Darwyn Cooke & Parker
August 8, 2008, filed under: Epics, by Lex
So the big news to come out of Comic-con that had all the fanboys a buzzin’ was the announcement of Darwyn Cooke’s newest project with publisher IDW. Although the event was well-covered by the comics press, part of me wonders if the general reaction was mild disappointment (perhaps even confusion) rather than euphoria when it was revealed that Cooke was going to adapt a little known crime novel series instead of giving us the next New Frontier. For those of us who have followed Cooke’s career, the news that he is doing Parker and not superheroes is no surprise and actually a pretty thrilling prospect. For me, this is even cooler because I suspected Cooke was a fan of Richard Stark’s crime novels after reading Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score a few years back. So now my suspicions are happily confirmed. Before I reveal my sleuthing though, a few words on Parker…
I was introduced to Richard Stark and the Parker novels through my father, who, when he isn’t reading scholarly texts, is slumming with the best of them reading crime fiction. Of the dozens of authors he’s read, Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake) is one of his favorite and collecting the dime-store, ratty, first-edition paperbacks has become something of an obsession of his (so much so that at one point he abandoned his Luddite tendencies and actually scoured ebay looking for these books). Although not in mint condition by any means, these creased and yellowed paperbacks occupy a special place in his bookshelf; to borrow one for a quick read is not unlike cracking open my copy of X-Men #268–you did it carefully and with respect. The appeal of the Parker novels is in the title character–Parker is a crook with a code. He is physically imposing, dangerously smart, ruthlessly efficient. He only says what needs to be said and moves with the same kind of precision. And all he wants is what he’s owed.
In the first book “The Hunter” Parker gets double-crossed on a job and left for dead. When he comes to, the only thing on his mind is setting things right and getting back his share of the money. He proceeds to take on the mob single-handed, but he isn’t driven by revenge, all Parker wants is his cut. Once he gets that he’ll walk away–but the mob is too dumb to realize it. The Hunter was made into the 1967 movie Point Blank starring Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson, and was pretty faithful to the book as I recall (it was remade in 1999 by Mel Gibson as Payback which was horrible). The second book The Man With the Getaway Face follows on the heels of the first and is my favorite. Parker, on the run from the mob, decides to have facial reconstructive surgery in order to give them the slip. I was struck by his matter of fact calm: he needed a new face, so he got one.
A shot from Point Blank, composed like a Darwyn Cooke panel.
Westlake’s writing style is just like his psuedonym: simple, crisp, and uncluttered. He describes a world populated by Buicks, bricks and full-figured women; where the men are just as likely to pull a shiv as they are a cigarette lighter. There is no other artist better suited to render that world than Darwyn Cooke. Cooke matches Stark’s economy of line. When you read Stark’s description of the brutish Parker you see one of Cooke’s crooked noses. When you envision one of Parker’s dalliances, you can’t help but think of Cooke’s hourglass women.
As I said, I thought Cooke was a Parker fan after I read Selina’s Big Score. Not only was this an out-and-out heist story, but one of the main characters was named “Stark” (an homage to the author?) and he looked an awful lot like Lee Marvin in Point Blank. More importantly, he acted an awful lot like Parker: smart, efficient and brutal.
It was a great read, but you could tell Stark didn’t fit into that nonsense superhero universe. In that book, Stark was Parker and he belonged to a colder, rougher world. One written by Donald Westlake and drawn by Darwyn Cooke.
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Cool news! I haven’t acutally read Richard Stark (although my father, too, is a fan of the author’s, but of the “Donald Westlake” books).
I love the movie “Point Blank,” but I had no idea the book was part of a series. In fact (not to give too much away), I thought the ending sort of precluded any kind of sequel. But, I’ve only seen “Point Blank” and haven’t actually read the book, which has been sitting on my bookshelf since college.
Comment by Bo — August 10, 2008 @
the comic looks really cool. i met Darwyn at the Con, he drew me a sketch of Wonderwoman and gave me a print of Parker. he is awesome!!
Seeya!!
Comment by Omar — August 12, 2008 @