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Kane
Kane Volume 3: Histories
Detective Kane returns to active duty with the New Eden Police Department following a six-month suspension in the wake of shooting and killing his partner, Dennis Harvey. His fellow police officers give Kane a welcome back gift: a couple of bullets with his name on them. Oscar Darke grew up in the streets of New Eden to become the most powerful criminal in the city. But when an attempt is made on Darke's life, Detectives Kane and Felix have to find the would-be killer before the city erupts in violence.
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First published July 1, 2004
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About the author
Paul Grist
196 books19 followersPaul Grist is a British comic book creator, noted for his hard-boiled police series Kane and his unorthodox superhero series Jack Staff.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 28, 2020
#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the February 1997 edition with a theme of "Crime fighters":
GOOD COP, BAD COPS
KANE #1-13 (Dancing Elephant)
While cop series are a staple of television, they are pretty rare nowadays in the world of comics. It just so happens, that one of the few cop books available is one of the best comics being published today.
The title character, Kane, is a detective in the New Eden Police Department. A pariah, he is hated by almost everyone in the department for killing his last partner while trying to arrest him for being corrupt. Kane has betrayed the brotherhood of cops by taking down one of his own. Also making him an outcast is the fact that he has a rigid sense of morals while most of the NEPD are either corrupt, morally bankrupt or ethically challenged. Embittered and aloof, Kane is slow to accept potential allies such as his new partner, the competent Kate Felix, and his captain, the fair and just John Dexter.
Kane has faced many challenges so far. Issue #1 has a kidnaping which turns into a hostage situation. Issues #2-3 have a mad bomber terrorizing the city. Mob surveillance at a restaurant is interrupted by an insane robber in #4. Issue #6 features a cool twist on RASHOMON: we get to watch each character intentionally lie to Internal Affairs about events that occurred during a drug bust where the money has gone missing. In #8, Kane has to talk the star of an old sixties super-hero TV show off the ledge of a tall building. The shooting of mob boss Oscar Darke and its consequences are covered in #9-12.
The series is imbued with a wicked sense of humor to offset the serious aspects. Each issue generally has a comic relief sub-plot. The best ones feature Mister Floppsie Whoppsie, a street performer who wears a pink bunny costume. After one too many comparisons to Bugs Bunny he goes over the edge, declaring, "I'm my own rabbit." His hijinks include making a jailbreak, taking the mayor hostage, and being on the run from loan sharks. Issue #3 features a running gag about a commercial for an indestructible safe which the makers have allowed to be stolen. A hidden camera follows the thieves' attempts to break it open while another camera follows a spokesman to the police station to report the theft. The payoff is great! For SIN CITY fans, issue #7 is a parody of Marv and a tribute to Frank Miller.
The creator of KANE is Paul Grist. From England, Grist is probably not too well known here in the U.S.. He did the art on GRENDEL: THE DEVIL IN OUR MIDST. He collaborated with writer Grant Morrison on a little book called ST. SWITHINS DAY. He did a couple of books about another character he created called Burglar Bill, which was mostly light-hearted stuff. It is with KANE that Grist has become a major writer/artist in my gradebook. His dialogue is terse and witty. His art is cartoony enough to pull off the humorous bits, but is dark enough to match the overall tone of the series.
KANE makes use of many challenging storytelling techniques. Most issues feature two storylines. The first is a self-contained story set in the present and usually lasting only one or two issues. The other is an ongoing unravelling of the past events surrounding Kane's partner's death and its aftermath. Via a series of flashbacks interspersed throughout each issue, Grist keeps adding twists and turns to what at first seemed to be a straightforward event. The transition between the two storylines, as well as scenes within each storyline, can be difficult to track unless you pay close attention. (Grist has provided one visual cue to aid the reader: the pages featuring flashbacks have a wide black bar running vertically down them.) Mob boss Oscar Darke speaks in a slurred mumble which the reader is forced to decipher. While Grist makes each character distinctive, he does not always label or identify them directly in each issue. His characters are not in the habit of giving the awkward expository background speeches such as Chris Claremont used to spoonfeed the readers of UNCANNY X-MEN. Grist expects you to keep track of characters and plots from issue to issue. And he makes it well worth the effort.
His current issues are good ones with which to join the series, as they are each highlighting a different character from the series. For instance, issue #13 follows a veteran and a rookie through a typical night of graft and brutality. Grist puts an interesting spin on the story by fixing the point of view in the back seat of their squad car, allowing us to see mostly the back of their heads and the view through the windshield. It's a hard concept to pull off successfully, but Grist manages it easily.
Indeed, the same could be said of the entire series. Even on television, where there are more series featuring cops, the stories often aren't done very well. With the exception of "Hill Street Blues" and a few others, most simply result in a lost hour. Grist, meanwhile, regularly rewards the comic book reader with a very generous package: 30-32 pages of perfectly amazing story and art.
Grade: A
GOOD COP, BAD COPS
KANE #1-13 (Dancing Elephant)
While cop series are a staple of television, they are pretty rare nowadays in the world of comics. It just so happens, that one of the few cop books available is one of the best comics being published today.
The title character, Kane, is a detective in the New Eden Police Department. A pariah, he is hated by almost everyone in the department for killing his last partner while trying to arrest him for being corrupt. Kane has betrayed the brotherhood of cops by taking down one of his own. Also making him an outcast is the fact that he has a rigid sense of morals while most of the NEPD are either corrupt, morally bankrupt or ethically challenged. Embittered and aloof, Kane is slow to accept potential allies such as his new partner, the competent Kate Felix, and his captain, the fair and just John Dexter.
Kane has faced many challenges so far. Issue #1 has a kidnaping which turns into a hostage situation. Issues #2-3 have a mad bomber terrorizing the city. Mob surveillance at a restaurant is interrupted by an insane robber in #4. Issue #6 features a cool twist on RASHOMON: we get to watch each character intentionally lie to Internal Affairs about events that occurred during a drug bust where the money has gone missing. In #8, Kane has to talk the star of an old sixties super-hero TV show off the ledge of a tall building. The shooting of mob boss Oscar Darke and its consequences are covered in #9-12.
The series is imbued with a wicked sense of humor to offset the serious aspects. Each issue generally has a comic relief sub-plot. The best ones feature Mister Floppsie Whoppsie, a street performer who wears a pink bunny costume. After one too many comparisons to Bugs Bunny he goes over the edge, declaring, "I'm my own rabbit." His hijinks include making a jailbreak, taking the mayor hostage, and being on the run from loan sharks. Issue #3 features a running gag about a commercial for an indestructible safe which the makers have allowed to be stolen. A hidden camera follows the thieves' attempts to break it open while another camera follows a spokesman to the police station to report the theft. The payoff is great! For SIN CITY fans, issue #7 is a parody of Marv and a tribute to Frank Miller.
The creator of KANE is Paul Grist. From England, Grist is probably not too well known here in the U.S.. He did the art on GRENDEL: THE DEVIL IN OUR MIDST. He collaborated with writer Grant Morrison on a little book called ST. SWITHINS DAY. He did a couple of books about another character he created called Burglar Bill, which was mostly light-hearted stuff. It is with KANE that Grist has become a major writer/artist in my gradebook. His dialogue is terse and witty. His art is cartoony enough to pull off the humorous bits, but is dark enough to match the overall tone of the series.
KANE makes use of many challenging storytelling techniques. Most issues feature two storylines. The first is a self-contained story set in the present and usually lasting only one or two issues. The other is an ongoing unravelling of the past events surrounding Kane's partner's death and its aftermath. Via a series of flashbacks interspersed throughout each issue, Grist keeps adding twists and turns to what at first seemed to be a straightforward event. The transition between the two storylines, as well as scenes within each storyline, can be difficult to track unless you pay close attention. (Grist has provided one visual cue to aid the reader: the pages featuring flashbacks have a wide black bar running vertically down them.) Mob boss Oscar Darke speaks in a slurred mumble which the reader is forced to decipher. While Grist makes each character distinctive, he does not always label or identify them directly in each issue. His characters are not in the habit of giving the awkward expository background speeches such as Chris Claremont used to spoonfeed the readers of UNCANNY X-MEN. Grist expects you to keep track of characters and plots from issue to issue. And he makes it well worth the effort.
His current issues are good ones with which to join the series, as they are each highlighting a different character from the series. For instance, issue #13 follows a veteran and a rookie through a typical night of graft and brutality. Grist puts an interesting spin on the story by fixing the point of view in the back seat of their squad car, allowing us to see mostly the back of their heads and the view through the windshield. It's a hard concept to pull off successfully, but Grist manages it easily.
Indeed, the same could be said of the entire series. Even on television, where there are more series featuring cops, the stories often aren't done very well. With the exception of "Hill Street Blues" and a few others, most simply result in a lost hour. Grist, meanwhile, regularly rewards the comic book reader with a very generous package: 30-32 pages of perfectly amazing story and art.
Grade: A
November 11, 2023
As this volume's title announces, we get deeper into the backstory of Kane's fatal encounter with his partner Den and the history of Oscar Darke, the notorious crime boss of New Eden. The story if quite satisfying with some fun twists and turns, but it's also edging quite close to stories like "Daredevil" or "Batman: Year One," with the larger-than-life duality and rivalry between Kane and Darke taking center stage, and that's a bit less of what I love about this series... But Grist is an expert at balancing the modes and he turns focus around again in the following story arc, "The Thirty-Ninth."
September 30, 2015
Kolmen ja puolen tähden arviossa roikkuu tämä Kanen kolmas albumi. Tällä kertaa valotetaan epäilyttävän Oscar Darken lapsuutta sekä hieman jälleen etsivä Kanen menneisyyttä ja kaikkea hämärää, jota liikkuu New Edenissä. Tarina hyppii ehkä vähän liian paljon nykyisyyden ja menneisyyden välillä, jotta tätä voisi lukea keskittymättä. Mutta nämä albumit ovat sen tyylisiä, että jos muuten miellyttävät, niin tarina kyllä palkitsee lukijansa. Vaikka jääkin jälleen auki seuraavaa albumia varten.
September 12, 2021
My only complaint is Darke’s speech, hard to read at times, but Grist is a genius.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews