Alack Sinner: The Age of Innocence

Alack Sinner #1-11

by Carlos Sampayo

The first of two volumes that present for the first time in English the complete Alack Sinner comics by the Argentine-born team of artist José Muñoz and writer Carlos Sampayo .

For this collection, Muñoz has painstakingly reviewed every page -- every panel -- making clarifications, adding invaluable insight to this provacative story. 

Sinner is a hard-boiled private detective whose adventures are played out to a jazz soundtrack in a noir New York from 1975 through the 2000s. The stories are imbued with a deep political conscience and present a scathing critique of corruption in society, juxtaposed with meditations on the nature of violence and exile.

The authors have also rearranged the stories in chronological order of the characters and events, rather than dates of first publication, providing a novel reading experience for both new fans and old. The Age of Innocence collects eleven stories, including “Talkin’ with Joe,” “The Webster Case,” “The Fillmore Case,” “Viet Blues,” “Life Ain’t a Comic Book, Baby,” “Twinkle, Twinkle,” and “Dark City.”

Alack Sinner is an international bestseller and between them Muñoz and Sampayo are winners of Europe’s top comics awards.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Crime, Noir, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Escritor y guionista, es autor de novelas, relatos cortos, poesía y guiones de historieta y cine. Además es especialista en jazz, tema sobre el que ha publicado ensayos y ficciones, y dirigido y coordinado enciclopedias. Su obra ha sido ampliamente publicada en América y en Europa. En 1974, conoció a su compatriota José Muñoz, con el que comenzó a dar vida al célebre detective Alack Sinner. Sampayo ha colaborado con Igort en una biografía en historieta de Fats Waller, y con Oscar Zárate, en los libros «Tres artistas en París», «Fly blues» y «La faille».

Writer best known for his work in comics, particularly in collaboration with artist José Muñoz. He is also poet and a literature and music (particularly Jazz) critic. He left Argentina in the early 70s for political reasons, stayed in Italy, France and settled in Spain

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a comics guy, with a commitment to and interest in the history of comics, and as someone who has in the last couple years read a lot of mystery/detective/noir comics, you would think this would be right up my alley, but I guess it wasn't exactly for me. This is the first volume of an oversized and long (390 page) collection of black and white comics by Jose Munoz and Carlos Sampayo of a cop turned detective who looks quite a bit like Charles Bronson.

There are eleven stories included in this volume that focuses on their work in the seventies. Not James Bond, but focused on down and out New York. If you are interested in the history of comics, European comics (though Sampayo was born in Argentina and moved to Europe to live), or noir, you might really like this. The gritty art is the best feature, I think.

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coś mnie przyciągało do "Alacka Sinnera". Być może dlatego, że Munoz wśród swoich mistrzów wymienia tak cenionych przeze mnie Hugo Pratta i Alberto Breccię, a może zadziałał marketing, status artystów, samego tytułu i jego znaczenie dla współczesnego komiksowego kryminału. Strona graficzna kusiła niejednoznacznością. Z jednej strony całość zachwyca grą czerni z bielą, której źródeł faktycznie warto szukać w twórczości autora „Corto Maltese”, z drugiej widać ciągoty w kierunku karykatury, które nadają całości nieco satyrycznego wydźwięku, często kolidującego z samopoczuciem bohatera i przygnębiającym kontekstem Nowego Jorku lat 70. Te niejednoznaczności stają się wyzwaniem, jakie w komiksie uwielbiam.

Co na mnie najbardziej działa w całym zbiorze? Możliwość obserwowania rozwoju bohatera, który z detektywa działającego w paradygmacie noir, przeobraża się w postać tragiczną, targaną wewnętrznymi rozterkami, niosącego za sobą ciężar własnej przeszłości i borykającego się z depresją. Śmiem twierdzić, że ostatnie historie z tej części cyklu to bardziej rzecz o upadku głównej postaci, niż stricte kryminalne opowieści. Towarzyszy temu odpowiednia forma. Z przyziemnych fabuł, przechodzimy w bardziej lakoniczne, poszatkowane i momentami oniryczne. Za tym podążają również przesunięcia akcentów w samej grafice.

Dodajcie do tego tło. Tak naprawdę historie z Sinnerem w roli głównej są pretekstem do pokazania barwnego, ale również pełnego niebezpieczeństw i grozy Nowego Jorku lat 70 i 80. Autorom udaje się znakomicie uchwycić poetykę tamtych dni i otoczenia, poruszając jednocześnie ważne kwestie społeczne związane z rasizmem, nierównościami społecznymi i asymilacją imigrantów na czele. Mafia, jazz, boks, hippisi, mniejszości seksualne i religijne, śmierdzące ulice i zdemoralizowani mieszkańcy...

Przy tym wszystkim autorzy świetnie pogrywają z czytelnikiem, gdy wprowadzają siebie, jako bohaterów jednego z opowiadań, gdzie odwiedzają Alacka w poszukiwaniu inspiracji dla swojej postaci. Ale te mrugnięcia okiem uwidaczniają się również w nawiązaniach do popkultury. Ja wyłapałem kadr z bohaterem „Taksówkarza”, gwiazdę rocka do złudzenia przypominającą Davida Bowiego z jego kreację Starmana, postać nawiązującą do Corto, czy saksofonistę Gato Barbieri. Wydaje się, że różnych odniesień jest znacznie więcej i wszystko zależy od kompetencji czytelnika.

W „Alacku Sinnerze” na równych prawach funkcjonuje naturalizm związany z trudną codziennością amerykańskiej metropolii, jak i jakaś forma szaleństwa, łącząca dzieło Argentyńczyków z twórczością ich mistrzów. Zdecydowanie jedno z najważniejszych wydawnictw w tym roku nad Wisłą

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is remarkable - most panels are pools of ink, as though someone took a photograph, cranked up the contrast and vastly underexposed the print, so all the grays went to black, and then drew it. Almost everyone but the main characters (and sometimes even those) are physically grotesque, faces and bodies impossibly distorted. That aesthetic reinforces the alienation and darkness of the fictional, iconic New York where these stories are set. I can't say the early stories were a pleasure to read, although the artistic vision and writing deserve respect. Fortunately, Alack Sinner is fundamentally a compassionate and good man, despite his deep flaws and self-sabotage, and with these stories arranged along the character's chronology, a reader can see his gradual growth and potential for healing. I'm looking forward to reading the second volume.

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

José Muñoz and Carlos Sampayo aren’t just the greatest duo in Argentinian comics, they’re one of the greatest creative duos in all of comics !

https://youtu.be/62UtC48DaQw

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Age of Innocence" collects eleven stories by Carlos Sampayo and artist José Muñoz featuring the hard-nosed private investigator named Alack Sinner. The stories are episodic in nature, meant to be read as standalone hardboiled noir tales. Recurring characters like the bartender Joe add some sense of continuity though most Alack Sinner stories are fairly self-contained. Working as an examination of crime in a fictionalized version of New York City, Alack Sinner stories are steeped with surprising amounts of commentary with a deeply political, racial and psychological bend to them. These work as a sophisticated take on the noir genre, and it's easy to spot how Alack Sinner serve as a major influence on comic creators from around the world.

The stories themselves involve some fairly well-developed plots with a bleak and gritty edge to them, but the atmospheric sensibilities are entirely driven by José Muñoz's breathtaking compositions. Utilizing a highly expressionistic style to render the world and characters of Alack Sinner, the various designs craft a simultaneously grotesque but beautiful portrait of the city, the crime and the people involved. While not all eleven of the stories here were hits, I never felt a lack of engagement on my part solely due to the brilliant artwork by Muñoz. It's well worth checking out these comics for Muñoz's contributions alone, but the stories are mostly strong here as well.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally enjoy the harsh black and white European style (like IDW EuroComics other recent reprint of Corto Maltese) and this one being set in gritty 70/80s NYC was particularly interesting to me. The quality of the actually stories was a bit up and down, I feel like it lost steam about half way but the meta episode where the writer/illustrator befriend Alack for the purpose of writing a comic about him was fun. It was a bit problematic at parts which would have been a combination of the time that the comics were written plus the fact that Europeans are generally a little less sensitive to some controversial subjects around race/sexuality. In the end, it was a welcome trip in the dark recesses of the PI life and I'm looking forward to Vol. 2.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great art, interesting and unpredictable (sometimes a little confusing) stories.
I loved the cameos by Gato Barbieri and Frank Sinatra. Sort of typical detective story but much more inner turmoil.
The street characters are worth the price of admission alone.

[Comics Alternative · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/euro-com...

[Koen Claeys · Rating 1 out of 5]

It just wasn't for me, I guess....

[Titus · Rating 5 out of 5]

José Muñoz must be one of the greatest artists ever to have worked in comics, right up there with fellow Argentine Alberto Breccia, under whom he studied. His bold chiaroscuro artwork is just unceasingly awesome – expressionistic and stylized in a way that would be the epitome of “cartoony” if it weren't dark and moody in a way totally at odds with that word's connotations. In Alack Sinner, his gritty, grimy depiction of 1970s New York is bursting with life, capturing a fantastic sense of grungy, squalid hustle and bustle. His influence can be traced far and wide – from Frank Miller to Taiyo Matsumoto – but there's nobody out there quite like him, and his comics are well worth reading for their artwork alone.

My collected edition (published in French by Casterman) presents Muñoz and Sampayo’s Alack Sinner comics in approximate order of in-universe chronology, which is slightly different from publication order. It starts with “Talkin’ with Joe”, which was first published in 1976, and which presents Alack Sinner’s backstory. It’s a dark, gripping story that left me thoroughly intrigued about the character and his eponymous series.

This is followed by the first six Alack Sinner stories published: “The Webster Case”, “The Fillmore Case”, “Viet Blues”, “Life Ain’t a Comic Book, Baby”, “In His Infinite Wisdom” and “Twinkle, Twinkle” – all of which first appeared in 1975, except the last, from 1976. To be blunt, I found these chapters narratively uninspired. Each one covers a new case, and each case serves as a showcase of genre clichés strung together by a convoluted plot that is unfurled and then resolved at a very rushed pace. A degree of interest is maintained by the exploration of New York’s dark underbelly and of various social issues, but even these aspects feel a bit hollow: knowing that the authors had no first-hand experience of the city they used as a setting, I can’t help feeling it would’ve been more authentic (not to mention more original) to set the series in their native Argentina. In any case, I didn’t feel invested or engaged in the stories, and by the time I reached the end of “Twinkle, Twinkle”, I’d decided that hardboiled detective fiction simply isn’t for me, and I’d started looking up Muñoz’s work in other genres, with other writers.

However, after “Twinkle, Twinkle”, there’s a significant change of direction. In the following chapters – “Dark City” (1976–1977), “Constancio and Manolo” (1976), “Memories” (1977) and “Encounters” (1981–1982) – Sinner’s work as a private investigator is all but abandoned, and instead the focus shifts entirely to mood and character development. With this, the narratives become looser and more meandering, and the tone becomes much more introspective. At the same time, things get markedly weirder, at times becoming dreamlike or hallucinatory. Needless to say, I find this all much more appealing – and much better suited to Muñoz’s exceptional artwork – than the rather pedestrian detective stuff that precedes it. I'm now looking forward to the second volume not only knowing that there'll be spectacular visuals, but also cautiously optimistic that the narrative will continue in this intriguing direction!

[JMW999 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. One of the best comics I've ever read in any genre.

This is a collection of black and white crime comics originally published from 1975-1982 in Spanish. IDW's Euro Comics imprint compiled and translated them to English.

The setting is New York City, and the protagonist is a former cop turned private investigator. This isn't a happy go-lucky-comic book. Things are often fairly bleak with rare moments of tempered optimism.

The storytelling and dialogue go for a realism angle with few punches pulled. Art is highly stylized and characters are often drawn with exaggerated or purposely grotesque features.

Themes go deep here and veer into corruption, sociopolitical issues, race relations, and psychological issues. These are seamlessly integrated into the stories and are occasionally subtle. In classic noir fashion, there are often no winners in a given situation and cases don't always get solved very cleanly.

Unlike a lot of comics from this era, this didn't feel very dated at all to me. The subject matter is still relevant today and there is a timeless quality to the unique art.

I'll be honest though, I don't see this book having much more than a niche appeal. People that are into hardcore crime comics, non-mainstream comics, etc. should check this out though.


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Notes:

The creators were both Argentinian ex-pats living in Europe. If you don't know about the political situation in Argentina during that time, it might be good to familiarize yourself, along with basic global events of the time.

This book contains a lot of strong language including racist and homophobic slurs. It is very clear that the creators weren't advocating racism or homophobia, but merely presenting things how they were at the time to give the comic a sense of realism.

This book is currently OOP and I'm not sure there is a digital edition available. It took some effort, but I was able to find the book for a reasonable price. I don't condone paying resellers the insane prices some are asking for this book.

[John Pistelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of two American omnibus collections of the noir graphic novels by Argentine writer Sampayo and artist Muñoz, originally published in Europe from 1975 to 1982. Set in a phantasmagorically corrupt New York City, its grotesquery somewhere between Raymond Chandler and Chester Gould, and focused on the titular hard-drinking but fundamentally decent ex-cop P.I., Alack Sinner is an outsider's jaded perspective on American society, pictured as a fever dream of rape, murder, police corruption, racism, right-wing fanaticism, and greed at every level. In a wittily metafictional chapter, Sampayo and Muñoz themselves inform Sinner that even good white yanqui liberals like him will not be spared on the day of red revolution. Aside from the metafiction and the hard-edged Marxism, though, Sampayo adds little, literarily, to the likes of Chandler. It is Muñoz's art that earned this series its fame, justly so, a style that has influenced a very wide range of Anglo-American comics artists from Miller to McKean. The globular black shapes and shadows that are Muñoz's medium seem viscous and mobile, ink flowing from page to page and panel to panel. His distorting perspective works against the narrative's humanism: it reduces all to nightmare caricature. The most successful synthesis of literary and artistic vision comes in my favorite episode, about a Spanish boxer caught in a scheme by a promoter and his murderous right-wing henchmen. The boxer's grandfather, who fought in the Spanish Civil War, takes protective measures, dealing anti-fascist death under a Guernica montage: Muñoz meets Picasso.

[Allison Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Há hqs que são consenso quanto a sua importância para a indústria, Alack Sinner sempre vai aparecer nelas, seja por ter influenciado outros grandes autores com o seu claro escuro, seja pela importância de seus autores, essa primeira edição nos apresenta o começo da obra que durou alguns vários anos, e por ser o começo, talvez, não seja aqui que veremos o que há de melhor do personagem.
Dito isto, é possível ver o quadrinho se encontrando dentro desta primeira edição, tanto que o melhor aqui esta nos seus momentos finais, quando a dupla Munoz e Sampayo decidem quebrar de vez com as amarras das historias detetivescas e se torna algo bem mais filosófico, seja no uso de onomatopeias e balões, seja nos recordatórios e pensamentos do protagonista, personagem este, que sim, é o grande charme deste gibi.
Ver a evolução de um bufão viciado em álcool e cigarro, com problemas familiares a pai apaixonado é muito bonito de se ver, pena que como já disse, esta evolução só é possível nas edições finais (últimas 100 páginas mais ou menos), o que por um lado pode ser visto como algo bom, afinal, é impossível acabar a edição sem ficar maluco para conseguir a próxima.
Talvez no todo Alack Sinner realmente se apresente como este clássico definitivo que tanto se fala, mas aqui, só a fagulha disso nos é entregue.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this volume, just grabbing it because it was an oversized black and white European comics edition and I've had pretty good success with that line. Well, this one proved no disappointment though it had to be read in small doses over a period of time, the grime of the artwork and the bleakness of the stories being depressing and a bit too much at times, a hair too melodramatic at times, a bit too on-the-nose "down these dark streets" noir-a-rama.

Overall though, the authors, refugees of the American-backed coup in Argentina, have an obvious affection for American culture but a trenchant view on American politics (obviously, being victims of one of our more egregious international coup horrors).

The stories are all stand alone chapters, but they do link up and characters repeat and there's an ongoing bit of character development story arc that's going on, but it's much more prevalent in the volume's second half than its first.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some of these comics are 30-40 years old, this classic European series of noir crime stories in New York completely hold up. Telling the story of former cop turned private investigator Alack Sinner, this series starts out with somewhat straightforward then-contemporary noir crime stories, equal parts Chandler and Serpico. As the book progresses, the stories grow increasingly twisted and political, moving away from the crime elements a bit to focus on the darker aspects of daily life in New York City for the people on its fringes: prostitutes, criminals, drug addicts, and people of color. The storytelling, by Munoz and Sampayo, is impeccable throughout, although both writing and art become increasingly stylized and Byzantine as the series develops. While the stories contain elements that may feel commonplace today, that just shows how influential this series has been, since the stories were published decades ago. It is well worth taking the time to read this book.

[Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

hq noir -iniciada nos anos 70 e feita por 2 argentinos exilados- que se tornou um clássico. as primeiras histórias são mais detetivescas. as tardias são jornadas existencialistas que deixam de lado a parte de investigação. gostei muito.

quem curte noir vai amar as 1ªs histórias: a ambientação em nova york, o traço preto e branco que cria um jogo de luz e sombra, o anti-herói protagonista, os casos polêmicos.

hq à frente do seu tempo: tratava de racismo, incesto, religião, ditaduras -inclusive o incentivo dos eua às latinas

[Kelvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apesar de ter achado do meio para o final da obra, algumas das histórias um pouco esquizofrênicas e um pouco sem sentido (pode ter sido apenas percepção minha). Adorei a HQ, as histórias viet blues e a encontros e reencontros para mim são obras primas, ao começar a HQ achei esquisita a arte, mas não só me acostumei como passei a amar, recomendo muito! Ansioso para ler a parte 2.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A world-class masterpiece; a truly essential comic. It starts out as a hard-boiled detective series, but turns into something more personal and idiosyncratic. José Muñoz is one of the world's great masters of black-and-white comics.

[Manish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alack Sinner was a complex read. Written in the 70s, this volume is the first part of a collection covering the complete Alack Sinner run. Set in New York, the book surprisingly turned out to be less of chasing criminals but more of the grittiness of life in the city.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

via NYPL - Solid art, okay script - Really nothing terrible here if you really dig the genre, but there's also nothing particularly memorable. It's a mediocre noir riff repeated yet again.

[Greg Shantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art and downbeat stories.

[Al Capwned · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's truly no other work like this. One of the best and most influencial comics ever.

[Η Cultσα · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά κόμικς όλων των εποχών. Στην Ελλάδα είχαμε την τύχη να το γνωρίσουμε δεκαετίες πριν, χάρη στο περιοδικό Βαβέλ.

[Al McCarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Munoz’ art is incredible.

[Diego Galvão · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 seria mais justo.

[Dario Malic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alack Sinner je jako dobar strip, tu nema sumnje. Melankolični samotnjak razočaran sistemom i praktički bez ikakve volje za životom, ali s i dalje aktivnim osjećajem za pravdu i uvijek spreman pružiti pomoć onima kojima je potrebna, lik je koji nas, unatoč mnogim klišejima, neizbježno dotiče. Za to je prije svega zaslužan Munozov fantastičan, izuzetno ekspresivan crtež koji stvara gotovo opipljiv crno-bijeli (samo vizualno!) svijet i u potpunosti nas uvlači u njega. Moj problem je što je to depresivan, zadimljen svijet nepravednosti i loših odluka koji zaudara na alkohol i nosi uteg neprospavanih noći. Da, svjestan sam da je i naš svijet takav, no ja se trudim okružiti se pozitivnim stvarima i dobrim ljudima i biti sretan u njemu, i za sada mi dobro ide. Valjda se zato, kao i majka njegovog djeteta, teško nosim s Alackovom tugom.

[Nikola Š · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fantastičan ekspresionistički crtež i odlično dočarana atmosfera prljavog grada, s pozadinskim licima koja pričaju milijun paralelnih priča. S druge strane, puno teksta i nezanimljiva radnja. Tek sam pred kraj, kad se priče skrate, a tekst prorijedi, uspio uhvatiti neki ok ritam čitanja.