Tag Archives: j.r. beiren

Review: Skullduggery: A Legal Fiction #2

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As a fan of crime noir stories, there’s a ton of them on television. The sheer number of shows have proliferated in the last ten years. Turn to any channel and you will find a multitude of shows that have constantly redefined the crime procedural. One of the biggest platforms right now that has been one of the go to streaming services is Amazon. Amazon has been creating original material for the last few years and to some mixed results.

One of the better shows on the platform is Sneaky Pete which functions as a crime noir dramedy about one ca manipulate mistake identity. Another one of the shows that is within the crime noir genre is Hand Of God which revolves around a judge who believes he hears God. This show proves that genre can utilize devices from other genres to tell a great story. In the second issue of Skullduggery we delve deeper into this world where not everything is what it seems.

In the opening panels, we meet Maggie PI, a canine detective who is keen on investigating the murders by the docks. We also catch up with Judge Stewie Sponte ponders how it would be if justice would work outside the confines of the court system. As Stewie in quite an unorthodox ice breaker, decides to introduce alcohol to his court, thereby getting everyone drunk. By issue’s end, we finally find out who is the man pulling the strings throughout the city and who exactly is behind the murders.

Overall, it’s an excellent second issue which gets readers deeper into this world where everyone crosses lines of morality. The story by J.R. Beirens is funny, intelligent, and fast paced. The art by Beirens is beautiful and bright. Altogether, a great installment that gives readers a new spin on the legal thriller.

Story: J.R. Beirens Art: J.R. Beirens
Story: 9.6 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.6 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Skullduggery: A Legal Fiction #1

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When it comes to legal dramas, the best ones are usually on television. Of course, there are exceptions, like Harrison Ford’s supremely acted Presumed Innocent which set a new bar for thrillers and challenged character tropes. The one show that made the courtroom so intriguing was the dense and smartly told Perry Mason. I remember growing up in Trinidad where we had only the local television and one satellite channel which usually was tuned into some American cable channel.

If we were unlucky, it would be tuned into CNN or Headline News, which was not what my 7 year old self wanted to watch. Then ever so often it would be tuned to TBS where I spent hours watching Perry Mason reruns. I never thought I would enjoy a show in black and white until I watched this TV Classic. The show created a genre all to itself where viewers got engrossed in different court cases. In J.R. Beirens legal thriller Skullduggery, readers get embroiled in this legal drama with some interesting characters.

The readers get dropped into dark snowy night in a city much like many others but are taken to a murder scene. We also meet a judge, Stewie Sponte, who is embroiled in his cases, but is aware of a drug problem in his city, one that is taking lives every day. We are also introduced to s shadowy figure who may be behind the murders, and from this very first scene, it looks like he was hired to do so. By issue’s end, Stewie saves a young lady, who may be more than meets the eye.

Overall, the comic is a slow pot boiler that pulls readers in bit by bit, eventually wining them over with the story and the attention to detail. The story by J.R. Beirens is smart and gripping. The art by Beirens is nostalgic and vivid. Altogether, it’s an excellent noir story that deserves to be talked about with the great legal dramas.

Story: J.R. Beirens Art: J.R. Beirens
Story: 9.6 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.6 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Grayhat #1

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The stoic adventurer has been a mainstay throughout literature in one form or the other.  In the crime genre, the lone vigilante or hard-boiled detective, usually takes center stage and remains the immovable force in the story. These characters are all over Patricia Cornwell’s books as well as Michael Connelly’s, as these characters are the readers eyes and ears into these worlds. The primary genre that these characters usually thrive in, are westerns.

I remember when I watched Lonesome Dove for the first time and immediately fell in love with the genre. After that, I read every book Louis Lamour had put out to that point, as each story took the reader back in time to when every man was for himself. As a fan of multiple genres, always wanted to see how fantasy would mix westerns? In Jason Beirens’ Grayhat, we get a mix of these genres as we follow one man on his way home across the wild.

The book opens up on a mouse who just found food in the desert and must divert death at every step and is saved by a buffalo, as we find out that buffalo’ name is Bea ad the mouse name is Neda and Bea’s human keeper, Grayhat. As they cross this vast wilderness, they are not alone, a Bird is tracking their whereabouts and only time will tell if they are friend or foe. Eventually the Bird confronts Grayhat, sensing he will do harm, stops him in his tracks and engages in a faceoff between the two.

Overall, it’s an amazing story that blends genres so deftly that one has to be reminded that these story elements never really play in the same sandbox. The story by Beirens is eerie, smart funny and enjoyable. The art by Beirens is gorgeous. Altogether, an excellent debut issue that pushes the very idea of genre and puts emphasis back on what matters most, a well told story.

Story: J.R. Beirens Art: J.R. Beirens
Story: 9.7 Art: 9.8 Overall: 9.8 Recommendation: Buy