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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Case Files, Volume One
CSI Case Files: Volume One collects three original IDW published CSI comic book mini-series: CSI: Serial, CSI: Bad Rap and CSI: Demon House in one specially priced volume.
340 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2006
75 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
809 books1,324 followersReceived the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 28, 2023
Three serials in one omnibus in black and white reprinted, Serial, Bad Rap & Demon House.
This is a nice collection of comics of a tv show that I have seen a lot including the new version CSI Vegas. These three stories are the original crew from the original TV show.
The first one concerns a remake of Jack the Ripper in Las Vegas and the culprit copies Jacks deeds into the 20th century.
The second story is about murder and the music industry and somebody keeps murdering the talent.
The third vine is undoubtedly a Halloween tale with the crew being called out for a robbery before it turns into murder and mayhem.
I enjoyed the first two the best, the third story was a bit of a stretch for me. Nice to read CSI in another format than the TV show, the faces are familiar as are the characterization of the various people. The art is decent the stories good.
CSI is still a great format even in comics.
This is a nice collection of comics of a tv show that I have seen a lot including the new version CSI Vegas. These three stories are the original crew from the original TV show.
The first one concerns a remake of Jack the Ripper in Las Vegas and the culprit copies Jacks deeds into the 20th century.
The second story is about murder and the music industry and somebody keeps murdering the talent.
The third vine is undoubtedly a Halloween tale with the crew being called out for a robbery before it turns into murder and mayhem.
I enjoyed the first two the best, the third story was a bit of a stretch for me. Nice to read CSI in another format than the TV show, the faces are familiar as are the characterization of the various people. The art is decent the stories good.
CSI is still a great format even in comics.
June 20, 2021
I don't usually rate comics, but this one wasn't bad. It had the style and atmosphere of the CSI episodes (are these comics based on episodes or are these fresh stories?) and I was happy to return to it. Maybe due to the written form some things from the series didn't translate very well - Grissom being extremely annoying in the comic for example.
The art was also good, with distinct style regarding it's action or "reconstruction" of the action. Black and white pictures don't bother me.
Generally, it was no Wicked + Divine but a very entertaining read indeed.
The art was also good, with distinct style regarding it's action or "reconstruction" of the action. Black and white pictures don't bother me.
Generally, it was no Wicked + Divine but a very entertaining read indeed.
July 3, 2021
I'm not a big fan of comic books but this one was quite interesting. Good plot and a good depiction of characters too.
November 1, 2019
Bradley Reed Mrs. Kimberlin English 10 A 10/25/19
Book Review Essay
Want to get wrapped into murder mysteries but literally don’t want to be in one? Well I think I have found a great graphic novel that will keep you stuck like glue. Introducing, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Case Files, Volume One by Max Allan Collins. The book is realistic fiction and consists of investigators trying to solve mind-boggling murder mysteries and other intense blood-chilling cases. The investigators hop from scene to scene making arrests and helping the community. This is a book will keep your eyes locked in. I recommend this book for many different reasons.
The book is a good four and a half stars out of five for many reasons. The main characters in my book include Warrick, Catherine and Brass. There were multiple different cases within the book. All of them where murders. The first one involved a severe stabbing that left a girl dead and thrown onto a sidewalk in Las Vegas, Nevada. This left a suspicious bat emblem near the biggest of the whopping thirty-nine stab wounds the victim received. Spine chilling, right? It does not end there. Secondly, there was a woman with the name of Gail Kelly. Gail Kelly was a dog sitter in Las Vegas and watched the dogs of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Mayfield. The Mayfield family also lived in Las Vegas. They were written as possible suspects within the Gail Kelly murder. After talking with the Mayfield family, they moved on to a different possible suspect by the name of Henry Bullock. They talked for a while. They brought in many different possible suspects outside of Henry Bullock and the Mayfield family. What made my mind blow was that there were many other murders and case files thrown into this book, it gets intense. Also, there were multiple messages I found effective. Throughout the story, there were many times where whenever the investigators felt like they were in a trap, they ended up working hard to find there way out of it. Some parts that were not noteworthy were parts where they talked for a plethora of pages straight. Some parts that were not as effective included parts where during the investigation where you couldn’t get anything much out of it.
To sum this book up, I loved it. It was a great overall book that really kept my heart racing (in a good way). It brought great text choice and amazing art. The characters were all different and had their different knowledge and specialty. It also displays a bunch of different murder cases throughout the story so that you do not get bored through the book. I would recommend this book for many reasons. It brings a lot of spine-chilling scenes and a couple on- foot pursuits that just kept you locked in. The audience I would recommend for this book would be readers that have a passion into murder mysteries or other spine-chilling stories. Also, people
who overall like reading would be into this book as well. The audience I would not recommend this book to would be readers who aren’t into drama or who are sensitive about cartoon violence or are extremely sensitive to any type of gore. Lastly, I had a great time reading this book and I will spread the word on how great this book is.
Book Review Essay
Want to get wrapped into murder mysteries but literally don’t want to be in one? Well I think I have found a great graphic novel that will keep you stuck like glue. Introducing, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Case Files, Volume One by Max Allan Collins. The book is realistic fiction and consists of investigators trying to solve mind-boggling murder mysteries and other intense blood-chilling cases. The investigators hop from scene to scene making arrests and helping the community. This is a book will keep your eyes locked in. I recommend this book for many different reasons.
The book is a good four and a half stars out of five for many reasons. The main characters in my book include Warrick, Catherine and Brass. There were multiple different cases within the book. All of them where murders. The first one involved a severe stabbing that left a girl dead and thrown onto a sidewalk in Las Vegas, Nevada. This left a suspicious bat emblem near the biggest of the whopping thirty-nine stab wounds the victim received. Spine chilling, right? It does not end there. Secondly, there was a woman with the name of Gail Kelly. Gail Kelly was a dog sitter in Las Vegas and watched the dogs of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Mayfield. The Mayfield family also lived in Las Vegas. They were written as possible suspects within the Gail Kelly murder. After talking with the Mayfield family, they moved on to a different possible suspect by the name of Henry Bullock. They talked for a while. They brought in many different possible suspects outside of Henry Bullock and the Mayfield family. What made my mind blow was that there were many other murders and case files thrown into this book, it gets intense. Also, there were multiple messages I found effective. Throughout the story, there were many times where whenever the investigators felt like they were in a trap, they ended up working hard to find there way out of it. Some parts that were not noteworthy were parts where they talked for a plethora of pages straight. Some parts that were not as effective included parts where during the investigation where you couldn’t get anything much out of it.
To sum this book up, I loved it. It was a great overall book that really kept my heart racing (in a good way). It brought great text choice and amazing art. The characters were all different and had their different knowledge and specialty. It also displays a bunch of different murder cases throughout the story so that you do not get bored through the book. I would recommend this book for many reasons. It brings a lot of spine-chilling scenes and a couple on- foot pursuits that just kept you locked in. The audience I would recommend for this book would be readers that have a passion into murder mysteries or other spine-chilling stories. Also, people
who overall like reading would be into this book as well. The audience I would not recommend this book to would be readers who aren’t into drama or who are sensitive about cartoon violence or are extremely sensitive to any type of gore. Lastly, I had a great time reading this book and I will spread the word on how great this book is.
May 6, 2017
I had no idea that this book even existed until I spotted it in the bargain bin of a book shop in Minehead, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to get it. What we have here is a graphic novel that’s based upon the escapades of Gil Grissom, Sara Sidle, Warrick Brown and the rest of the team from the original CSI television series.
Penned by Max Allan Collins, the guy who wrote the graphic novel that eventually inspired Road to Perdition, the three crimes contained within this first volume feel right at home with the TV series, and your enjoyment of the collection will largely depend upon whether you’re a fan of the show. You’ll pick up on occassional references to the show inside the pages, and the only thing that jarred with me was the fact that (massive spoiler alert) Warwick is supposed to be dead.
The artwork is fantastic, and even though the artwork is published in black and white, it somehow seems to add to the gritty realism of the series, and you really feel as though you’re watching an episode of the show or following the detectives on the beat as they patrol sin city. Don’t worry if you’re a little squeamish, either – despite the gory murders, the images themselves aren’t too unpleasant to look at, and the two illustrators tend to switch styles and take on a more abstract approach whenever there’s a close-up of a corpse or a bullet wound.
Overall, this is a pretty impressive collection of three tales of murder and intrigue that stands out as one of the better graphic novel adaptations on the market – in fact, it holds its own up against some of the giants of the graphic novel industry, from the non-fiction of Maus and Epileptic to the brilliance of the Chew series. It’s a great place to start if you’re a fan of the show.
Penned by Max Allan Collins, the guy who wrote the graphic novel that eventually inspired Road to Perdition, the three crimes contained within this first volume feel right at home with the TV series, and your enjoyment of the collection will largely depend upon whether you’re a fan of the show. You’ll pick up on occassional references to the show inside the pages, and the only thing that jarred with me was the fact that (massive spoiler alert) Warwick is supposed to be dead.
The artwork is fantastic, and even though the artwork is published in black and white, it somehow seems to add to the gritty realism of the series, and you really feel as though you’re watching an episode of the show or following the detectives on the beat as they patrol sin city. Don’t worry if you’re a little squeamish, either – despite the gory murders, the images themselves aren’t too unpleasant to look at, and the two illustrators tend to switch styles and take on a more abstract approach whenever there’s a close-up of a corpse or a bullet wound.
Overall, this is a pretty impressive collection of three tales of murder and intrigue that stands out as one of the better graphic novel adaptations on the market – in fact, it holds its own up against some of the giants of the graphic novel industry, from the non-fiction of Maus and Epileptic to the brilliance of the Chew series. It’s a great place to start if you’re a fan of the show.
January 13, 2026
I read and reviewed each of the collected serials here separately, so this is just for my own records. It was a bit of an odd experience reading them, to be honest, because I was doing it backwards. That is, "Serial", "Bad Rap", and "Demon House" are, as I understand it, the first three CSI comic collections published. I read "Demon House" first, then "Bad Rap", and finally "Serial". So, backwards. It's odd because they got better in the order that I read them.
Usually, you'd expect the first one out to be still finding its feet a bit, maybe, and for quality to increase over time. Instead, "Serial" was consistently the best - all its issues got three stars from me. "Bad Rap" still got three stars overall but wasn't quite so appealing, and "Demon House" got two stars, if I recall correctly. Which is not a big deal, I know; I'm just noting the (subjective) trend.
Usually, you'd expect the first one out to be still finding its feet a bit, maybe, and for quality to increase over time. Instead, "Serial" was consistently the best - all its issues got three stars from me. "Bad Rap" still got three stars overall but wasn't quite so appealing, and "Demon House" got two stars, if I recall correctly. Which is not a big deal, I know; I'm just noting the (subjective) trend.
Read
May 13, 2022I was into it. Mostly. The Jack the Ripper part was pretty clever. The middle story wasn't my fave. Probably would've liked the last one about the crazy evangelical haunted house more if all of it had been there.
I don't think the corny jokes land as well in the graphic novel form as they would on TV. Also, my copy had a portion of story one reprinted in story three so...yeah, that wasn't great. I guess I know why it was half off, although it would've been nice if someone could've warned me I'd be missing some of the story.
I don't think the corny jokes land as well in the graphic novel form as they would on TV. Also, my copy had a portion of story one reprinted in story three so...yeah, that wasn't great. I guess I know why it was half off, although it would've been nice if someone could've warned me I'd be missing some of the story.
February 11, 2015
I must say I was a bit impressed by the graphics, but the main characters could have been drawn a lot better. You clearly see who it is but still.
The first story called serial about the CSI's hunting for a killer copy cating Jack the Ripper was thrilling. Just the aspect of there was a convention being held in his honor was fascinating. Then again it doesn't surprise me. Who the killer was and why was a bit surprising. However the story was good and I so wish they had made that to an episode.
As for Bad Rap, I found it good but not so much more.
The las story demon house was really well done, although the halfway through the plot I still managed to guess the killer and why. To quote Grissom : We all have our demons.
The first story called serial about the CSI's hunting for a killer copy cating Jack the Ripper was thrilling. Just the aspect of there was a convention being held in his honor was fascinating. Then again it doesn't surprise me. Who the killer was and why was a bit surprising. However the story was good and I so wish they had made that to an episode.
As for Bad Rap, I found it good but not so much more.
The las story demon house was really well done, although the halfway through the plot I still managed to guess the killer and why. To quote Grissom : We all have our demons.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews