Murder Book Vol. 1

Written by Ed Brisson
Art by Simon Roy

There's nothing quite like a good crime comic, and the two stories in this comic are definitely good.  They are both set in the seedier side of Vancouver.

The first features a man who runs into an old friend in a Vancouver bar.  The one man has been missing for four years - no one knew what happened to him, and his wife has remarried.  The old friend is very curious, but as we know all too well, curiosity can kill the cat.

In the second story, a shopkeeper is robbed while in the act of preparing to torch his shop.  He turns the tables on his would-be robber, and forces him to become his accomplice instead.

Both of these stories are pretty clever, and well-written.  This is the first of Brisson's work that I've read, but I am familiar with artist Simon Roy from his excellent graphic novel Jan's Atomic Heart, which I picked up at TCAF a couple of years ago.  His art has improved in that time, and he's given this comic a bit of a Stray Bullets look. 

Brisson mentioned to me at TCAF that Roy will have a book coming out this summer with Image Comics.  Keep an eye out for it, as this is an artist to watch.