The Hunter, the first book in the Parker series, is the story of a man who hits New York head-on like a shotgun blast to the chest. Betrayed by the...
read full description
reviews
Oct 09, 2011
Brandon
rated it: 
Man, was this all kinds of awesome.
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by the late Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), artist Darwyn Cooke adapted it to the graphic novel medium. Parker, set up by a desperate man in need of paying off some sketchy loans, seemingly returns from the dead to settle a score. Running through members of a massive crime organization dubbed, The Outfit, Parker makes it clear he wants his money back - at any cost.
I know I've been told 'ro More...
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by the late Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), artist Darwyn Cooke adapted it to the graphic novel medium. Parker, set up by a desperate man in need of paying off some sketchy loans, seemingly returns from the dead to settle a score. Running through members of a massive crime organization dubbed, The Outfit, Parker makes it clear he wants his money back - at any cost.
I know I've been told 'ro More...
3 comments
like
(7 people liked it)
Nov 17, 2011
Mohammed
rated it:
Richard Stark writing plus quality art.
A great,great Graphic Novel and now I finally see why Cooke's art is so highly rated.
Almost black,white art that makes the story come alive very strong. You can see Cooke is a real Richard Stark fan, Parker is drawn like a mean looking guy which is a copy of my ideal look for Parker that i have in my mind when i read the books.
A great,great Graphic Novel and now I finally see why Cooke's art is so highly rated.
Almost black,white art that makes the story come alive very strong. You can see Cooke is a real Richard Stark fan, Parker is drawn like a mean looking guy which is a copy of my ideal look for Parker that i have in my mind when i read the books.
4 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
May 23, 2010
Andy
rated it:
Sometimes the planets are in perfect alignment and the book gods actually grant us a chance to see something truly wonderful, like Darwyn Cooke's marvelous intrepretation of Richard Stark's "The Hunter", drawn in perfect Camelot-period American style and beautifully faithful to the novel. There are some great images you need to see that will enhance your appreciation of this most maginificent noir classic.
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 05, 2012
Tommy Bat-Blog
rated it:
I'm not quite sure HOW I came across this book but I'm pretty glad I found it! This book is a Graphic Novel by Comic Book Artist Darwyn Cooke adapted from a short story by Richard Stark. Stark created the PARKER character back in the 1960's. If you enjoy Film Noir movies then you'll love this storyline and the interesting thing is that Parker is a Killer and Master Thief. So, you'll find yourself sort of cheering for him and, at the same time, being repulsed by his lack of morals, ha! The story
More...
Jul 06, 2011
I picked this up at the library because Donald Westlake (who wrote as Richard Stark) is one of my dad's favorite mystery writers (iirc) and because Darwyn Cooke, once you get past the funny spelling, has a compelling bibliography. (Not that I've read much of his stuff, only heard about it.)
The first Parker novel isn't a mystery but a straight-forward revenge tale: bad egg Parker was double-crossed before he got the chance to double-cross his partner. He's a hard man who'll do hard th More...
The first Parker novel isn't a mystery but a straight-forward revenge tale: bad egg Parker was double-crossed before he got the chance to double-cross his partner. He's a hard man who'll do hard th More...
Apr 21, 2011
Mza
rated it: 
... worshipful adaptation of the popular crime novel ... worshipful is bad, but I don't worry about that stuff when I'm reading a straight-ahead macho revenge story ...... drawn in the style of Batman: the Animated Series and reads about as quickly as a half-hour cartoon, too ... The dames look like Barbies ... all look same ... and all the non-Parker men are un-handsome villains ...... All of this visual shorthand combined with Stark's tight prose makes it easy to keep the pages flipping. I
More...
Apr 17, 2011
The artist Darwyn Cooke reminded American comics of their mid-century mystique and allure. With this, his adaptation of the hard-boiled detective-less novels of Donald Westlake (who wrote them under the name Richard Stark), Cooke visits the era's underbelly.
Well, that's what the original novels were: dark, bloody stories of an anti-hero named Parker who commits crimes, kills people, hurts people (often women), and still manages to make you want to read the next one. The Parker novels More...
Well, that's what the original novels were: dark, bloody stories of an anti-hero named Parker who commits crimes, kills people, hurts people (often women), and still manages to make you want to read the next one. The Parker novels More...
Mar 13, 2011
Willem
rated it: 
Crime-pulp - the swinging, classy 60's kind of it. Illustrator and animator Darwyn Cooke uses his skills to turn Richard Stark's 1962's novel into a slick black, white and blue coloured comicbook. Which works exceptionally well.
The fact that all is based on a pre-existing novel gives this comic a strong literary backbone; even though the story itself isn't the strong point with 'Parker: The Hunter' - it's the clichéd rehash of a coldhearted antihero set on revenge after a set-up that More...
The fact that all is based on a pre-existing novel gives this comic a strong literary backbone; even though the story itself isn't the strong point with 'Parker: The Hunter' - it's the clichéd rehash of a coldhearted antihero set on revenge after a set-up that More...
Jan 11, 2011
Lars
rated it:
Darwyn Cooke’s ‘Parker: The Hunter,’ the first in a series of Richard Stark crime noir novels adaptations, begins in a swirl of activity, conveyed almost exclusively in the purely visual language of comic books.
Parker, a big, rangy, man, dirty and ragged, ready to explode. For some unknown reason out striding down the middle of the George Washington bridge into 1960s Manhattan, purposefully moving into the city, oblivious to all the cars and people, intent only on what he’s got to More...
Parker, a big, rangy, man, dirty and ragged, ready to explode. For some unknown reason out striding down the middle of the George Washington bridge into 1960s Manhattan, purposefully moving into the city, oblivious to all the cars and people, intent only on what he’s got to More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 07, 2010
thegift
rated it:
i have now read/seen this story in 3 media: as a film point blank, as a novel, as this graphic adaption. it is a different experience in each, prompting some thought on its iterations. story is simple, story is slightly different between book and graphic, quite different as film: film follows brief introduction of treachery, concentrates then on revenge, treated in some way as the absurdist theatre it is. book takes a bit more effort, shows up certain implausibilities, while graphic has beautifu
More...
Aug 31, 2010
Greg
rated it:
It wasn't long into this comic that I recognized the story. It is very similar to Payback with Mel Gibson, in which a man goes on a vengeful rampage to recoup some money he is owed. However, I was pleased to read in the bio information that not only was this closer to the original story, but the original author also wrote the screenplay for Payback.
The term "graphic novel" is thrown around too frequently when people just don't want to admit they're reading comics. However, More...
The term "graphic novel" is thrown around too frequently when people just don't want to admit they're reading comics. However, More...
Mar 16, 2010
Max
rated it:
This book has a lot of things to like, and only 1 major drawback: the story. Let me start with the good things. Parker is as determined and rough as Jacques Mesrine in Public Enemy no. 1 (go see that movie!). He threatens, uses, blackmails and kills the people he knows as if they are mere tools to achieve his goal. He doesnt say much, which makes his character even darker. Also, the artwork is great. Drawn in almost black/white, it feels like you're reading a movie storyboard. At times there is
More...
Nov 10, 2009
Evil_Dead_Junkie
rated it:
There are few things I love more then Crime Fiction. There are few things in that genre that I love more then the great Don Westlake’s Parker novels. Written under the pseudonym Richard Stark and spanning twenty four novels, the series follows professional thief Parker from job to job.
The books themselves vary little, most follow a pretty set formula Where in, A) Parker takes a job. B) Some poor fool crosses him. C) We follow said poor fool as we watch him try to escape from Parker’ More...
The books themselves vary little, most follow a pretty set formula Where in, A) Parker takes a job. B) Some poor fool crosses him. C) We follow said poor fool as we watch him try to escape from Parker’ More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Sep 23, 2009
Literary Feline
rated it:
Donald E. Westlake is a well-known name in the crime fiction arena. His work can be found not only in books but also on the silver screen. He took up several pseudonyms during his writing career, including that of Richard Stark. One of the series the author wrote under that name featured Parker, a cold-blooded professional thief in New York City. Westlake wanted to create a character who was very much a bad guy, but who, by then end of each book, the reader would sympathize with. The Hunter
More...
Sep 10, 2009
Alex
rated it:
I must say that going into this I identified myself as a massive Stark fan and resistant to Darwyn Cooke. I haven't read much of his comic work, but from what I had his prose never struck me as anything to write home about and his illustrative style just didn't do it for me. The latter fact made me seriously apprehensive about how this adaptation would turn out. While I could see that in terms of evoking the period Cooke's style made sense, I thought it might be a little too comic bright for
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 29, 2009
Erik
rated it:
When Cooke left the reins of the recent incarnation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, I was simultaneously mystified and saddened as he’s one of my favorite comics creators. But in the time in which he has been noticeably absent, he has returned in fine form with this adaptation of one of Richard Stark’s Parker novels.
Cooke’s art has never been more stunning. His pen and inks – as well as the gray-blue washes that create that crime noir atmosphere of mystery and intrigue – recall both the More...
Cooke’s art has never been more stunning. His pen and inks – as well as the gray-blue washes that create that crime noir atmosphere of mystery and intrigue – recall both the More...
Aug 06, 2009
Tim
rated it:
This is the first graphic novel adaptation of the great Parker crime series by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake) and it makes for a fascinating comic, adapted and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke. Shot in the gut and left for dead by his wife after a heist, master criminal Parker struggles with the law and the mob to come to New York City with one rage fueled thought on his mind: revenge. After dealing with the wife, Parker looks to take the mob for everything he can get. One thing is sure - the Ne
More...
Jul 24, 2009
Steve
rated it:
The late Richard Stark — the pen name of prolific writer Donald Westlake — created one of the great characters in crime fiction when he came up with career criminal Parker (no first name is ever given), the protagonist of twenty-four badassed novels. Parker has made it to the screen on several occasions in one form or another, most notably in John Boorman's excellent POINT BLANK (1967), but never under the name "Parker" for no apparent reason, and has quite a following among those who
More...
Feb 15, 2012
Coryke
rated it: 
The art was great. The writing was fine for what it was. Parker is an anti-hero, so to speak. Even though this is a crime drama style work (forgive me if I haven't exactly nailed the genre), I did not expect the 'protagonist' to have morals that I simply could not get on board with. This book is not simply about revenge.
[not exactly a spoiler here, but kinda] Parker takes care of the revenge part about 70% through the work. Then the last third or so is just straight unmotivated bruta More...
[not exactly a spoiler here, but kinda] Parker takes care of the revenge part about 70% through the work. Then the last third or so is just straight unmotivated bruta More...
Sep 01, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
Good comics adaptations of novels are rare in my experience. In the past, whenever I tried to think examples, the list included David Mazzucchelli and Paul Karasik’s City of Glass—which, incidentally, I prefer somewhat to Auster’s book—and pretty much ended there. Now, when asked the same question, The Hunter adapted by Darwyn Cooke, is number one. Mr. Cooke brings the perfect artistic sensibility to adapting Stark’s harboiled noir novels. He has a style that is simultaneously retro and contemp
More...
Nov 19, 2010
Emily
rated it:
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars on this. I agree with pretty much everyone that the art is phenomenal, and not just visually but in the way it conveys the story - the angles, the zooming in and out, the way time flows between panels - everything Scott McCloud outlines in his books. And the style does such a good job of conveying mood - I could hear the muted trumpet noir soundtrack as I read.
That said, the story and the characters were just okay. I'm not sure if it's because I was tru More...
That said, the story and the characters were just okay. I'm not sure if it's because I was tru More...
Dec 22, 2010
Aaron
rated it:
That Cooke was able to transform a word-type novel into a slim graphic novel speaks to his artistic ability, particularly his strengths of creating expressive characters (it probably also speaks to the source material's simplicity, but I'm trying to start with something nice). What didn't work for Cooke was his decision to link the book visually to film noir. He might have drawn from better sources for a book set in 1962 -- a transition time for film's crime aesthetics. Classic noir had ended an
More...
Aug 01, 2011
Kurt
rated it:
This is a beautiful but dark and violent crime story. It has a familiar plot: guy goes in on a big job, gets double-crossed, seeks revenge in the way that leaves as many corpses as possible (it definitely brings to mind the 1964 remake of The Killers, starring Lee Marvin and Ronald Reagan, even though the stories are different in their details). Cooke's adaptation of the original story captures the strengths of a structure that is complex enough to invigorate such a familiar plot, and his artwor
More...
Jan 21, 2011
Jason
rated it:
Having no prior exposure to this character in other media (something I intend to rectify ASAP), I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Darwyn Cooke is a great artist (and I'm a big fan of his New Frontier books for DC) but this is wildly different in tone and style. I loved the two-tone look and while the storytelling isn't always spot-on, it generally works very well.
In any event, this story of revenge (which is basically a straight path from start to finish, with no More...
In any event, this story of revenge (which is basically a straight path from start to finish, with no More...
Dec 09, 2009
David
rated it:
Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Richard Stark's Parker is pretty good. The art is fabulous, which is no surprise. However, the story (with which I was not previously familiar) is lacking: Parker himself is simply too effective as a badass. I found myself hoping that some of the later pages would include a beat-down or something which would actually stop him. Further, his personality is a little bit like that of De Niro's Max Cady - so filled with righteous indignation, and perfectly willing to kill
More...
Mar 11, 2010
Weston
rated it:
Darwyn Cooke has put together something really special with Parker: The Hunter. The hardcover edition is absolutely beautiful. The pages are thick and heavy and Darwyn's art jumps off the page at you. I'm a big fan of crime fiction/noir comics, and this is one of the better ones I've read since Brubaker's Criminal.
The tone is dark as Parker tracks down thug after thug who has wronged him. Cooke utilizes mostly whites, blues, an blacks for all of the art to help you feel the mindset o More...
The tone is dark as Parker tracks down thug after thug who has wronged him. Cooke utilizes mostly whites, blues, an blacks for all of the art to help you feel the mindset o More...
Aug 25, 2009
Ron
rated it:
If you've seen the movies Point Blank and/or Payback but never read the Richard Stark novel on which they're based, this story will be familiar in its broad strokes but still have some surprises for you from one scene to the next. Plus there's the fact that Cooke has drawn Parker with zero resemblance to either Lee Marvin or Mel Gibson.
Cooke's retro illustration style is put to good use here, although the monochrome effect might get a bit numbing over the full length of the story for More...
Cooke's retro illustration style is put to good use here, although the monochrome effect might get a bit numbing over the full length of the story for More...
Apr 03, 2010
Ryan
rated it:
Tell you what...I periodically visit my father-in-law's favorite comic store, having recently discovered and fallen in love with the graphic novel medium of story-telling...and when I was lost and my eye caught the dark, sullen cover of this book.
Of course it was wrapped in plastic and I wasn't able to sample the art or story (and the thought of scurrying off to a corner and tearing at it did cross my mind) so I bought it.
And I'm glad I took the risk.
This More...
Of course it was wrapped in plastic and I wasn't able to sample the art or story (and the thought of scurrying off to a corner and tearing at it did cross my mind) so I bought it.
And I'm glad I took the risk.
This More...
Jun 09, 2010
Jason
rated it:
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
Late author Donald Westlake is apparently a revered figure in the world of crime novels, which admittedly I'm not much of a fan of; and while writing under his pseudonym "Richard Stark," one of his most infamous characters turned out to be a professional con-man and complete sociopa More...
Late author Donald Westlake is apparently a revered figure in the world of crime novels, which admittedly I'm not much of a fan of; and while writing under his pseudonym "Richard Stark," one of his most infamous characters turned out to be a professional con-man and complete sociopa More...
Dec 12, 2010
Martin
rated it:
Darwyn Cooke really understands his medium. The story is an adaptation of a novel, and plot itself is pretty simple. It's a story of loss and revenge, and it's certainly not the first of its kind. But like most other noir stories the plot isn't the point. The atmosphere and the world and the people who live in that world is what pulls the reader in. But what really makes me like this book is how skillfully Cooke manages to adapt this story to the comic book medium. The pacing of the story is per
More...
