And Then I Read: DARK RAIN

Images © Mat Johnson & Simon Gane.

After visiting New Orleans for the first time last fall, I have a new interest in the city and her troubles, so I thought I'd give this Vertigo graphic novel a try. I was expecting a story of Katrina and the flooding, and I got that, but there's another story here about crime, criminals, a bank job, a corrupt hired security force, and two men caught up in it all, along with a pregnant woman that joins them along the way. It's a balancing act mixing real events of natural disaster and social injustice with the fictional crime story, and writer Mat Johnson handles that well, though at times it reads more like "Mission: Impossible," than a realistic story. That's only occasionally, though, most of the tale is believable and the characters are real in their life stories and motivations, their bitterness about the system and their personal hard knocks, as well as the occasional moment of kindness and bravery, especially as seen in Dabny Arceneaux, the ex-military and ex-criminal who is the most well-rounded character.

The bank getting attention from everyone makes a good centerpiece for the action, itself full of corruption as well as an honorable man trying to protect it. Other scenes focus on the disaster in all its sad ineptitude and cruelty. And the payoff at the end is a good one.

The art by Simon Gane is good, riding the border between realism and cartooniness in a way that seems good for this project, and it's enhanced by color in gray and blue only by Lee Loughridge and lettering by Pat Brosseau, both solid pros. This isn't really my kind of story, and as crime fiction it doesn't have the "film noir" impact and style of, say, the "Parker" graphic novels by Darwyn Cooke, but it's well done and worth a look. Recommended.