The Seventh by Richard Stark review (Unread 016)

It’s always a delight to read a Parker book by Richard Stark. I tend to space them out between other books I read for a couple reasons. I love them dearly and I don’t want to rush myself to read them all right away. I also use them as a way to remind me why I love reading when I get a little burnt out on longer and unnecessarily drawn out books. That happens regularly since I read a lot of fantasy and there are many long books in that genre. Reading something by Richard Stark immediately following a large or slow paced novel can really give you an appreciation for what Stark manages to accomplish in the slim volumes of the Parker series. The Seventh is no exception as it maintains the high level of excellence as the rest of the series. I’m simply fascinated by the rapid pacing, Parker’s hypnotizing amorality and focus, the tight plotting and, of course, the narrative structure Stark gives to each of his books. 

I have to admit, I’m a definitive fanboy of this series. It scratches an itch that no other books can touch. There is a precision to each and every book and they all fit nicely together in a way that many other authors try to do with their series but never manage to pull off. To clarify, when I say the books fit well together I don’t mean in it in the way that they’re all set within a clear universe with recurring characters and familiar locale, thought that happens to be true, too. I mean the books fit together well in contrast to each other. There is a structure to each individual volume but there is also a structure to the series. Each book highlights a particular facet of Parker while also fitting comfortably with what has come before.

The Jugger by Richard Stark review

When I sat down and got comfy before starting to read The Jugger, the sixth novel is Richard Stark’s Parker series, I remembered something I read at The Violent World of Parker. Stark, or if you prefer Donald Westlake, has publically mentioned the error he’s made in writing this book. He went so far as to say that The Jugger is the worst book he’s ever written. I couldn’t get this idea in my head while reading. Stark explained it as follows:

“I spoiled a book by having him do something he wouldn’t do. The sixth book in the series is called The Jugger, and that book is one of the worst failures I’ve ever had. The problem with it is, in the beginning of the book this guy calls him and says “I’m in trouble out here and these guys are leaning on me and I need help,” and Parker goes to help him. I mean, he wouldn’t do that, and in fact, the guy wouldn’t even think to call him! (laughs)”

Aside from the fact that he gets some of the specifics wrong (many authors don’t reread their previous work), he gets the plot point wrong. He doesn’t correctly remember the novel. Yes, Joe Sheer (the titular jugger, a professional safecracker) contacts Parker and asks for help but Parker travels to Sagamore, Nebraska to protect his own interests. Joe contacted Parker on two occasions. Once, to let him know he’s in trouble and that he’ll take care of it and a second time to let Parker know that he can’t deal with the trouble and he need’s Parker’s help. Parker’s used Joe as a middle man for people who needed to contact Parker. They would go through Joe and Joe would then go to Parker to relay the message. The trouble is that Joe knows of Parker’s cover up name and the life he fabricated for that name. The mixed message of Joe’s letters indicates to Parker that the man is too old and he’s starting to lose his professional edge. He visits Sagamore with the intent to keep his identity a secret and to kills Joe if he had to. The last thing Parker needs is to have someone running around babbling about Charles Willis, Parker’s cover identity.

The book has other weaknesses. Captain Younger, chief of police in Sagamore, is a very annoying character. He’s moronic in every possible way but he’s still intelligent enough to successfully intimidate a seasoned professional like Joe Sheer. Parker also does more than a couple silly things in the novel and he doesn’t tie up his loose ends as effectively and cleanly as he normally does. The plotting is also weird. Like many Parker novels, the action starts in media res but thinks are actually a bit confusing for a few chapters, as if the book started with chapter 2. All the details are there if you pay attention but I admit I had to go back a couple of pages to figure out who and where Captain Younger first appeared in the book. Everything made sense in the third part of the book when the story shifted to Younger’s perspective but for half the novel, you’re just going along trying to put the pieces together, just like Parker.

The book is the weakest Parker novel so far but the problems are all in the plotting. Besides the minor complaint I have with the beginning of the novel being confusing (it’s a minor complaint because everything works out in the end), The Jugger is still much better and more interesting to read than many other novels out there.  For starters, Stark’s prose is a gripping as ever. Though the plotting is messed up, the pacing isn’t. Everything flows with such a fascinating cadence that you just can’t leave the book down. It’s a bad book written by a great writer. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a novel whose protagonist so closely resembles the style of prose used for the novel in which the character appears. It’s calculating but effective. Like Parker, Stark only does what needs to be done. His prose is economical without being lacking.

The fact that The Jugger isn’t well plotted allowed me to regain focus on the rest of what makes the Parker series so good. Namely, the characters and how effortlessly Stark can write them. The third section of the novel, the section in which the perspective usually shifts, Stark builds the character of Captain Younger. It’s stunning how such a throwaway character can be given such depth. In just a few chapters, Stark turned Younger into one of the more complex (albeit annoying) characters in a novel of complex characters. It shouldn’t be possible that such a simple style can create characters with such depth but being a master of the genre, and really just a strong writer, Stark makes it all look easy while also making it captivating.

The book ends with an additional switch in perspective and it leaves some of what Parker fixed during The Jugger unravelling. It’s nice to be reminded that Parker is no infallible. He’s failed before but the reminder is appreciated. It’s frustrating that he has another problem to fix but it’s a problem he’s handled before and he knows how to get out of it. In a way, I’m glad the book isn’t as awful as Stark remembers but at the same time, I’m glad that he remembers it that way. It’s likely had an impact on him and he thought about other Parker books and it’s likely improved them. This is just speculation though. It’s important to remember that I’ve only read one Parker novel published after The Jugger, and its several more books down the line. Still, it was interesting to see that despite its flaws The Jugger proves that you can’t go wrong reading the Parker series by Stark.

Richard Stark’s Parker: Slayground review

I discovered Darwyn Cooke’s comic book adaptation of Richard Stark’s Parker novels back in 2012. In early 2013, I wrote reviews of all three comics that were out at the time. It wasn’t enough. I got hooked. Parker was such an interesting character. He’s as close to existential as possible while still maintaining and incredible amount of depth. I also fell in love with Stark’s writing still. It’s terse and it cuts you like tiny shards of broken glass but I enjoy it tremendously because the world Parker and the other characters live isn’t a place for a soft approach. You have to be hard as nails to survive and even harder to come out of the game with a little spending cash. I took a bit of a break from the novels, not because I didn’t enjoy them any longer but great novels, like candy or too much popcorn, can give you a sore stomach. I wanted to be able to walk away knowing I would return rather than be forced to quit because I had spoiled my appetite.

The only way 2013, my personal Year of Parker, could get any better was with new Parker material. Lucky me, there was a new movie but more importantly a new Cooke comic was published! The excited was short lived because I wasn’t very impressed. Needless to say, my initial reaction after reading Parker: Slayground is one of disappointment.

I was looking forward to Parker: Slayground in great part because of the reasons stated above. In addition to this, it would have been the first time I read the novel before the comic. I read the comic versions of The Hunter, The Outfit and The Score before reading the novels. It’s the other way around for Slayground. The interesting with the novel of the first three comics is that they were still excellent even though I was very familiar with the story. I was curious to know if it would work well the other way around. It turns out it wasn’t. Reading Parker: Slayground (the comic) made Slayground (the novel) that much more impressive to me.

Reading a story I’m already familiar with in a different medium made me realize that the story of Slayground seems to be much better suited to a novel than to a comic. There isn’t a whole lot of plot. The story is very good but it’s also very simple and Stark had to make it engaging by using a variety of techniques. In order to talk about why I think the story suits one medium more than the other I have to rely, once again, on the structure of a Parker story. I appreciate that Slayground follows the Parker formula while simultaneously trying to test the boundaries of the formula. Raymond Chandler once said:  “To exceed the limits of a formula without destroying it is the dream of every magazine writer who is not a hopeless hack.” Chandler said that in reference to his career writing in pulp magazines but Stark had a clearly defined structure for his Parker novels and Slayground is but one of his many attempts to exceed the limits of the structure without breaking it.  In my review of The Hunter I establish the five main elements of the formula:

1) Parker alone or with a crew prepares to pull a heist,

2) They do the job,

3) There is a double cross or a serious complication, 

4) Parker fixes the problem (for himself at least), and

5) Parker does everything he can to get his portion of the take. 

Slayground sticks to the formula but it shows then slightly out of order and some parts are only dealt with in the sequel (presumable, as I haven’t read it). The novel begins with part 2) and it immediately leads to part 3). The novel then takes a brief moment to present part 1) in a flashback. More of the novel then concerns itself with what happens between part 3) and part 4). The ending of the novel, and I’m not spoiling anything here, ends with part 4) which Parker getting clear of the mess. The comic does the same thing because the plot is closely related to the formula but it does so without adding much story. The comic gives us parts 2) and 3) in just a few pages and it ends with part 4), just like the novel. What doesn’t work is everything in between the complication and Parker fixing the problem isn’t interesting in the comic. It’s extremely well done, especially considering it’s mostly absent of caption boxes and speech bubbles. That’s also the problem. What made Slayground a good novel for me was spending so much time in Parker’s head and the growing tension that Stark was building before the confrontation with Parker and the crooks. The novel is tense because of all the waiting and the preparation Parker has to do.

Parker: Slayground isn’t Cooke’s best comic adaptation but it serves well as another example of Cooke’s mastery of comic book storytelling. In the same volume, Cooke includes what I can only surmise is condensed adaptation of another Parker novel: The Seventh. The Seventh is one of the novels I haven’t read and I’m pretty convinced that it’s an eleven page comic book adaptation included to make Parker: Slayground seem a little less thin. I for one am glad it was included because I enjoyed those 11 pages immensely. It’s different than his other Parker adaptation, primarily because of its length but Cooke effectively proves that not every adaptation needs to be of equal or similar length as the original story.

I’m far more critical of this Parker comic than I was the first three and that’s ok. Not every comic can be great but even so, I did enjoy Parker: Slayground quite a bit. Certain differences between the novel and the comic were a bit jarring. The physical confrontations are good examples of those differences. In the novel they are quick burst intercut by slow and suspenseful preparation but in the comic, they’re also quick but it all feels very impersonal. It’s too easy for Parker. In the novel he struggles to survive and every man he beats down or kills was the result of extensive preparation, utmost stubbornness and physical prowess on Parker’s part.

There will be another Parker comic in 2015. I have more than a year to wait and that’s ok because I hope this will give Cooke enough time to create something as gripping and intelligent as the first three comic adaptations. However, if I find the wait to be too long I can always continue reading the novels by Stark. That’s something I planned on doing anyway and you should too.

The Score by Richard Stark review

I can't help but think that Richard Stark wrote this particular Parker novel for himself. I've mentioned before that books in the Parker series follow a pretty tight formula. Stark's writing packs a pretty mean punch and I imagine he could have written dozens of Parker books by repeating the formula ad nauseum without ever trying to test the boundaries he setup and still have a successful yet predictable series. Lucky for us, Stark has been pushing the boundaries with every Parker book he wrote after The Hunter. With The Score however, he manages to find a story that provides a great challenge for Parker, a challenge for Stark as a writer while also engaging the reader which.

It's a challenge for Parker because if all the angles he and eleven other men have to keep track of before and during the heist. It's also a challenge for Stark for the same reasons. The Score is about robbing an entire mining town called Copper Canyon in North Dakota. Twelve men are planning to rob an entire town in one short night. A big part of the novel is planning the job and it must have been an equally big part of writing the book. It’s important to get all those details just right because so far the Parker novels have such a strong sense of verisimilitude. You get a sense that what happens in a Parker novel could really happen or may already have happened. For all we know, Parker is a real person and that Stark knows him or, better yet, maybe Stark himself is a real life criminal (what do you mean his real name is Donald Westlake?). There’s not Hollywood logic going on here and that’s why robbing a whole town is an incredible heist. That’s also why Parker and his associates have to work out all the angles.

It’s an interesting story because of all the planning involved. It’s also interesting to regular Parker readers because we know that he more complicated a job the more potential there is for things to go wrong. That’s exactly what readers of crime fiction are looking for. If nothing goes wrong it’s just an academic lesson in how to steal things.

Because the job in this novel is so big, Stark takes the opportunity to grow his community of processional thieves. He previously did this in The Outfit which was a complicated enough book to introduce new faces in, that’s pretty much all he did within that novel because we didn’t spend too many pages with those characters. With The Score, we stick with a small group of new characters for nearly the entire book. That gives the reader time to get to know them. And I do want to know more about them. I want to read more about Salsa, Wycza and Grofield.

I think it’s great that we get to see how different people think and operate during a job. How you act before and during a job will have an effect on your work. Grofield is probably the standout new character in the novel. He's a delight and he's also good at what he does. An occasional theatre actor, Grofield likes to goof around but he knows when it times to get serious and get to work and that contributes to his likeability. Since the story provides many opportunities for these characters to interact with each other, Stark gives us just that.

The Score was also published
under the title "Killtown".

I rather enjoyed little scenes in which the thieves argued their differences or just learnt something they didn't know about another person. One example is when Grofield discovers Littlefield and Parker pay income tax. It's a funny scenes but it also tells you something about all three characters. Parker and Littlefield think you can live and work outside of the system but you still have to acknowledge that the system exists and pay your respects in order to help you remain invisible. Parker gets this. Littlefield learn his lesson when he spent some jail time and was caught for tax evasion but Grofield doesn't get it, he thinks it's silly.

The third part of the story which according to the formula is always from the point of view of one or more characters other than Parker was very good. Because of all the planning in the first two parts, the third part being the heist itself needed a little twist to keep it interesting and not simply be a repeat of the planning. Stark keeps its fresh by giving us the point of view of a different character each chapter. We get an insider perspective to all of their thoughts during the job, what makes them nervous? How do they cope with their part of the heist and the difficulties that come with it? It’s a great section of the book.

Where the book disappoints a bit is that not a whole lot goes wrong. Of course not everything goes smoothly either but you never get the sense that Parker is in over his head. He merely seems annoyed by the whole thing. At the end of the day though, The Score still impresses because Stark finds a way to keep the formula feeling fresh while introducing several new characters mixing it together with some a few familiar characters. The Score also introduces Alan Grofield and that’s noteworthy because he’s so endearing. If I wasn’t already convinced to read the solo Grofield novels, I am now. I think I’ll read a few more Parker novels before then though. Next up, The Jugger. 

The Outfit by Richard Stark review

It’s a credit to Richard Stark’s skill as a writer that I can so thoroughly enjoy a novel for which I’ve already read the comic adaptation (more than once!). His no nonsense prose, his ability to grab the reader’s attention and not let go until the last page is turned, along with this superbly well thought out plots, I can’t help but be transformed into an evangelist of Stark. Unsurprisingly to me and to those who have read some of my previous Parker reviews, The Outfit was excellent.

As I mentioned in my review of The Man with the Getaway Face, the first three Parker novels form a neat trilogy and you could easily consider the fourth book, The Mourner, an epilogue of sorts. The Outfit is the third part and what a finish to this first multi-novel Parker story. In this third Act, Parker puts in motion the threat he gave the Outfit in The Hunter after the said a hired gun after him. He writes letter to all his past associates asking them to knock off an Outfit job if they have one. He doesn’t want a cut of the take, he doesn’t want to pull the job with them (he’s got his own job in mind). All he wants is for the Outfit to lose a lot of money to show them they never should have fucked with him. As if that wasn’t enough, Parker also personally sets out to find Bronson, the head of the Outfit, and put an end to his career.

I've read a large enough number of Parker books to start to see little in-jokes. For those who've read the comic adaptation of The Outfit, remember the little VW from the Club Cockatoo job? Well that's a modified getaway car designed to be much faster than what a VW should be able to go. The work was done by a man named Chemy who makes a living procuring and modifying stolen cars to be used for a variety of illicit means. It was a neat little world building element I really enjoyed. I'd love to see Chemy appear again in one of the later books.

In my review of The Hunter I mentioned the formula of the Parker novels. The formula is limited to the plot but there is also a formula for the structure of the novel itself. The novels are always divided into four parts, each one roughly the same length though not always. In The Outfit, Stark plays with another structure formula. In one part each novel, usually if not always part three, Stark writes from a point of view of another character other than Parker. In the first novel it was Mal Resnick, in the second novel it was Stubbs, the plastic surgeon’s punch drunk handyman. For The Outfit, Stark gives us a glimpse into the mind of Bronson but he also gives it a spin by writing from the point of view of several other characters, all of them acquaintances of Parker's, and the various Outfit jobs they knocked off. It’s like a Parker heist anthology in the middle of a Parker novel. Absolutely fascinating and every job is a sheer delight to read about. Part of me wanted to slow down and really savour each job. One of the things that make Richard Stark such a great writer is that despite sticking to the formulas he establishes for himself, he regularly tweaks them in satisfying and meaningful ways.

Darwyn Cooke did and particularly superb job adapting the third part of the novel. He really flexed his storytelling muscles in an extended sequence of heist after heist. He uses a variety of style and techniques that contribute to each job feeling unique and it also grabbed the reader’s attention because Cooke’s clearly showing off a little but I loved every page of it. The Club Cockatoo job was an excerpt of Stark’s novel accompanied by Cooke’s drawing. It makes me wish some of the Parker novels had illustrations every fifty pages or so.

Stark provides a satisfying conclusion to the story that began in The Hunter. The series continues in The Mourner, which I reviewed here, which has Parker trying up some loose ends from the opening of The Outfit and pulling a job against his will. There is a sense of "what happens next?" after finishing the third and fourth books. Parker's world has undergone some serious transformations. How does Stark continue to write a series that doesn't feel like a letdown after the tremendously good three part introduction and the epilogue book? Well, he gives us The Score, a book about Parker doing what he does best, planning and knocking off a job, a really big, complicated and risky job.

The Man with the Getaway Face by Richard Stark review

"He was a big man, flat and squared-off, with boxy shoulders and a narrow waist. He had big hands, corrugated with veins, and long hard arms. He looked like a man who'd made money, but who'd made it without sitting behind a desk."

The Man with the Getaway Face is the second book in author Richard Stark’s Parker series. Perhaps unsurprisingly to reader of The Hunter, this is an excellent book. The events flow directly from the first book in the series. Parker gets a new face by going under the knife of a disgraced plastic surgeon that still has a licence to practice but no longer has any reputable patients. Parker got a new face in order to avoid being caught by the Outfit after they put a price on his head. He’s got a new problem now; he’s low of funds and needs to find a job to do in order to make some money. The job he finds seems good at first but the pot is too small and it needs to be split a few times too many. He’ll have to rework the job in order to make it profitable but his troubles don’t end there.

The job seems simple; rob an armoured truck while the drivers and guards make a pit stop at a diner somewhere on the highway. The more Parker looks into the job though, the worse it starts to look. The finger, Alma one of the waitresses at the diner, is trouble. Parker goes along with it though because he’s working with long-time collaborator and the closest thing Parker has to a friend, Handy McKay and he really needs the money. He also thinks he has a good handle on her and the cross she’s planning.

Stark must of have a stroke of genius when he thought of Alma. She's not your crime fiction femme fatale type. Physically she’s has a hard figure, round but uninviting. She’s not a stoat woman but she kind of looks it despite her height. Stark describes her as having somewhat of a German built. She's a hard woman, controlling, opinionated and angry at the world because she hasn't gotten what she thinks she's due. She's a good match for Parker, not because she's good at what she does, but because she's hard headed enough to not listen to reason and take reckless actions that really  only seem to benefit her but she’s got no chance to really pull them off. She's not so much stupid as she is reckless. She doesn't want to admit that Parker and Handy are professionals. She doesn't want to be told she's going about this all wrong and that's what makes her a threat to Parker. She also has another work acquaintance of Parker’s, Skimm, under her thumb. Alma is a threat to Parker because she’s a serious liability against the success of the armoured car job.
Unlucky for Parker, Alma and a job that’s quickly going aren’t his only problems. The plastic surgeon who gave him a new face was murdered and his punch drunk handyman is out to find his murderer and since Parker was the surgeon’s last patient he’s been deemed one of the prime suspects. Parker doesn't have time for this. He needs to do the job because he needs the money but he also needs to keep his new face a secret so that the Outfit doesn't track him down and that’s exactly what Stubb’s, the doctor’s handyman, is threatening to reveal.  Parker’s got too much on his plate and he's having a hard time keeping it straight, even with his trusted friend Handy helping out. But soon it’s apparent they also have to keep an eye on Skimm who appears to have lost his edge.

Stark does two things in The Man with the Getaway Face: 1) gives Parker so that he can hide from the Outfit and 2) has his plan and execute a job. It’s smart because Stark shows us just how big a deal it was for Parker to go after the Outfit in The Hunter. There are going to be some serious and lasting repercussions for messing with the men at the top of the Outfit. The armoured car job accomplishes something different. By the second book I think Stark wanted to show readers that Parker isn’t just a hard man, he’s also a very skilled man when it comes to thieving. It was a smart move to include such an event because it’s very informative as to what a Parker book is and will continue to be. The Parker novel heist formula is more clearly established here than the shuffled up version that exists in the first book. The more important part of the book though, is the complications that arise from the plastic surgeon’s death. The threat isn’t Stubbs, the handyman. The threat is the knowledge of his new face being leaked to the Outfit. That's something that continues to play a larger role the third book, The Outfit. It's pretty clear to me now that the first three Parker books form a neat trilogy that's pretty focused on Parker butting head with the Outfit, Stark's version of organized crime in the 60s era United States.

When I picked up The Man with the Getaway Face, I was expecting to read a new Parker story, a story for which I hadn't read the comic adaptation for because I didn't think there was one. I was partially wrong on this. Nearly half of this book was included in Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of The Outfit. It's really interesting to compare both stories and to see how Cooke uses his art to tell the story in comic book shorthand. I say this because the armoured car job is told in less pages in the comic than it takes in the novel. It's one of the segments that can provide considerable insight into Cooke's method for adapting Stark's Parker novels. 

The Man with the Getaway gives us a look at a side of Parker we haven’t seen yet. He’s vulnerable and so in need of money that he willingly puts his life and the job at risk because he doesn’t feel he has any other choice. Stark also shows us just how much Parker put at risk while going head to head with the Outfit in the first book. Although not as intense as The Hunter, The Man with the Getaway Face was a fantastic read because it gave us insight into another side of Parker. He’s less violent and more calculating which were required of him in order to survive the events of the book.

The Hunter by Richard Stark review

The first review I ever posted on the blog was of the comic adaptation of The Hunter. The Hunter is written by Richard Stark and the comic adaptation was written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. Since my first exposure to the Parker novels was through Cooke’s adaptations, my review of the novel will also be somewhat of a comparison between the two.

One of the first differences is quite obvious; the novel gives us more insight into the mind of the characters, particularly Mal Resnick. The novel more than the comic, really gets across how much of a slime ball he really is. This helps the reader understand Parker’s motivations which is very important. Unlike a lot of noir or crime fiction, Parker isn’t a private detective or a retired cop or a tough journalist or anything like that. He’s a crook, plain and simple. We discover in later that he does have a code of honour, but that’s not really important in The Hunter. He was double crossed and left for dead. He’s out for revenge, plain and simple.

Stark does a good job demonstrating that tracking down a man in a criminal organization when having next to no leads is a time consuming process. Much like the Outfit, Parker has his own connections and he uses then up one at a time until one of his past acquaintances led him straight to Mal Resnick. I'm not spoiling anything by writing about Parker finding Mal. Where else was the book going to go? Parker is too good at what he does not to find the man he's looking for. Stark exudes that confidence in the way he writes Parker, and he writes him just like Parker does what he does. The prose in The Hunter is direct, calculating and doesn't give a damn about how you feel. It has a job to do and its does it. When Stark describes a room it's because Parker is studying the room, he's calculating like that. When Stark writes about the possible actions Parker can take in order to get out of a situation it's because Parker has thought those things as well. The only time the Stark's writing seems to take its time and meander a little is when he's describing the prettiest woman in the room. But even then, Parker's giving her the once over as well. The writing is direct and strong, like shot of hard liquor, and I love it all the more for it.

As I mentioned briefly, the main difference between the novel and the comic of this first Parker story is in the number of steps it took for Parker to get to Mal and the number of steps Mal took in order to avoid his inevitable fate. Some of the scenes in the novel are exactly how I remembered them in Darwyn Cooke's comic adaptation. For his first adaptation of a Parker novel, Cooke played it safe and barely deviated from the novel. Now I see that that is one of the things that contributes to the quality of the comic. The novel’s ending is different that the one Cooke wrote in the adaptation. It's not a huge change. The way Cooke wrote it allowed him to adapt the third book, The Outfit, immediately after Parker: The Hunter. The ending, a pretty great one, is not lost however. Cooke uses it in Parker: The Outfit, it's one of the heist in the middle if the comic, albeit in a slightly modified form.

The Hunter is a violent book. Much more violent than any other Parker book I've read yet, more so even than Slayground. It's the most violent Parker book not because of the quantity of violence to be found in these 200 pages, but the context in which Parker is violent. One particularly poignant scene, Parker breaks into a second story beauty parlour to stake out a hotel across the street. Parker knocks out the owner while she's counting the days till after closing hours. Parker’s use of unnecessary strength in knocking her out, compounded with the woman's respiratory problem, results in her death. Parker is so wound up in getting his man and his money that his actions begin to affect the lives of otherwise innocent people that had the misfortune of being in his path. Stark gives us a few other examples of this throughout the book but it's never the focus of the story. This book is about Parker and never mind the collateral. The violence stands out, but not because here is a lot, but because it’s calculating and almost nonchalant in its execution.

The most surprising thing about The Hunter is that Stark set up the formula for a Parker novel without us really being able to realize it until later books. He accomplished this tour de force by executing the formula out of order and shifting our attention on the end game. The formula is as follows:  

1) Parker alone or with a crew prepares to pull a heist, 

2) They do the job, 

3) There is a double cross or a serious complication,  

4) Parker fixes the problem (for himself at least), and

5) Parker does everything he can to get his portion of the take.

That's ones of the things that make The Hunter so good. There is very little set up. This novel is 200 pages of Parker fixing what went wrong with the job and getting his money. That's only the second half of the Parker formula and that's why we don't fully understand it yet. The entire formula is there though. We get the setup, the job and the betrayal but it’s given to us in a way that is different from the other Parker books that followed (primarily in extended flashbacks).

Stark is a master of crime fiction. I was immersed in The Hunter despite having previously read Cooke's comic adaptation three times. It's a credit to Stark prose that I was so interested and engaged in reading a story I knew almost as well backwards as I do forward. If anything else, reading The Hunter is an encouragement to read other Parker novels by Stark. I really look forward to them.

The Mourner by Richard Stark – review

The Mourner is the second novel from the Parker series by Richard Stark that I’ve read and I enjoyed it more than Slayground. Chronologically, it’s the fourth book in the Parker series, following The Outfit and preceding The Score. It’s important to mention this because plot elements found in The Mourner are taken from Parker’s first few stories, primarily The Outfit.

Remember Bett Harrow from the opening pages of Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of The Outfit? It turns out she took a gun with Parker’s prints on it during their time together and with Bett’s help, her father convinces Parker to steal a small statue for him in exchange for the gun and fifty thousand dollars. There is a problem, however. The statue is in possession of Karpo a diplomat who has been stealing money from his home country of Klastrava. The government of Klastrava sends their top agent, Auguste Menlo, to dispose of him and steal back the stolen $100,000. Realising they are in each other’s way, Parker and Handy McKay choose to work with Menlo to each other’s benefit. They do so knowing full well that Menlo will attempt a double-cross.

The job is planned and executed as in many other Parker stories but Menlo’s actions keep things interesting. In fact, Menlo keeps much of the book interesting. He’s a strange and fascinating character. He’s very capable and resourceful but he’s out of his comfort zone working in a criminal environment. There are things about American culture he simple doesn’t understand. Richard Stark does a good job of writing Menlo. He doesn’t make Menlo look dumb or foolish. It’s made quite clear that Menlo has decided to turn a new leaf and that this change in his character is quite difficult for him.

Out of all the characters in The Mourner Menlo is by far the most interesting and Stark was clearly aware of this. This book like all others in the Parker series is divided into four parts and Menlo gets one part entirely focused on him. It also happens to be the longest part of the book. Not to worry, Parker still plays a big role in the book. I don’t wish to make it sound as if Parker is predictable but it’s clearly been established at this point that Parker will come out on top sooner or later. It’s the difficulties that Stark puts in his path that make it interesting for the reader.

The Mourner was more interesting than Slayground because the story takes place on familiar ground. Parker is doing his job and dealing with the complications. Stark also adds new story elements that embellish the story nicely by adding motivation and conflict for Parker and it all ties up nicely in the end. The thing Slayground does that The Mourner doesn’t is make things look like they’re challenging for Parker. Then again, he does get shot and left for dead in this one and we’re not entirely sure Handy McKay will survive either. Oh well, I’d much prefer a fully fledge character like Menlo than twenty faceless mobsters going up against Parker.    

Slayground by Richard Stark - review

Slayground is the fourteenth book in the Parker series written by Richard Stark. It is the first book I’ve ever read in the Parker series, not counting the comic adaptations by Darwyn Cooke. I picked this book instead of all the others for two simple reasons. I just read the adaptation of The Hunter, The Outfit, and The Score and I felt as though I was familiar enough with Parker and a handful of secondary characters to be able to start with any other book in the series. The second reason is that Slayground is said to be one of the best Parker novels. I’m not entirely sure I agree, which is a bit odd considering it’s my first Parker novel.

I’ll break down my review in four parts, each part concentrating on one of the book’s four parts. In part one there is the setup, pure and simple. Parker, along with Grofield and a man named Laufman rob an armoured truck. Things go awry and Grofiled and Laufman are left unconscious while Parker is running off with the money. On his way into a nearby amusement park closed down for the winter he is spotted by two police officers and two men in dark overcoats. Parker soon discovers there is only one way in and out of Fun Island. He’ll be receiving visitors soon and prepares for the arrival of either the cops or the men in overcoats or both.

Part two is an exercise in patience and it’s one of the better parts of the book. We’re introduced to the two men in overcoats: Caliato, a cool headed and patient mobster. He is next in line to run the mob in town and he’s a worthy adversary for Parker because his patience and calculating mind makes for a seamless execution of his work. Because he’s a patient and calculating man he won’t make the mistakes Parker wants him to do; mistakes that would allow him an easier escape. Caliato also has an interesting second in command in Alfred Benniggio. They share an interesting relationship.

In a way Stark is forcing us to live what Caliato, his crew and Parker are living. We’re preparing for the inevitable confrontation. We want to see the gangster go into Fun Island and we want Parker to outsmart and outgun them and get out. But we have to wait. We must be patient. There are things to prepare for and we must quickly do those things and then we wait. Stark does an excellent job making an interesting book out of a bunch of characters waiting for one another to act, each situated on opposite sides of a road, divided by fences.

The third and fourth part tell the story of the first confrontation that happens during the night and the second confrontation that happens the following day. It’s what the reader has been waiting for and Parker, as always, proves to be smart, resourceful and strong. He outsmarts the gangsters more than he outguns or outfights them. He’s grossly outnumbered and his strategy relies more on hiding and outsmarting than it does on fighting. That might come as a disappointment to some readers but how else was it going to realistically be played out? I liked it and I think it worked.

I don’t think it’s the best Parker book because it concentrates too much on one small event in Parker’s life and it’s not one of his proudest achievements. Parker gets away with less than what he had at the start of the book and it’s disappointing. The way it happened isn’t disappointing, it was very entertaining actually, but it’s not a victory for Parker. The story is also very straightforward and focused compared to other Parker stories such as The Hunter and The Outfit which had a lot going on. A story like The Score is also straightforward but it’s a story about Parker and what he does, thieving, and it’s fascinating to see him and his crew do their jobs. It’s also a very special job and that’s also interesting. Slayground is the story of Parker trying to get out alive with or without his money. The only elements of his career that show up in the book appear in the first forty pages and it’s almost exclusively plot setup.

There is a sequel to Slayground and that makes sense because the story begun in this book is incomplete. I want to read it, and I will in time, not only because I’d like to know the rest of the story and not only because it will most likely be a revenge story, but Parker needs to get his money back. He only did half of what he sent out to do in Slayground. He got out alive but he got out with empty hands. I can easily understand if any readers also felt the same way after such an abrupt ending by Stark.

Richard Stark's Parker: the Score review

Parker: the Score is the third book in a series of comic adaptations of Richard’s Stark’s crime novels by Canadian born Darwyn Cooke. I’m very impressed. Nearly 500 pages of comics and Cooke’s barely had a slip up. As always, when talking about plot elements and the overall execution of the book I refer to Cooke. Having not read any of the Parker novels I have no idea how much is taken from the series of novels. I imagine it’s a lot but I mean no disrespect when omitting Stark’s name from my comments and reviews. It’s something I’ll have to address by reading a few of the novels.

We meet up with Parker while he’s on a beach. He hasn’t done a job in six months. He’s not low on cash but boredom has settled in. There is a man who wants to organize a heist but he’s new to the game and needs help. This man, Edgars, presents his job to Parker and some of his friends (we’ve met two of them in The Outfit). Edgars plans to rob a town called Copper Canyon. While describing the job to the other thieves it becomes clear to them and clear to the reader that Edgars plans quite literally to rob the whole town. Parker’s friend, Grofield, is immediately intrigued. It takes Parker a bit longer but boredom and an exciting job leads him to decide to take the risk on this job.

The straightforward plot, Parker and 11 other men plan and execute a job, becomes much more intriguing because Parker breaks his own rules: 1) do not work a job that requires more than four or five people because it becomes too complicated and therefore too risky, 2) if a job is too risky, cut your losses and walk away. We know he should walk away and we know there will be a negative outcome for Parker and his crew because he didn’t walk about but just like our anti-hero, we’re hooked. We’re glad he decided to take charge and plan the robbery. It’s refreshing that we’re reading about Parker dealing with a job for an entire book. So far we’ve read about him dealing primarily with the outcome of past jobs that have gone wrong. This time we’re along for the ride and we get to see the planning and the execution.

Cooke experimented with style and storytelling in The Outfit and experiments a bit this time around as well. Grofield’s scenes are intercut with his strange imaginings he has comparing the heist to a group of soldiers undertaking a missing in a World War II setting. It works well, both visually as well as device to quickly show us what kind of person Grofield is. He’s obviously very good at his job, he really likes it but he’s arrogant and takes unnecessary risks. He lacks focus compared to many of the other thieves.

The accent colour this time around is orange. This seems like a strange choice at first but it makes sense. It is strange because it’s not a dark colour. Crime comics and even police procedure comics tend to have a darker colour palette. I’m thinking specifically of Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips and Gotham Central by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker. Orange isn’t dark at all. I can’t help but think that Cooke had the gas station explosion in mind while choosing the accent colour for The Score. The impact of that page would have been lessened by the use of. The explosion in question was done using only the off-white colour of the page and the orange. There is no black at all and it looks the explosion is happening right in front of our eyes.

Unlike the previous two adaptations, there are no flashbacks in The Score. The book concentrates on showing us the thieves at work and Cooke wisely gives things room to breathe. The book is not as dense as the previous two but it doesn’t feel slight because of it because Cooke tells it so clearly, so efficiently. Cooke keeps in mind that this is a very big undertaken and treats it as such. Also, because this is crime fiction we can expect something to go wrong. I knew something was going to happen but I couldn’t figure it out. I shouldn’t feel too bad though, Parker didn’t see it either. My only complaint for The Score is that the problems that arise are resolved rather quickly.

Not only that but it’s a huge undertaking and it’s nice to see Parker working with a large crew. Not only that, but it wouldn’t be good crime fiction unless something goes wrong and part of the fun is trying to figure out what will go wrong. I’m not spoiling anything in saying the Copper Canyon job goes as wrong as it possibly could have gone. It’s a riveting how Cooke made it happen.

One of the many reasons this is a great comic is the portrayal of the crew of thieves. Every single one of them have a way of dealing with the life they’ve chosen, they all have rules. Not everybody agrees with how things are done but everything body at least pretends to go along with it for the sake of the payoff. Parker is still the star of his own series but Grofield gives him a run for his money.

Once again Cooke delivers and excellent crime comic. He doesn’t depend on the two previous books, instead he builds on it. Three books in and the Parker series still feels fresh. The stories are riveting, Cooke’s art is excellent and even when he’s not pulling off flashy storytelling tricks he’s telling a solid and entertaining story. We’re told at the end of the book that there will be a fourth Parker comic in 2013 and I can’t wait. 

Richard Stark’s Parker: the Outfit review

In my review for Parker: the Hunter I wondered whether or not Cooke was going to let loose in his second Parker adaptation The Outfit much like Parker lets loose after a job. Having read The Outfit for the first time, I would say Cooke indeed let loose. Once again the plot is simple. Parker underwent plastic surgery to change the look of his face in order to avoid being hunted down by the Outfit (the Organization or the Syndicate, it’s all the same). Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long, just one job, for his identity to be made known to the Outfit. He decides it’s time to end this nonsense once and for all and declares war on the Organization and acts out his threat to ask all his thief friends to hit the Outfit anyway they can.

According to Trent at The Violent World of Parker, Parker: the Outfit is based on two novels by Richard Stark The Man with the Getaway Face and The Outfit. It also seems Cooke was less faithful with his adaptation this go around. I’ll let experts like Trent tell you exactly how faithful he remained while I concentrate on the comic adaptations.

Taking a free hand with The Outfit was a good call by Cooke as I enjoyed the second comic more than I did the first which was excellent. I essentially only have one complaint which is the way Cooke draws women. Now this was a bigger problem in The Hunter but I forgot to mention it. Essentially, all his women look the same. Same body type, same face, all he seems to do is change the hairdos. He adds more variety in the second comic notably with Alma and the retired-prostitute-turned-motel-owner. We get larger woman in her forties and an elderly lady in her sixties. It was nice of Cooke to avoid giving us nothing but magazine worthy babes which, incidentally he does very well but it gets tiresome after a while.

The colour palette is similar and it keeps it consistent with The Hunter. The main difference is the blue-grey from the first book is now a darker blue. Just a slight difference but it was nice. It also gave it a darker feel which suits The Outfit just fine. Cook uses different art styles during one of the book’s four chapters whichs depicts different heist being pulled by friends of Parker (and one of them being pulled by Parker himself and two associates). It works well because it gives a lot of information to the reader quickly. This book more than The Hunter is dense. A lot of things happen and they happen quickly. Cooke puts half a dozen or more panels on at least half the pages and it’s impressive. Especially once you consider the smaller than average page size. Using different art styles for the various heist allowed Cooke to show us a nice variety of jobs while he gets to stretch his drawings muscles and move the story along. It was a great idea and it very well executed.

There is a really interesting few pages that end the third chapter. They bring up the effects of criminals organizing and beginning to work like a business. It makes them soft. Men like Bronson and Fairfax, used to be hardened criminals like Parker (well, maybe not as hard as Parker). Bronson mentions the arrival of a new breed of men in the Organization. There is a new kind of criminal, white collar criminals, businessmen. Essentially other people are hired to do the dirty work while these people coordinate the whole thing from behind a desk.

Another element I liked is Parker’s new face. He’s uglier. Not hideous but uglier than in book one and it works. He’s not just crook, now he’s an ugly crook. His new face also seems to go well with his overly large hands. He’s not deformed but he doesn’t look like you’re average Joe. There’s a full page spread of Parker in his underwear in the first few pages and he’s a physically imposing man. You do not want to mess with this guy! Cooke nails the body language in that page. Parker could have easily looked silly or weak just standing around in his underwear but it’s clear that he means business. It’s even more imposing in hind sight since Parker follows through on his tough look by springing into action.

What I liked the most about The Outfit, and this is true of the Hunter too, is that Parker has to clean up after nearly every job he does. Part of being a thief is working with other crooks. Double crossing and backstabbing are just another part of the job. I find this aspect of crime fiction much more interesting than showing us the ins and outs of planning for a job.  I really like crime fiction that depicts the bad elements that naturally come with the career choice. Sure the payoff can be big but so are the risks. Parker spends as much time dealing with the outcome of a job as much as he spends time planning his next job. That’s not always the case but based on the first two Parker comic adaptations, it sure happens often enough to be a dangerous way of making a living.

What's attractive about crime fiction is that the reader gets to live out fantasies of a criminal life and lifestyle. We've all though about how easy it would be to rob a place but, for obvious reasons, only a small percentage of the population actually try to do it. Crime fiction gives us a chance to play out the fantasy. Good crime fiction shows us why it's not a good idea. We'd probably end up in jail or worse, dead or even worse than that, with Parker hot on our trail.

I'm happy to say I paid for my copy of Parker: the Outfit. The last thing I need is Cooke and IDW sending out goons to roughen me up. 

Richard Stark’s Parker: the Hunter review

This little book is a comic adaptation of a novel from Richard Stark’s Parker series adapted by Darwyn Cooke and published by IDW Publishing. The Hunter was the first Parker book that was published and it makes sense that Cooke starts with this novel. The story is pretty simple, Parker a professional burglar has been double-crossed and he’s out for revenge. It’s a story we’ve all read before but this story has some neat little twists, a great ‘60s look, excellent pacing and art by Cooke. In short, it’s superbly executed. It’s important that I mention I’ve never read any of the novels in the Parker series and this might reflect in my review.

Since I’ve mentioned the plot is something we’ve seen before, it's now time to point out that it’s Cooke's storytelling that makes this a story worth reading. For starters, the comic is not really in colour but it’s far from black and white. There is black ink, white space and a blue-grey hues or shading all printed on a soft yellow coloured paper. The use of the blue-grey hues and the yellow paper really add to the tone and age of the story. The use of the hues and yellow paper fit very well with Cooke’s economical art style. It’s refreshing to see an artist limit himself in the techniques that he can use on a given project, especially when the end product is so nice to look at.

The use of the blue-grey hues as the main colour source is rather flat. Again, it works in establishing the look and tone of the book. Digital colouring with the use of gradients would not have been a good choice for this comic. Cooke only starts to use a different colouring style from the end of the third chapter until the end of the book. There is still flat blue-grey hues being used but in combination with some interesting brush strokes. Most, if not all, of the single and double page spreads also use the brush stroke look. It adds some nice texture and it also works with the story. From the beginning of the fourth and final chapter Parker mentions how he’s caught up in the momentum of his own revenge and it’s starting to show in the art. As if Cooke is also caught up in the momentum of the storytelling and he’s shading is looser. I like it a lot.

Cooke lettered the book by hand. It’s noticeably hand lettered if you take the time to pay attention to the few discrepancies in the lettering. It’s a good look for the book. It feels like an older font and the fact that the comic is hand lettered as opposed to digitally lettered adds to that effect that this is a period piece. I don’t like the way Cooke designed his letter “Y”. Not because it’s unpleasing to the eye but it’s not always functional following other letters. For example, the word “guy” was difficult to read in his chosen font. It’s distracting when I actually have to think what letter I’m seeing. It didn’t often jump out at me while reading but it caught my eye enough times for me to consider it a hindrance.

Cooke uses benday dots (or is it called screens now? I’m not sure) in flashback sequences in an interesting way. They are used for the blue-grey tone and they often trace the silhouette of the characters. It works because it distances the reader from the events just slightly. Because the flashbacks have a different look from other parts of the book while still sharing the same self-imposed limitations in the art (primarily the colours) we can easily tell the events in those sequences happen at a different time than the rest. It’s a neat trick that works well on its own and with the rest of the book.

Cooke is also very good at telling and showing us what kind of man Parker is. Parker is a bully. He uses his overall size and strength (specifically that of his hands) to get what he wants. He's not particularly big other than his hands but he's strong. He's not particularly tall either. There is a panel of him and Rose when he first walks into her apartment and he's half a foot taller than her at the most. Now unless she's a really tall woman, I don't think Parker can be considered a very tall man. He also has quite a bit of brains and some good luck but it’s nice to read about a character who has certain advantages but also has to struggle to do what he's trying to do. The beginning of the books, has him using his brain more than his muscles and the way Cooke tells the story, with many silent pages, it’s nothing short of brilliant.

There are many interesting elements about Parker that make him an interesting character. He doesn’t necessarily like violence but he’ll do what he has to do to reach his goal. There is also a sexual element to what he does. Parker seems to reward himself for completing job by allowing himself to have sex once he’s done. I chose to say allowing himself because he's clearly attracted to the woman in the beauty salon but tells himself to ignore that physical attraction and that there will be time for such things later. He forces himself to stay focus and rewards that focus by letting loose at a later time. Parker also has no problem hitting or doing other violent things to women. This demonstrates once again that he is very goal oriented. I can’t help but think that Cooke is also very focused with his work adapting The Hunter. It makes me wonder if he’ll let loose somehow with the next volume (edit: he did!).

One a final note, the size and subject of the book makes me think this is what the Vertigo Crimes line of hardcovers could and probably should have been. There were some good books in that line but none come as close to what Darwyn Cooke has given us with the first Parker adaptation. I hear the second comic, Parker: the Outfit, is even better.