How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Darwyn Cooke

My relationship with Darwyn Cooke is a weird one. I wouldn't describe myself as a huge fan of his even though I absolutely adore his style. I liked New Frontier well enough and after that, Cooke just sort of dropped off my mental map unless someone showed me a sketch they had obtained at a show or something like that. Last summer, I came across Cooke's first adaptation of Richard Stark's Parker novel and while I wanted to read it, I continued to put it off until recently. When I finally purchased The Hunter, I also grabbed Cooke's "Batman: Ego and Other Tales" which happened to include the graphic novel "Selina's Big Score."

Batman: Ego is a great story where Bruce Wayne faces off against his Batman persona in an examination of the life the two of them are living and questions whether or not it is truly worth the cost. While not a fresh tale by any means, Cooke does a fantastic job of portraying the Mental Batman in a grotesque way that really helps convey just how heavy the burden of being the Caped Crusader must be.

Selina's Big Score may be one my favorite stories of the summer. I've been enjoying a number of heist storylines lately between Parker, Inception and the Black Cat mini going on over at Marvel but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Cooke does an excellent job of framing the story across four chapters, allowing each of the important figures to have a role and a viewpoint, speeding along the narrative by also having them involved in different aspects of "The Job" while also dealing with events of their own. The total number of Catwoman solo stories I've read prior to Selina's Big Score was 0, so I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Ms. Kyle as a slick, capable and intelligent heroine who carries the weight of her choices while constantly moving forward with her life. I may actually check out the Brubaker book now, having read this.

Parker: The Hunter is a fantastic revenge story and Cooke perfectly paces it and allows the art to do a majority of the heavy lifting. In fact, the first probably thirty or so pages feature no dialogue at all, with the pages broke down into a variety of panels and splashes that introduce the hero. I had absolutely zero exposure to the work of Richard Stark before I picked up this book but as a standalone work, I found it to be quite good. Each character has a clear voice and look which helps the barely colored art. If I have one complaint it is that the book is far too small. Cooke's art is absolutely gorgeous but far too smushed onto the page. If you like stories about bad guys getting revenge on bad guys, Parker is for you. I read it in a single sitting and I am drooling in anticipation for the next book.