What do you think?
Rate this book
Marvel Noir #Aug 2009 - Jan 2010
Люк Кейдж Нуар
Десять лет провёл он за решёткой под именем "Заключённый 345АГ15". Но вне тюрьмы он был известен как Люк "Силач" Кейдж, городская легенда среди людей, отчаянно нуждавшихся в герое. Теперь его выпустили на свободу. Но в первый же день он узнаёт, что за жизнь на воле придётся заплатить немалую цену. Ему протянул руку помощи его друг детства, Страйкер, который стал главой всех гангстеров Гарлема. Его поставил на место один из жестоких убийц города, Надгробие. И он получил непростое задание от Рэнделла Бантикова, белого мужчины, чья белая жена была найдена мёртвой в переулке Гарлема. Суждено ли Люку Кейджу быть героем по найму? Или же он станет жертвой подставы?
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
9 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Mike Benson
159 books12 followersMike Benson is an American television writer and show runner, who has also been writing comics for Marvel Comics.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
October 15, 2018
2.5 Stars
This is strange story in that I came out of it not sure who the good guy was supposed to be? It’s one of those where I questions if the ends justified the means.
I liked the myth of Luke Cage. It sort of hinted at what makes the Netflix show so special: the story of a bulletproof black man is an inspiration to black people. The idea of a man who isn’t quite as affected by the same fear that we all fear seeing members of our community shot down everyday.
So, I like the way the method was handled here... to an extent. I always feel a bit weird when non black writers wrote about black on black crime.
Doubly so when the ending “twist” of this story was revealed.
Women were treated pretty damn poorly, as well. Some of the comments from Luke were also pretty gross.
Again, like Daredevil, this is closer to what a Noir story usually is.
I loved the art and that was the only thing I really loved about it.
This is strange story in that I came out of it not sure who the good guy was supposed to be? It’s one of those where I questions if the ends justified the means.
I liked the myth of Luke Cage. It sort of hinted at what makes the Netflix show so special: the story of a bulletproof black man is an inspiration to black people. The idea of a man who isn’t quite as affected by the same fear that we all fear seeing members of our community shot down everyday.
So, I like the way the method was handled here... to an extent. I always feel a bit weird when non black writers wrote about black on black crime.
Doubly so when the ending “twist” of this story was revealed.
Women were treated pretty damn poorly, as well. Some of the comments from Luke were also pretty gross.
Again, like Daredevil, this is closer to what a Noir story usually is.
I loved the art and that was the only thing I really loved about it.
April 21, 2019
I wanted to like this more. It started on a good concept -- Luke Cage reimagined in 1930's Harlem, with some mystery as to whether he has powers or not. But the artists kept things just dark enough to obscure some of the clues as to what was happening, and the dialog was obscure as well, and so I lost track of the plot pretty quick. (I'm having the same problems with a re-read of X-Men Noir as well.)
August 28, 2024
این سری Noir که بیشتر توجهها رو پانیشر و ولورین گرفتن (حقشون بود)، اما رانِ لوک کیج هم خیلی خوب بود. یه کمیک نسبتا کوتاهه که لوک کیج از زندان میاد بیرون و میبینه زنش مرده و هر چیزی که داشته از دست داده. داستانش همون حالت کلاسیکِ نوآر رو داره: کاراگاهی و خشونت زیاد.
به نظرم نویسندگی و طراحی این کمیک متوسطن، دوتا دلیل باعث میشه که پیشنهادش کنم:
۱. مارول با لوک کیج خیلی بد رفتار کرده. یکی از بدترین و کم بودجهترین سریالهاشون بود، حتی به نظر نمیاد به این زودیا بخوان ریبوتش کنن. توی کمیکهاشم همیشه نویسندههای تازه کار میارن و هیچوقت بهترین طراحهاشون رو نمیذارن براش. شاید به طور کلی این کمیک متوسط باشه، ولی به نظرم جزو سهتای خوبِ تاریخ لوک کیجه.
۲. اینجا لوک کیج اون حالت مهربون و فداکار رو نداره، عصبانی و خشنه و نمیترسه از کشتن بقیه. دقیقا همون بخش از شخصیت لوک کیجه که جالبه. بدون استثنا هر بار یک کار خوب ازش خوندم اینطوری بوده. اینجا یکی از بهترین نمونههاشه.
به نظرم نویسندگی و طراحی این کمیک متوسطن، دوتا دلیل باعث میشه که پیشنهادش کنم:
۱. مارول با لوک کیج خیلی بد رفتار کرده. یکی از بدترین و کم بودجهترین سریالهاشون بود، حتی به نظر نمیاد به این زودیا بخوان ریبوتش کنن. توی کمیکهاشم همیشه نویسندههای تازه کار میارن و هیچوقت بهترین طراحهاشون رو نمیذارن براش. شاید به طور کلی این کمیک متوسط باشه، ولی به نظرم جزو سهتای خوبِ تاریخ لوک کیجه.
۲. اینجا لوک کیج اون حالت مهربون و فداکار رو نداره، عصبانی و خشنه و نمیترسه از کشتن بقیه. دقیقا همون بخش از شخصیت لوک کیجه که جالبه. بدون استثنا هر بار یک کار خوب ازش خوندم اینطوری بوده. اینجا یکی از بهترین نمونههاشه.
September 20, 2020
Hokey 'dialect' writing keeps it from rating better, but all in all a satisfying read.
July 23, 2016
I ADORE Jessica Jones. I never heard much about the superheroine until the television series. Since then, I have been OBSESSED. I want to own all of the novel that involve Jessica. But I haven't been able to get my hands on one, so when I found this Luke Cage graphic novel at my local bookstore, I was ecstatic. Any character who was present in Jessica Jones' life is an interest to me. (And I just learned he's getting his own show! *happy dance*)
Luke Cage Noir was an excellent exploration into Cage's background. I was able to see elements of his origin and where is has taken him now. But I was hoping for more clarity and information on his past. I enjoyed reading about him solving this murder case, but I wanted to know more about him. Also, I found myself a bit confused at times with the development of the panels. It felt a little choppy and lacked fluidity with the storytelling.
Still, this was a quick read I devoured in one sitting. I would love to read more about Luke Cage, especially if Jessica Jones gets involved. Because THOSE will be the fun adventures.
Luke Cage Noir was an excellent exploration into Cage's background. I was able to see elements of his origin and where is has taken him now. But I was hoping for more clarity and information on his past. I enjoyed reading about him solving this murder case, but I wanted to know more about him. Also, I found myself a bit confused at times with the development of the panels. It felt a little choppy and lacked fluidity with the storytelling.
Still, this was a quick read I devoured in one sitting. I would love to read more about Luke Cage, especially if Jessica Jones gets involved. Because THOSE will be the fun adventures.
February 9, 2021
While this does have the moral ambiguity of the Noir down, the sexism of noir as a genre is also on display here and not with more complication or problematization. It is unclear if Luke has powers and his relationship to the 1930s Harlem seems similar to the relationship of the highly stylized Harlem of the Netflix show. The enforced obscurity actually makes it difficult to keep up with the characters and with the plot, which is rarely good for a comic. Martinbrough and Bradstreet's art is quite good and atmospheric, although one wishes that there was more clarity to the character design in some instances as characters often looked very similar.
January 8, 2011
Luke Cage recast as a reluctant hero in '30s Harlem makes a lot of sense, and works really well. My only complaint is that too much of the dialogue seems cribbed from hard-boiled source material without much of an effort to make it seem natural in the context of this story, but I thought the writing improved and became more fluid in the second half.
The art is especially beautiful, and evokes a bygone criminal demimonde extremely well. As with Punisher Noir, there were some surprises about the character I didn't see coming and that I thought really worked for a noir setting.
The art is especially beautiful, and evokes a bygone criminal demimonde extremely well. As with Punisher Noir, there were some surprises about the character I didn't see coming and that I thought really worked for a noir setting.
December 1, 2022
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. I obviously liked the aesthetic, the story not so much.
September 26, 2016
I read this as part of my research for an article about the best Luke Cage stories and I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Due to what he can represent Luke Cage is a the perfect candidate for the noir treatment. The result is a mystery-action detective story which keeps you guessing until the end. Unlike many stories of this genre, Luke Cage Noir has a fair bit of meat on the bones in which it explores the poverty divide, especially in regards to race, and what it means to be a symbol of hope during the prohibition era.
Visually Shawn Martinbrough's art is what is need for the tone. It has a grittiness and he renders the city in a way which shows the darker period in the cities history. There is a few bit of clunkiness of how the art flows for the story, but these are few and far between. Definitely not enough to ruin the story.
If you're looking for a noir story starring an African American character then definitely read this!
Visually Shawn Martinbrough's art is what is need for the tone. It has a grittiness and he renders the city in a way which shows the darker period in the cities history. There is a few bit of clunkiness of how the art flows for the story, but these are few and far between. Definitely not enough to ruin the story.
If you're looking for a noir story starring an African American character then definitely read this!
January 11, 2010
I loved this series. It was a quick read and sort of reminded me of Easy Rawlins. Yep. Noir. Awesome.
April 5, 2018
Reprints Luke Cage Noir #1-4 (October 2009-January 2010). Harlem isn’t a safe place to live if you’re Luke Cage. Free from jail, Luke finds his girl Josephine is dead, his buddy Stryker is running the area, and his nemesis Tombstone has joined the police force with Officer Rachman who helped put Cage away. Now, Cage has been hired by an affluent white man named Randall Banticoff to find out why his wife was killed in Harlem. Cage’s reputation as the man with bulletproof skin could be tested.
Wrtten by Mike Benson and Adam Glass, Luke Cage Noir was part of Marvel’s short lived Noir imprint that featured alternate versions of Marvel characters in noir setting. Luke Cage Noir was also collected as part of Marvel Noir: Daredevil/Cage/Iron Man and features art by Shawn Martinbrough.
Luke Cage series are always kind of iffy. I loved Hero for Hire and Power Man and Iron Fist, but a lot of his later stuff wasn’t that inspired. Here, you get a gangster style Luke Cage dipped into a hard-boiled detective story…part of it works and part of it doesn’t.
What does work is the basic core story is pretty interesting. You have Cage being assailed from all sides and this myth of him as the bulletproof “Power Man” ruling the narrative of Harlem. The mystery weaves through the story and kind of comes off as some of Brian Michael Bendis’ crime writings (which can be entertaining).
The flipside of this is the unnecessarily complex backstory. The timeline of events, Cage being set-up, going to jail, the Tombstone stuff, and then the reveal of what happened when Luke was in jail seems like it could have been ironed out and told better. This hinders the storytell and an otherwise decent story.
The story’s art is obviously very shadowy dealing with the noir subject. It does work and many of these Marvel Noir stories have a Sandman Mystery Theatre type feel to them as a result (it kind of feels like Sandman Mystery Theatre was the basis of the whole line in many ways). The problem also with this is that with no costumes, everyone kind of looks the same wearing fedoras and suits.
Luke Cage Noir was a quick and kind of fun read. I think if a little more work had gone into the art and storytelling the comic could have really been tightened up and stronger. Reading the comic, it does feel that it has a bit more of the basic Luke Cage in it (and that the makers of the Netflix series might have also read this as basis). In general, the Marvel Noir line was an interesting experiment and worth exploring more.
Wrtten by Mike Benson and Adam Glass, Luke Cage Noir was part of Marvel’s short lived Noir imprint that featured alternate versions of Marvel characters in noir setting. Luke Cage Noir was also collected as part of Marvel Noir: Daredevil/Cage/Iron Man and features art by Shawn Martinbrough.
Luke Cage series are always kind of iffy. I loved Hero for Hire and Power Man and Iron Fist, but a lot of his later stuff wasn’t that inspired. Here, you get a gangster style Luke Cage dipped into a hard-boiled detective story…part of it works and part of it doesn’t.
What does work is the basic core story is pretty interesting. You have Cage being assailed from all sides and this myth of him as the bulletproof “Power Man” ruling the narrative of Harlem. The mystery weaves through the story and kind of comes off as some of Brian Michael Bendis’ crime writings (which can be entertaining).
The flipside of this is the unnecessarily complex backstory. The timeline of events, Cage being set-up, going to jail, the Tombstone stuff, and then the reveal of what happened when Luke was in jail seems like it could have been ironed out and told better. This hinders the storytell and an otherwise decent story.
The story’s art is obviously very shadowy dealing with the noir subject. It does work and many of these Marvel Noir stories have a Sandman Mystery Theatre type feel to them as a result (it kind of feels like Sandman Mystery Theatre was the basis of the whole line in many ways). The problem also with this is that with no costumes, everyone kind of looks the same wearing fedoras and suits.
Luke Cage Noir was a quick and kind of fun read. I think if a little more work had gone into the art and storytelling the comic could have really been tightened up and stronger. Reading the comic, it does feel that it has a bit more of the basic Luke Cage in it (and that the makers of the Netflix series might have also read this as basis). In general, the Marvel Noir line was an interesting experiment and worth exploring more.
July 24, 2014
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
I've never been a fan of noir (it can be a little too cliche'd) and am not steeped in the history of Luke Cage or the Marvel Universe. So I came into this graphic novel with a clean slate and without expectations.
I greatly enjoyed this graphic novel. The artwork is beautiful and captures beautifully in earthen tones of browns, beiges, and blacks, the world of 1920s Harlem. The refined art is matched by excellent storytelling and writing. The lingo of the era (Harlem - not just "noir") is nicely captured to further enhance the mood and feel. The main character can be introspective without being over the top pretentious like so many noir works. If anything, the Luke Cage of this story is a quiet and simple man and he thinks/acts/feels that way. It's a nice change from noir's prototypical anti hero - the 'down on his luck but intelligent sad sack" who spouts unbelievable dialogue and burps existential thoughts about 'dames' and life.
What I liked most about the story is that the author and artist were restrained in their depiction of late 1920s Harlem. Characters don't hang out at the Cotton Club, for example. They frequent the little local areas they know so well.
In all, I felt this was a wonderful book with artwork and story interesting and nuanced enough to be worth repeat reads.
June 10, 2015
After reading several of the Marvel Noir stories, I finally picked up Luke Cage because I've mostly enjoyed them and I've always liked Luke Cage or at least how is written in Bendis's run on Daredevil. This is set in 1920's Harlem and is basically a classic detective story with a little bit of superpowers thrown in for good measure. That sets this apart from some of the other stories which were more of the classic origin stories. The plot has some nice twists and the murder that Cage is hired to investigate is generally interesting even if there isn't anything you haven't seen in other noir stories. The last issue was a little convoluted as it tries to wrap everything up, but I also may have been reading too fast because I was enjoying it. The character of Tombstone is creepy and a good villain as well. For me, it was just satisfying to read a story about a flawed individual who does stuff he doesn't want to do, but does so anyway because it is right or all that he can d. That is what noir is all about, but I love it and can't seem to get enough. One of the only criticisms I have is that the slang is pretty thick here and is possibly a bit of a caricature of how people talked back then. Other than that, you have a solid story and evocative art so if you are a fan of Luke Cage or like a good noir story, this is worth a shot.
October 30, 2010
A decent enough story, with putting Luke Cage in the prohibition era and pitting him against Harlem gangsters. Also loved the appearance of Tombstone, one of my favorite mobsters in the Marvel world. But the dialogue here is wretched...it's like Benson sat and watched a bunch of B-movies from the 30's and 40's and copied down all the catch-phrases. If one more person said, "put ___ in the cooler" I think I would have set my copy on fire. Easily the weakest out of Marvel Noir books I've read so far, and that's a shame. Cage seems almost tailor-made for this world.
August 26, 2015
These Marvel Noir books are hit or miss, and while this one has a lot going for it, the result is mostly a miss. The retro atmosphere is well done, but the period dialog is overdone to the point of being silly. Also the plot has lots of nice noir touches but borders on cliche. It's the book's small format, however, that makes this a loser for me. The print is so tiny, it's extremely difficult to read.
May 6, 2016
The Noir series of books from Marvel were awesome; alternate universes where the characters were placed in times and situations completely unlike the mostly primary-colored standard Marvel Universe, instead these were true noir stories, often without a happy ending, and filled with cool ideas and challenging spins on the characters. This one is no different, and plunges Luke into 1920s Harlem. It's racially charged on every page; brutal and forthright. Dark in every way.
August 30, 2016
This was a pretty good noir story, and I liked the angle they took for the Power Man ability, but it just didn't feel like Luke Cage to me. Stylistically fun, though, and probably worth reading for comic lovers who also enjoy the occasional Sam Spade.
October 3, 2016
This was fine. It does well fusing hard boiled noir trappings and 30s prohibition era with the Marvel universe, it just didn't make much of an impression. I only read it yesterday and I've already forgotten most of what happened. It's far from a bad read, just mostly unremarkable.
December 8, 2020
Привіт, дешевий папір, який спеціально вибрали, щоб надрукувати цю серію російською. Я не тримав в руках оригінальні комікси, але хочеться вірити, що вони були кращої якості.
Нуарний сеттінг для супергероя, який весь час проводив у місті - та запросто. Прямо як з Карателем, але темніше (в плані, малюнок менш яскравий).
Кейдж виходить з тюрячки в тривожно-гнітючий Нью-Йорк і одразу шукає собі пригод у старих локаціях рідного району, де колись допоміг чорній мафії піднятися (вони тут реально копіюють італійську мафію). У Кейджа, звичайно ж, була жіночка, але за законами жанру вона померла, бо сюжету це явно потрібно.
Кейдж якось задушив співкамерника за те, що той з'їв його арахісове масло... Це яскраво нам показує, що за персонаж перед нами. Сподіваюсь, воно хоч було crispy. Та все ж маю велику надію, що у цьому аспекті маємо помилку перекладача.
Кейджа наймають знайти вбивцю білої дамочки, якій вкоротили віку в Гарлемі. Бо від поліції (за законами жанру) ніякої користі, лише корупція, та й в Гарлемі копи не люблять щось там розслідувати.
І традиційно Кейджа підставляють. Нуар - це такий сучасний міф зі своїми правилами. Відійдеш від них - і ти вже “Темне місто”, прибульці, підміна пам’яті, космічний корабель...
Нагадаю, що Кейдж у нас супергерой у звичайних серіях коміксів, і його начебто не мають брати кулі. А по пиці дати - то завжди проходить. А ту його здатність не помирати від свинцю обіграли дуже шаблонно. Цей прийом колись навіть у підліткових комедіях використовували і у "Руйнівниках міфів" розглядали.
Надто стандартний нуарний комікс, який просто втягнув у себе популярні сюжетні повороти, а у фіналі миттєво видав пояснення, як усе було насправді. Можна сказати, що саме бліді кольори, їх невелика кількість та велика контрастність дали життя цьому коміксу.
Вибісило, що більшу частину інформації Кейджу видав один-однісінький персонаж, і саме у потрібний момент.
А ще в бійках тут то незрозуміло, що відбувається, то самі переходи між ударами надто різкі.
З депресивною атмосферою частково склалося (врахуємо, що персонажа створювали саме для чорної аудиторії, і нуар все ж специфічний), але сюжет просто переказує те, що було мільйони разів. Не вистачає тут навіть тих сюжетних вивертів, які були у “Карателі” з цієї ж серії. Плюс ще історія з расовими комплексами виглядає надто притягнутою. Всі ж розуміють, в яких умовах мав би жити Кейдж, але тут все так рафіновано...
Нуарний сеттінг для супергероя, який весь час проводив у місті - та запросто. Прямо як з Карателем, але темніше (в плані, малюнок менш яскравий).
Кейдж виходить з тюрячки в тривожно-гнітючий Нью-Йорк і одразу шукає собі пригод у старих локаціях рідного району, де колись допоміг чорній мафії піднятися (вони тут реально копіюють італійську мафію). У Кейджа, звичайно ж, була жіночка, але за законами жанру вона померла, бо сюжету це явно потрібно.
Кейдж якось задушив співкамерника за те, що той з'їв його арахісове масло... Це яскраво нам показує, що за персонаж перед нами. Сподіваюсь, воно хоч було crispy. Та все ж маю велику надію, що у цьому аспекті маємо помилку перекладача.
Кейджа наймають знайти вбивцю білої дамочки, якій вкоротили віку в Гарлемі. Бо від поліції (за законами жанру) ніякої користі, лише корупція, та й в Гарлемі копи не люблять щось там розслідувати.
І традиційно Кейджа підставляють. Нуар - це такий сучасний міф зі своїми правилами. Відійдеш від них - і ти вже “Темне місто”, прибульці, підміна пам’яті, космічний корабель...
Нагадаю, що Кейдж у нас супергерой у звичайних серіях коміксів, і його начебто не мають брати кулі. А по пиці дати - то завжди проходить. А ту його здатність не помирати від свинцю обіграли дуже шаблонно. Цей прийом колись навіть у підліткових комедіях використовували і у "Руйнівниках міфів" розглядали.
Надто стандартний нуарний комікс, який просто втягнув у себе популярні сюжетні повороти, а у фіналі миттєво видав пояснення, як усе було насправді. Можна сказати, що саме бліді кольори, їх невелика кількість та велика контрастність дали життя цьому коміксу.
Вибісило, що більшу частину інформації Кейджу видав один-однісінький персонаж, і саме у потрібний момент.
А ще в бійках тут то незрозуміло, що відбувається, то самі переходи між ударами надто різкі.
З депресивною атмосферою частково склалося (врахуємо, що персонажа створювали саме для чорної аудиторії, і нуар все ж специфічний), але сюжет просто переказує те, що було мільйони разів. Не вистачає тут навіть тих сюжетних вивертів, які були у “Карателі” з цієї ж серії. Плюс ще історія з расовими комплексами виглядає надто притягнутою. Всі ж розуміють, в яких умовах мав би жити Кейдж, але тут все так рафіновано...
May 15, 2017
Good story, a bit over-dramatized
This is the second of Marvel's "Noir" titles I've read, after Daredevil Noir. It will likely be the last.
The problem with Luke Cage Noir is that it could have been so much more. Setting Luke Cage in Prohibition Harlem, at the height of the Jazz Age, is a natural. He keeps elements of the Luke Cage we know: he's a good man, he's done time but he's not guilty of anything other than standing up for himself and ignoring the unwritten rules that favor the strong over the weak.
Unfortunately, the Noir title keeps the thing that makes the original Luke Cage: Hero for Hire feel so dated. The original Luke Cage could talk jive with the best of them, as Marvel reached out to a more "urban" audience; read it now, and it feels like you're thrown in the middle of a blaxploitation flick. It feels dated, but at least the writers were using the contemporary jive. Like Cage Noir reads like the writers are more concerned with it sounding like a dime store idea of a noir tale, with the result that you never can lose yourself in the story. Making the characters "sound noir" distracts from what could have been a great tale.
Marvel has done decent period pieces: 1602 was a lot of fun, very well written, and Immortal Iron Fist vol. 2 (and or 3) has back story set in this time period, without getting weighed down by the trappings of genre. Luke Cage: Noir works so hard to make sure you don't forget it's a noir story that you might forget that it could be a good story.
This is the second of Marvel's "Noir" titles I've read, after Daredevil Noir. It will likely be the last.
The problem with Luke Cage Noir is that it could have been so much more. Setting Luke Cage in Prohibition Harlem, at the height of the Jazz Age, is a natural. He keeps elements of the Luke Cage we know: he's a good man, he's done time but he's not guilty of anything other than standing up for himself and ignoring the unwritten rules that favor the strong over the weak.
Unfortunately, the Noir title keeps the thing that makes the original Luke Cage: Hero for Hire feel so dated. The original Luke Cage could talk jive with the best of them, as Marvel reached out to a more "urban" audience; read it now, and it feels like you're thrown in the middle of a blaxploitation flick. It feels dated, but at least the writers were using the contemporary jive. Like Cage Noir reads like the writers are more concerned with it sounding like a dime store idea of a noir tale, with the result that you never can lose yourself in the story. Making the characters "sound noir" distracts from what could have been a great tale.
Marvel has done decent period pieces: 1602 was a lot of fun, very well written, and Immortal Iron Fist vol. 2 (and or 3) has back story set in this time period, without getting weighed down by the trappings of genre. Luke Cage: Noir works so hard to make sure you don't forget it's a noir story that you might forget that it could be a good story.
May 22, 2020
A perfectly average Luke Cage story with a noir twist. Set in Harlem in the 1920's Luke Cage has become a sort of legendary figure among the people. Someone people can look up to. They've christened him the Power Man, as he walked out of a shootout without a single injury, creating the legend that he was bulletproof.
But this is a story without any superpowers. How he did that feat I won't spoil, but the rest of it is mostly about Luke Cage being hired to investigate a woman's murder. I like the small detail that he's immediately suspicious of the man hiring him because he's white, and a black man being paid to investigate the murder of a white woman in the 20's just feels extremely suspicious to him. But regardless, he investigates, solves it, defeats the villains, and then it ends.
Not a whole lot to go on in terms of twists or anything like that as four issues doesn't offer a lot of space to explore those sorts of things, but I will say that I thought the finale was fantastic. The way it all played out further cementing the legend of the Power Man was, in my opinion, brilliant. Otherwise it is a mostly run of the mill story with nothing special save for the idea that there are no superpowers in this universe so things take a more gritty, violent turn.
Not one I'd recommend super hard, but the ending is definitely one that stuck with me. Perfectly average.
But this is a story without any superpowers. How he did that feat I won't spoil, but the rest of it is mostly about Luke Cage being hired to investigate a woman's murder. I like the small detail that he's immediately suspicious of the man hiring him because he's white, and a black man being paid to investigate the murder of a white woman in the 20's just feels extremely suspicious to him. But regardless, he investigates, solves it, defeats the villains, and then it ends.
Not a whole lot to go on in terms of twists or anything like that as four issues doesn't offer a lot of space to explore those sorts of things, but I will say that I thought the finale was fantastic. The way it all played out further cementing the legend of the Power Man was, in my opinion, brilliant. Otherwise it is a mostly run of the mill story with nothing special save for the idea that there are no superpowers in this universe so things take a more gritty, violent turn.
Not one I'd recommend super hard, but the ending is definitely one that stuck with me. Perfectly average.
June 17, 2020
An interesting take on the origin of Luke Cage. Luke more or less fills the role of a private detective on a quest of revenge. A common staple of classic noir stories are the internal monologues and this story has PLENTY of them. While I enjoy reading cheesy, dated analogies, I won’t lie I had to sit there every now and then and decipher what the characters were actually saying. It brought the pace down and really took me out of the narrative.
The plot is decent enough, as is the mystery Luke is out to solve, the plot treats its female characters VERY poorly and casts them as prostitutes and tools to be maimed. I realize the story takes place in a certain time period, and sex is a pretty common theme in classic noir, but I wish a lot of these tropes stayed in the past. So far this is my least favorite of the Marvel Noir series.
The plot is decent enough, as is the mystery Luke is out to solve, the plot treats its female characters VERY poorly and casts them as prostitutes and tools to be maimed. I realize the story takes place in a certain time period, and sex is a pretty common theme in classic noir, but I wish a lot of these tropes stayed in the past. So far this is my least favorite of the Marvel Noir series.
May 12, 2025
I remember picking up and reading a bunch of these Marvel Noir books when they first came out, and I think this and maybe Daredevil were the only ones that actually had a Film Noir vibe. The others were more Pulp Adventure stories.
Anyway, I really like the art, and the story is solid. It's full of the crackerjack dialog and twisting stories of human awfulness that you would expect in a Hard Boiled detective story, or one of the seamier, low budget Noirs. Setting it in Harlem, with Luke Cage as the lead is also cool. And they play with the Cage mythology in some fun ways.
This is super grounded, and pretty nasty. Definitely for mature readers.
Once in a while, I found the panel work and scene shifts a bit difficult to follow. But otherwise, I really liked it.
Anyway, I really like the art, and the story is solid. It's full of the crackerjack dialog and twisting stories of human awfulness that you would expect in a Hard Boiled detective story, or one of the seamier, low budget Noirs. Setting it in Harlem, with Luke Cage as the lead is also cool. And they play with the Cage mythology in some fun ways.
This is super grounded, and pretty nasty. Definitely for mature readers.
Once in a while, I found the panel work and scene shifts a bit difficult to follow. But otherwise, I really liked it.
April 17, 2023
Marvel Noir's primarily a stylistic reimagining, I'm pretty sure, with the plot and characters as strictly secondary. Just dial everything back by a few decades to make them look fresh and new. And I think of what I've seen so far, with Luke Cage this works the very best. Dark and moody and proper, with racial attitudes at the forefront, as they always were and as they should be - just in a different way than in the seventies.
The story they're telling with him isn't anything special - but, again, that was never the point. And it still manages to put up a nice enough twist to the character.
The story they're telling with him isn't anything special - but, again, that was never the point. And it still manages to put up a nice enough twist to the character.
December 25, 2022
Не для тебя моя ягодка цвела© Очень замороченный на внутренней афроамериканской кухне комикс, все про оттенки черного, альбиносов и тп. Видна боль африканского народа за многие сотни лет притеснений, но нам, жителям России 21го века это хоть и понятная проблема, но не сильно трогает.
Было довольно скучновато читать, порадовал только финальный твист, несколько по иному раскрывающий события комикса. Жаль только что чтоб до него добраться, надо пережить череду скучных диалогов, рваного действия и спорных мотиваций.
Рисунок здесь тоже не порадовал.
Слабовато для серии.
Было довольно скучновато читать, порадовал только финальный твист, несколько по иному раскрывающий события комикса. Жаль только что чтоб до него добраться, надо пережить череду скучных диалогов, рваного действия и спорных мотиваций.
Рисунок здесь тоже не порадовал.
Слабовато для серии.
December 27, 2017
La historia es muy buena, y el tratamiento de Luke Cage como "Power Man" es interesante. Tiene muy buenas ilustraciones y hace un muy buen uso del slang de Harlem para la época. En lo único que me parece que falla es en usar mejor la época para darle la ambientación de años 30 que en teoría debería tener la serie Marvel Noir.
November 3, 2022
LUKE CAGE: NOIR (Marvel)
Hard boiled Harlem! But not supernatural / fantasy as expected coming from this group of creators. ***
#1 – “Let’s get this rollin’, I got people to see.”
#2 – [Something ain’t right with this cat. It’s more of a ‘sense’ I get, than any one fact.]
#3 – “KABOOM? … NOOOO!”
#4 – [And one small gesture .. changes Harlem forever.]
Hard boiled Harlem! But not supernatural / fantasy as expected coming from this group of creators. ***
#1 – “Let’s get this rollin’, I got people to see.”
#2 – [Something ain’t right with this cat. It’s more of a ‘sense’ I get, than any one fact.]
#3 – “KABOOM? … NOOOO!”
#4 – [And one small gesture .. changes Harlem forever.]
November 14, 2023
This was my first time reading anything with Luke Cage. I had no expectations. I really enjoyed the story, especially the ending. The only aspect that was a downside was the organization of the timeline. At some points, I did not realize that the scene was a flashback or was in real time. There was a lot of hopping around. However, I had a great time reading this. I would recommend.
January 29, 2018
Dope
This brings me back to a time in the 80's and 90's where there were great movies about harkens black renaissance and the gangsters as well as hard good guys out there as well. A story akin to shaft. It's a fun read and just gritty enough.
This brings me back to a time in the 80's and 90's where there were great movies about harkens black renaissance and the gangsters as well as hard good guys out there as well. A story akin to shaft. It's a fun read and just gritty enough.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews