Murder by Remote Control

by Janwillem van de Wetering, Paul Kirchner

The murder of Mr. Jones, owner of a Maine oil refinery and despoiler of the environment, yields a variety of suspects

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Mystery, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Crime

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 1986

About the author

Jan Willem Lincoln "Janwillem" van de Wetering was the author of a number of works in English and Dutch.

Reviews

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Murder By Remote Control' is a collaboration between international writer Janwillem van de Wetering and his neighbor, artist Paul Kirchner. The book did very poorly during it's initial publication, but this reprint should bring new life to a story that feels just as fresh and interesting today.

The story starts with the murder of Mr. Jones who is out on a lake and is killed by a remote control airplane. There are plenty of suspects in the area and lots of motives. Mr. Jones was not a very nice guy, so his greed or disregard for the environment could have been his undoing. An unusual detective is sent to solve the murder. One who sees things differently. He definitely feels like a precursor to Agent Dale Cooper of the Twin Peaks TV series. The residents/suspects are all oddballs and recluses, and each have their own reason for despising Jones. The detective finds his way into their lives and heads to uncover the truth.

The art is alternately very normal and also strangely surreal. There are full page panels that have a strange symmetry. In a brilliant afterword by Stephen R. Bisette, written just for this edition, we get a look at the influences of artist Paul Kirchner. There is a definite Wally Wood style, but "this murder mystery erupted into a panoramic visionary tableaus, delirious visual and conceptual detours, stream-of-consciousness pageantry and lunacy at the turn of a phrase." It's quite unsettling, but I rather liked it. I'm glad this book got a reprint. I really feel that it was quite ahead of it's time, but might find new appreciation now, when the story has not aged a bit.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very weird. First, there is the basic story of a man fishing out on the lake and attacked by a remote control airplane. He's found dead and a special agent is sent to the quiet Maine shore to investigate the inhabitants of a few houses along the shore. They all could have motives for wanting the man dead. But each person's investigation turns into surreal dream-like LSD trips and it's all very outlandish and frankly, odd. Then when the case is over and the agent goes home, there is a little twist that makes the whole thing simply bizarre. The art is quirky and trippy and what really makes the comic readable. Certainly not recommended for crime purists but those who enjoy pondering the surreal.

[Pili · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Una obra de arte!
La historia de su creación es tan interesante como el argumento de la obra; a tal punto que, a pesar de haber sido publicada originalmente hace más de 35 años, fue galardonada en el Festival International de la BD d’Angoulême 2023.

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trippy and Deeply Cool, (or, "Dragnet" With Magic Mushrooms)

I just read the new Dover re-issue of this book, which was originally published in 1986 by Ballantine. The passage of 30 years has done nothing to dim the book's appeal. Indeed, the contrast between some of the dated aspects of the story/drawing and the prescient and very current eco-tech themes adds a good deal to the reader's enjoyment.

You know those neo-noir books that feature "existential detectives" and hippy-dippy pretension? Well, this looked like it might be headed down that path, especially given that it opens with a heavy Zen-centric foreward and closes with an afterword that takes itself a bit too seriously. But fear not. The actual writer and artist went for something substantial but still fun and entertaining, and the result might very well be important to genre professionals, but it's also just entertaining and satisfying.

The murder mystery is straight forward enough. A badguy entrepreneur is killed by a remote controlled model plane. (Drones anyone? This was 1986, remember.) A special investigator is called in to buck the local cop and to question the four colorful potential perpetrators. So far, so standard. But, each suspect is a bit over the top, the investigator has an odd sort of vibe, and the whole affair seems to teeter between noir reality and a psychedelic head trip.

The penciling and inking is sharp, clear and precise, which makes the story easy to follow and which allows for some fascinating "big" pages that look more like 80's posters or music album covers. The black and white works; this could very well have been too busy and pretty in full color.

So, it's a good story, well told and confidently drawn. There is a lot of mellow good humor informing the storytelling and lots of sly pop culture and movie references that welcome the reader into the project. I enjoyed this a great deal.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

[Shreyas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork was the saving grace; it was trippy and surreal. The murder mystery was nothing exceptional.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine publication from this publishing house, and long may their interest in reviving lost graphic novels last, especially if the results are like this. Two introductory essays and the first reprint of this book in English since the mid-1980s, when it brought neither creator a penny in royalties. That's not too impossible to believe from the contents, a politically charged thriller set on the coast of Maine, that opens out into quite surreal visual pages. I'd liken them to something more strong than Busby Berkley meets cut-out-and-paste animated pop videos, if only I could, for there's something very kinetic about the weirdness the artist designed. It does at times get a little too hippy-dippy for my mind, but I could live with that, especially when the artwork was so great – really crisp and detailed inkwork, and while the artist seemed a bit self-disparaging in the quotes given, he needn't be – he has the penmanship to become an instant favourite. So a sterling treatment given of a thoroughly interesting (if not perfectly to my taste) book makes for a recommended volume. I'm glad I learnt what I did and enjoyed what I did courtesy this book.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surreal murder mystery; whose murder is up to question. Although a product of the trippy mid '60s this opus stands up well. Maybe too well.

[Alexander Lisovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

В штате Мейн, живописной глуши, куда уезжают уставшие от столичной суеты американские звёзды и живут там бок о бок с простыми работягами, потомками первых колонизаторов, происходит необычное преступление: вышедшего порыбачить мужика убивают с помощью радиоуправляемого самолётика. В городок прибывает федеральный детектив и начинает своё расследование, обнаруживая, разумеется, что у всех эксцентричных соседей был свой мотив, а у местных властей полно и других тараканов за пазухой.

Мне так понравился безумный, изобретательный юмор The Bus, что я решил посмотреть, что ещё написал Пол Кирчнер (которому уже вообще-то 69 лет, а начинал он в студии Нила Адамса). И оказывается, вот эта книга — графический детектив для взрослых — был написан ещё в 1983 году, и два года авторы безуспешно обивали пороги издателей. Дело было за два года до безумного успеха "Мауса", и никто не верил, что для взрослых комиксов в принципе существует аудитория (да и жанр детектива был практически забыт; до его ренессанса оставалось ещё лет пять-семь). В конце концов комикс всё же удалось опубликовать и... он канул в лету, не покрыв даже издательские затраты. А в 2016-м, тридцать лет спустя, книгу выпустили заново, с увлекательным ретроспективным вступлением и послесловием.

Само произведение... странное. Оно ощутимо напоминает "Твин Пикс" (который вышел только в 1990-м), но вместо саспенса сюрреализм здесь уходит скорее в комедийную сторону. На выходе получается практически мюзикл — и книгу стоит прочесть хотя бы поэтому — она представляет собой уникальный комикс-мюзикл, с фанфарами и симметричными бродвейскими сценами, фонтанирующими из головы главного героя. Сюжет тоже то и дело оборачивается бурлеском, крепкого детектива тут ждать не стоит. Но я согласен с послесловием, книга читается довольно свежо и в наши дни, авторы невольно предсказали появление смертоносных дронов; сюрреализм же вообще почти не устаревает.

Другое занятное наблюдение из послесловия — индустрия комиксов сделала по сути полный оборот: в 1980-х "альтернативные" (супергероике) авторы не могли рассчитывать на сколь-нибудь стабильные гонорары, потому что альтернативная ниша представляла собой андеграундные журналы, а в наше время рынок настолько перенасыщен, что пробиться на него, опять же, крайне проблематично. Тот же Пол Кирчнер написал небольшой комикс в 2015-м и обнаружил, что всё, что он с ним может сделать, — это выложить на Deviant Art, потому что даже журналы перестали существовать. Такие дела. Хочешь быть комиксистом — начинай с блогерства.

Как обычно, прикладываю небольшое превью.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was another real world encounter. I would have never come across this in a million years if I didn't stumble across it at that moment at the Detroit FanFare. This is a murder mystery whodunit, and is very well done. It was way ahead of what was going on in mainstream comic books of the time, and holds up remarkably well nearly 30 years after it was originally published. Paul Kirchner's artwork is excellent and incredibly detailed. This is the English translation of a 1984 Dutch graphic novel, which was originally published as a full color hardcover.

It is comforting that this book is nearly 30 years old, and yet the glued binding is still solid and nothing is loose. The paper is really nice. I know that those reading this on their iPad are saying to themselves “What's paper?”, but I still like the tactile sensations of real books.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very much of its late-70s/early-80s time. The surrealism and philosophical aspects of the story are incredibly surface level, and the art even more so. I've enjoyed Paul Kirchner's short humors works, like The Bus, but the imagery in this book feels like a freshman's doodles in their first college surrealism class. Not helped by the fact that the art feels much stiffer than his other work and the use of celebrity likenesses alternately distract or hit the reader on the head like a hammer. I'd be interested in reading other fiction by van de Wetering, but this didn't give me a last of him at all.

[Googoogjoob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An archetypal example of a "detective story" that's really a story featuring a detective, with artistic aims entirely other than those of the detective story. Here the detective wanders around a small Maine town and talks to the suspects in a murder case (four eccentrics who had the motive and opportunity to commit the murder) until he figures out who did it (by intuition? supernatural insight? who knows). The investigation plot is secondary to the main attractions here, which are the surreal tableaux the reader is presented with along the way, some of them striking, some of them a little hackneyed.

[Tom Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief, well-constructed detective story with really inventive, beautifully drawn artwork. I'm not sure what you call Paul Kircher's drawing style, but it's a black and white style not unlike Charles Burns or Daniel Clowes? Beautiful and very realistic looking. The story does not have their level of surrealism, but it does have small, creative, surreal moments. The length of the story meant that for me the mystery was resolved almost too quickly, but it was a good story.

[Joseph Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels like a hour-long murder mystery, where we have to get all the suspects out, get suspicious of each and then eliminate them one by one. All the women are pretty much purely sexual, with a lot of breast focus, though the one suspect does have a drug-trip side to add to the art. Somewhat mediocre.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the art and some of the visual in this book however I was completely lost once I had finished the book. I guess if I could get more clarity on the ending then it would bring the rating up to a 4 instead of 3.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great murder mystery set in Maine, wonderful B&W illustrations (R/X rated).

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surreal, bizarre and endlessly inventive and trippy. I'm there for the art trying to connect to the nutty narrative.

[Sara Aye Moung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this by accident - I didn’t realise it was a graphic novel which is not a genre I am familiar with. Liked the clear line drawing and off beat story.

[Peter Landau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird story made weirder by straight cartooning in the classic style that’s weirdest as it composes acid trips in sure-handed black ink.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

- twin peaks 5 years before twin peaks
- inventive use of the comics medium but pretty dull script, characters, plot, themes
- a failure bc it remains unnoteworthy & mild

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best experience I got from a comic.Really strange story and matching layouts on drawings.Comics can be like this and that is awesome.

[LearningMum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trippy graphics. Sort of ahead of its time. Originally published in 1986.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dutch crime novelist van de Wetering and Marvel/Heavy Metal artist Kirchner, both Zen Buddhists, apply their shared life philosophy to the American-style mystery novel. Before he can build his destructive oil refinery in the Maine wilderness, someone murders Mr. Jones, a despicable man who disrespects people and the environment equally. In this black and white work, littered with liberal does of surrealism and sexuality, van de Wetering and Kirchner investigate the likely subjects. Employing a cinematic approach by way of Little Nemo, the book veers at times into too much realism during its dreamier moments. Despite that minor foible, Murder by Remote Control offers a unique entertainment.

[Bob Deysach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first adult graphic novel that I have read. It was written in collaboration with illustrator, Paul Kirchner in the early 1980's. It was a lot of fun using both linear thought with the text and imagination with the illustrations. The characters were interesting and the outcome had an interesting twist. The afterword by Stephen Bissette was provides an excellent review of the history of this graphic novel.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very trippy and strange noir pastiche, with some of the most gorgeous splash pages I've ever seen.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surreal, bizarre, thoughtful and mysterious. I've never read anything like it.