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GHM Online Columnist - Steve Higgins |
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| LATEST NEWS .: |
.MAY 2003.
Steve's Column Debuts! |
| COLUMN PICS & LINKS .: |
.Hawaiian.Dick.
.Byrd.of.Paradise.
by B. Clay Moore
and Steven Griffin
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Feedback is always appreciated!
E-mail me at vacuumboy9@hotmail.com
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August 22, 2003
"HAWAIIAN DICK: BYRD OF PARADISE"
When I began writing this recommendation of the new Hawaiian Dick collection, Byrd of Paradise, I tried to come up with a good dick joke to use in the introduction, but for the life of me I couldn't think of one. Because of all the attention this book has already received, any witty play on words has likely been used by one of the numerous reviewers and critics who have sung this book's praises before me. But really this book deserves a bit better than a bad pun anyway, seeing as how it is one of the most innovative and original crime tales told in comics perhaps since Frank Miller created the world of Sin City.
Originally a three-issue miniseries produced in the first half of this year, Hawaiian Dick: Byrd of Paradise is an introduction of sorts to a cast of characters that I can only hope Moore and Griffin will continue to revisit for a long time to come. We meet Byrd, a former detective from the States now living in exile on a beach in Oahu, and his massive sidekick, local cop Mo Kalama. When Byrd gets called in to do a favor for a mysterious underworld figure known as Bishop Masaki, he, Mo, and a beautiful bar maid named Kahami get wrapped up in a bit of intrigue involving a stolen Buick Roadmaster and the contents of its trunk.
The style of Hawaiian Dick is reminiscent of books like Mark Ricketts' Nowheresville, which took the concept of the noir crime tale and transposed it into the world of the beatniks. Here the dark crime tale is wrapped up in the tiki culture; elements of the supernatural intermingle with the crime trappings of the tale to create a type of story that is wholly unique in comics today. Not many people would think to liven up a simple story about the kidnapping of a local mobster's girlfriend by throwing a zombie into the mix, and it is a testament to how well-crafted this story is that these two disparate ideas gel together so smoothly.
Similarly this tale is unlike most other comics of today not only in genre but in mood. Writer B. Clay Moore and artist Steven Griffin have created a world that is heavy with atmosphere, a bright and shining testament to the bygone era of Hawaii in the 1950s tinged with a creepy feeling that just can't be shaken no matter how hard you try. Griffin weaves elaborate backdrops for the characters and colors them evocatively. The broad palette he uses is suggestive of the clash between the daytime world of beaches and sunshine with its vibrant hues and the muted tones present on the highways and in the woods late at night.
The characters who move between the light and dark aspects of this setting are very well-rounded. As I first read this tale, I couldn't help but be reminded of Walter Mosley's character Easy Rawlins. Like Rawlins, Byrd is a character who at first seemed to be out of place with the setting but over time came to seem as if he was born of this place. Byrd is clearly a fish out of water here, but as the story progresses, he becomes one with the background. He soaks up the atmosphere until it is a part of him, until you cannot imagine him anywhere else. Griffin's art captures the vitality of Byrd and of all of the characters in every expression their faces shape, every motion they make. At the same time, Moore's writing hints at enough backstory, in the lives of Byrd and Kahami especially, to reveal some deep-seeded angst and suffering that keeps us involved in the plights of these people beyond the boundaries of the plot.
Though not yet available for purchase as a collection (the TPB's release has been pushed back to September 10th, according to Griffin), this book is well worth the wait. Moore and Griffin have jam-packed the new trade with tons of bonus materials like preliminary sketches and drink recipes, to total over fifty pages of extras, almost as many as the original miniseries itself. With the book available for the low price of $14.95, you can't beat this deal.
The creative team behind Hawaiian Dick: Byrd of Paradise has truly dedicated itself to bringing you a fantastic collection, a level of quality they are carrying over into their new miniseries due in the next few months from Image, Hawaiian Dick: The Last Resort. With this collection, you have a chance to get in on the ground floor with the adventures of Byrd, Mo, and Kahami, a chance that you should not pass up.
All Content ©2003 Steve Higgins, All Rights Reserved.
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| :. ABOUT STEVE |
Steve Higgins is an English instructor who loves comics so much he offers a class on them in the spring. His wife Sarah hates comics with a passion and wishes Steve would stop spending so much money on them each week.
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| :. ABOUT STEVE ( CONTINUED) |
Favorite Comics: Doom Patrol, Y the Last Man, Alias, Queen and Country, X-Statix, 21 Down, Paradigm
Favorite Movies: The Fisher King, Heavenly Creatures
Favorite Bands: Radiohead, Counting Crows, Weezer
Favorite Writers: Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Russell Banks
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| © 2003 - Gray Haven Magazine & All Authors. |
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