CSI: Bad Rap

CSI, Graphic Novel #2

by Max Allan Collins, Ashley Wood (Illustrator), Jeff Mariotte (Editor)

Rapper Busta Kapp has no shortage of enemies, so when he turns up dead in his limo, Gil Grissom and his crew of CSIs have no shortage of suspects.

Genres: Comics, Mystery, Graphic Novels, Crime, Media Tie In

Graphic Novel

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Received 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

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was never a fan of the CSI TV show, but I like the writing of Max Allan Collins, so when I saw this in a shop, I figured I'd give it a try.
This is one of the weirdest crime investigation stories I've ever encountered, with its overabundance of both victims and perps, but I suspect the internal references running through the story were largely inside jokes for fans of the show.
On the other hand, the writing of Collins kept me turning the pages, and the artwork of Rodriguez and Wood was interesting. The use of a separate art style for flashbacks and the like made those visually distinctive, and even though I wasn't a fan of the actual style chosen for those flashbacks, that was helpful in preventing confusion.
I found the final resolution to be a bit too pat, and also a bit sloppy on the part of the investigators, but at least there WAS a resolution that apparently tied up all of the loose ends.
I may try to track down more of the graphic novels, and maybe even watch an episode or two. It seems to have lasted...

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read and reviewed each of the five comics collected here separately, so this is basically for my own records. The first two issues were a little less successful, for me, because the forensics didn't seem as well integrated into the story as they became in the later issues: it felt a little like over-explanation in places. That being said, I was entertained by the fact that each new possible suspect seemed to drop dead one after the other - it made the mystery more interesting.

The collected edition also includes interviews with four of the shows stars. They're not terribly extensive interviews, due I suspect to lack of space, but Helgenberger, Fox, and Hall all do their best to engage with questions about their character. Dourdan, on the other hand, gives frustratingly minimal answers - so disengaged that I'm not really sure why his interview was included at all. That was a little disappointing.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had this comic book for years, read it one time. Forgot the storyline so it was a nice reread.

It’s a good and relaxing read when you’re a fan of CSI. The typical whodunnit in the way of a CSI episode. The storyline had a nice twist but is kind of predictable. The drawings are somewhat accurate to the actors playing the characters. As a CSI fan, for me they are recognizable. Would I read this again? I’ll probably will. But simply to enjoy me some CSI other than watching the show.

After the story there are some nice interviews in this version of mine.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

You hear about racism, but it's the subtle kind that's most irritating. Through four volumes of murder stories in this line I've read so far, Not only have there been no minority criminals, there haven't even been any minority characters. Don't know if it's the artists or orders from the owners, but something about that is really F'ed up.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like some of the other CSI graphic novels, but this one was just too cheesy for me.

[brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

really good book it felt like i was reading an episode from the show! only wish the ending was different it would’ve been more satisfying but i can say it is very much realistic

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first graphic novel book (bought without realizing it was a graphic novel).

I have to say, I'm not a graphic novel fan. It felt like more work to read, stop to look at the pictures, etc. And the drawings of Nick Stokes and Jim Brass were a little off - it threw me each time. Grissom, Sara, and Warrick were really good. Catherine was decent.

Anyway, the story was good, but the pictures took away from it, in my opinion. And you needed to look at the pictures to get the full story, so it was sort of an awkward read for me.

If you like graphic novels then it's probably fine. For me, I'll take a regular book and my imagination. :-)

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I really liked about this particular story was that it legitimately kept you guessing through unexpected twists and turns. One crime connects to another, one body leads to three more, and while every suspect becomes a victim, you’re left wondering who could be behind it all and why! I appreciate how this one was very realistic to the storytelling on the television series, and as always the artistry is simply impeccable, but in the end, I feel better connected to the CSI book series over the graphic novel iterations.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little hard to follow. But Grissom's always interesting to listen to.