanish comic, considering the rigid pro-Catholicism of the Franco dictatorship. The protagonist ties himself into ethical/moral knots throughout the story - trying to do the right thing, yet seeking revenge for the wrong done him and his family.
Although this is not the type of graphic novel I would usually read - and the cover really gives no hint as to the occasional explicit contents - it was nevertheless well-written, consistent conceptually, and a page-turner insofar as the reader does want to find out what the next twist in the plot will bring. I definitely would only recommend the book for adults, and for non-squeamish adults at that.
This is Book One of a series, Book Two appeared in 2013 - currently doesn't appear to be in the collection of any library. The underlying message is obviously one of rebellion - at the strictures of a repressive society, under Franco. The same "raw" genre appeared in the US in the 1960s (R. Crumb & others) as the "youthquake" shook the foundations of US society and reshaped eventually the world. I think the 1960s rebellion was probably in response to the phoniness/conformity of the 1950s, and a reaction to a sick world order that had resulted in two devastating world wars, plus Korea, and then Vietnam. By then, youth had had enough; if this was the world the "adults" wished to "entrust" to the coming generation, youth would have none of it - or would greatly change it before inheriting it. So the 1960s were a rebellion, and everything was questioned, one aspect of culture that changed or that produced a new rebellious genre, was comics. Since the Franco dictatorship didn't die until the mid 1970s, the "raw" rebellious comics genre took hold there ten years after it began in the US. This graphic novel, as profane as it is at times, is an example of the "raw" rebellious creative energy that transformed Spain after the fall of Franco.
Although this is not the type of graphic novel I would usually read - and the cover really gives no hint as to the occasional explicit contents - it was nevertheless well-written, consistent conceptually, and a page-turner insofar as the reader does want to find out what the next twist in the plot will bring. I definitely would only recommend the book for adults, and for non-squeamish adults at that.
This is Book One of a series, Book Two appeared in 2013 - currently doesn't appear to be in the collection of any library. The underlying message is obviously one of rebellion - at the strictures of a repressive society, under Franco. The same "raw" genre appeared in the US in the 1960s (R. Crumb & others) as the "youthquake" shook the foundations of US society and reshaped eventually the world. I think the 1960s rebellion was probably in response to the phoniness/conformity of the 1950s, and a reaction to a sick world order that had resulted in two devastating world wars, plus Korea, and then Vietnam. By then, youth had had enough; if this was the world the "adults" wished to "entrust" to the coming generation, youth would have none of it - or would greatly change it before inheriting it. So the 1960s were a rebellion, and everything was questioned, one aspect of culture that changed or that produced a new rebellious genre, was comics. Since the Franco dictatorship didn't die until the mid 1970s, the "raw" rebellious comics genre took hold there ten years after it began in the US. This graphic novel, as profane as it is at times, is an example of the "raw" rebellious creative energy that transformed Spain after the fall of Franco.
April 20, 2019
I'm obviously rating this without the introduction in mind but it doesn't do for the book what a good one should:
READ THE BLOWFART SPIEGLEMAN INTRODUCTION LAST
He gives away some plot and obsessively makes you concentrate on its likeness to Dick Tracy which undercuts its singular merits despite his genuine effort not to do just that. See the italics below for more on that clownshoe creator-editor-compiler ding-dong-along prawn-schlong's sing-song.
This is an excellent examination of madness and angst magnified in a tale that centers around a taxi driver who goes by no name other than "Cabbie ForHire" and his misadventures are poignant in their perversity. This is a very dark book but it can't help but make you laugh when you aren't cringing. It's oozing with the filth of humanity but those he chooses as villains aren't what I term reusable bad guys- they have humanity and represent the results of the ills of society more than the evils of the individual.
Some backstory:
Keep in mind that Franco kept the artists of Spain silent- they all had a legitimate fear of death so even the ones that were "allowed" to create probably kept themselves from their full potential. The subversive viewpoints had no circulated voice whatsoever and had to wait until the dictatorship ended- their emotions festering as any human's does when we can't express what's gnawing at our hearts and boggling our minds.
I mention that to put appropriate weight on the dense personal nature of this book- you'll often feel his frustrations concerning the way things are in this black and white world he created and notice qualities, good and bad, of the characters that seem directly linked to those in the real world he lived in. I feel that the blunt yet beautifully expressive art achieves that authenticity as much as the words and actions that are portrayed. When I looked at the emotions on faces I saw truth in his caricature- I frequently recognized characters who looked how I believe I would be rendered when I reach such levels of anger, frustration and sadness.
My personal dissatisfaction with the way he wrote the plot was that he RELIED on absurd coincidences to tell his story but that's a matter of my tastes and doesn't diminish the work when that, certainly intentional, method doesn't bother you.
The ONLY objective problem I had was a certain sloppiness with specifics that I believe could have been tightened up by a solid editor. I often found contradictory details that I didn't need to flip back pages to confirm, even though I did, to know something was off. This probably won't matter to the "normal" readers who aren't compelled to obsess over minutiae.
_________________________
*= The more I read blowfArt's critiques, whether good or bad, the more I dislike him. He's one of those guys, like Gary Groth, who thinks his opinions and analysis of graphic literature are necessary to lead it to its "salvation" when they rake on work they don't appreciate or push the medium to its pinnacle when they praise the FEW who create up to their lofty standards.
This particular wind-baggery gives away plot (as usual) and diminishes the book's merits while attempting, in grandiose eloquence and minute detail, to point them out. The blow-hard is so impressed by how much this reminds him of all the greatness of Dick Tracy that he spends the entire introduction praising it by comparison instead of as it is.
How many readers these days were familiar with Dick Tracy comic strips in 1987? How many cared how well he transcends Gould's work? He wasn't saying that it was a copy or that it was too similar- his words say "Marti was able to recreate it", in full compliment of course but he could have said that and moved to exploring the work singularly which is what (the royal) we actually want. Did Art have a hand in publishing a collection of them? I wouldn't be surprised- if he did I'd bet he wanted to glorify his own "eye" for talent rather than to boost its sales. SURELY I'm wrong about him publishing Tracy but I supposed that to show what I think of him.
READ THE BLOWFART SPIEGLEMAN INTRODUCTION LAST
He gives away some plot and obsessively makes you concentrate on its likeness to Dick Tracy which undercuts its singular merits despite his genuine effort not to do just that. See the italics below for more on that clownshoe creator-editor-compiler ding-dong-along prawn-schlong's sing-song.
This is an excellent examination of madness and angst magnified in a tale that centers around a taxi driver who goes by no name other than "Cabbie ForHire" and his misadventures are poignant in their perversity. This is a very dark book but it can't help but make you laugh when you aren't cringing. It's oozing with the filth of humanity but those he chooses as villains aren't what I term reusable bad guys- they have humanity and represent the results of the ills of society more than the evils of the individual.
Some backstory:
Keep in mind that Franco kept the artists of Spain silent- they all had a legitimate fear of death so even the ones that were "allowed" to create probably kept themselves from their full potential. The subversive viewpoints had no circulated voice whatsoever and had to wait until the dictatorship ended- their emotions festering as any human's does when we can't express what's gnawing at our hearts and boggling our minds.
I mention that to put appropriate weight on the dense personal nature of this book- you'll often feel his frustrations concerning the way things are in this black and white world he created and notice qualities, good and bad, of the characters that seem directly linked to those in the real world he lived in. I feel that the blunt yet beautifully expressive art achieves that authenticity as much as the words and actions that are portrayed. When I looked at the emotions on faces I saw truth in his caricature- I frequently recognized characters who looked how I believe I would be rendered when I reach such levels of anger, frustration and sadness.
My personal dissatisfaction with the way he wrote the plot was that he RELIED on absurd coincidences to tell his story but that's a matter of my tastes and doesn't diminish the work when that, certainly intentional, method doesn't bother you.
The ONLY objective problem I had was a certain sloppiness with specifics that I believe could have been tightened up by a solid editor. I often found contradictory details that I didn't need to flip back pages to confirm, even though I did, to know something was off. This probably won't matter to the "normal" readers who aren't compelled to obsess over minutiae.
_________________________
*= The more I read blowfArt's critiques, whether good or bad, the more I dislike him. He's one of those guys, like Gary Groth, who thinks his opinions and analysis of graphic literature are necessary to lead it to its "salvation" when they rake on work they don't appreciate or push the medium to its pinnacle when they praise the FEW who create up to their lofty standards.
This particular wind-baggery gives away plot (as usual) and diminishes the book's merits while attempting, in grandiose eloquence and minute detail, to point them out. The blow-hard is so impressed by how much this reminds him of all the greatness of Dick Tracy that he spends the entire introduction praising it by comparison instead of as it is.
How many readers these days were familiar with Dick Tracy comic strips in 1987? How many cared how well he transcends Gould's work? He wasn't saying that it was a copy or that it was too similar- his words say "Marti was able to recreate it", in full compliment of course but he could have said that and moved to exploring the work singularly which is what (the royal) we actually want. Did Art have a hand in publishing a collection of them? I wouldn't be surprised- if he did I'd bet he wanted to glorify his own "eye" for talent rather than to boost its sales. SURELY I'm wrong about him publishing Tracy but I supposed that to show what I think of him.
August 13, 2023
Clearly meant as a tribute to Chester Gould's "Dick Tracy", Martí's "The Cabbie" turns the comic strip format on its head and tells an absurd and twisted tale of a violent feud between a cab driver and a family of criminals. The titular "Cabbie" is a deeply devout man who uses his taxi cab to serve his community, which ends up including capturing criminals and bringing them to justice. One such criminal vows revenge on Cabbie, and gets his son to spearhead the plot to take down Cabbie and his family. Cabbie is hardly on a moral high ground, however. He ends up committing some heinous actions throughout, often for self-serving purposes.
The story takes many bizarre twists along the way, but Martí takes an offbeat humorous approach to it all. This has some similarities to the film Taxi Driver, though Cabbie's spiral into violence is treated as almost an inevitability in the peculiar world he exists in. There isn't any route for redemption for him, just more suffering. This definitely gives off a bit more of a nihilistic take to the story than some readers might expect on the onset, but due to the highly stylized "Dick Tracy" approach to the storytelling, there is sufficient degree of separation to keep the story from feeling "too real".
I had a ton of fun with this and though the humor can be pretty juvenile throughout, I enjoyed the unique approach to the storytelling and the overall unpredictability of the plot.
The story takes many bizarre twists along the way, but Martí takes an offbeat humorous approach to it all. This has some similarities to the film Taxi Driver, though Cabbie's spiral into violence is treated as almost an inevitability in the peculiar world he exists in. There isn't any route for redemption for him, just more suffering. This definitely gives off a bit more of a nihilistic take to the story than some readers might expect on the onset, but due to the highly stylized "Dick Tracy" approach to the storytelling, there is sufficient degree of separation to keep the story from feeling "too real".
I had a ton of fun with this and though the humor can be pretty juvenile throughout, I enjoyed the unique approach to the storytelling and the overall unpredictability of the plot.
September 10, 2019
I really like that it looks like it was drawn by Chester Gould, and the presentation by Fantagraphics is fantastic. But the story is so puerile as to be childish and the content is far too mature for children. I believe that Marti is one of those artists that would be celebrated more if he had just done the art and had a writer do the writing. And don't be fooled, this has been foolishly compared to the Taxi Driver. And the only things these stories have in common is a taxi cab and violence, nothing else.
May 6, 2021
A ridiculously over the top parody of Chester Gould, but not in a good way. I read it in one sitting and maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset to see much humor in the gore and sex, and I didn’t find it particularly shocking either.
March 10, 2017
While graphically interesting, this Spanish Comic was a crude, unpleasant read. The art is somewhat reminiscent of Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, without Gould's excellent draftsmanship but with somewhat better storytelling skill. Drawn and written by a Spanish artist, the story follows the adventures of a taxi driver in a big city who becomes entangled with a foul and criminal slum dweller family.
Unfortunately the tone is very uneven and sometimes bizzare (the voice of God coming from the ears of an underage hooker the protagonist after knocking her unconscious and stuffing her into a suitcase is particularly odd). It was an uncomfortable read and nothing I'd recommend or look into any more.
I found the intro even more disreputable, with the writer praising the moral tone of The Cabbie and disparaging Dick Tracy's sense of honor and ethics.
Unfortunately the tone is very uneven and sometimes bizzare (the voice of God coming from the ears of an underage hooker the protagonist after knocking her unconscious and stuffing her into a suitcase is particularly odd). It was an uncomfortable read and nothing I'd recommend or look into any more.
I found the intro even more disreputable, with the writer praising the moral tone of The Cabbie and disparaging Dick Tracy's sense of honor and ethics.
January 10, 2012
Bathed in a blackness known only to Dick Tracy, the morally gray characters that inhabit The Cabbie live lonely lives scarred by the violence and corruption around them. Marti uses precise brush strokes to immerse the reader in his deeply Dick Tracy influenced world. The strip format, prolonged chase scenes, troubling family relationships, and grotesque villains instantly recall Chester Gould’s inimitable style, but some things in The Cabbie would have even made Gould recoil. Marti explores themes of incest, prostitution to a point where it unsettles but not quite disturbs. This book is a wonderful companion to Dick Tracy and I can’t wait for volume 2.
June 25, 2013
One of the best noir stories I've read in a long time, where the bad guys want revenge on the good guy and the good guy wants revenge on the bad guys and everybody gets a savage beat-down but they still go on crawling from the wreckage and you keep turning the pages to see how it'll all end up. Which is what good noir should do.
Marti Riera from Spain does an outstanding job of telling a twisted tale of greed, avarice and sleaze in ways you haven't even thought of, all wrapped up in Chester Gould/Gilbert Hernandez drag. Read it or bleed it.
Marti Riera from Spain does an outstanding job of telling a twisted tale of greed, avarice and sleaze in ways you haven't even thought of, all wrapped up in Chester Gould/Gilbert Hernandez drag. Read it or bleed it.
November 3, 2012
Like reading a nightmare. Brilliant. Naive. Disgusting.
March 24, 2013
Loved this! Being a big fan of Dick Tracy, this book heightens all of the action, violence and gritty sub-reality of Gould's work.
I'd add this to my bookshelf in a heartbeat.
I'd add this to my bookshelf in a heartbeat.
April 9, 2015
Grimy goodness. I was shocked with horror four or five times, and that's impressive.
October 5, 2015
Amazing.
February 26, 2012
Woah.
That's all I have to say, except: some of the panels are perfectly designed.
That's all I have to say, except: some of the panels are perfectly designed.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews