To Nail the Killer With All Efforts

Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of To Nail the Killer With All Efforts Creator(s): Rob Jackson
Publishers: Self Published
From: England
Price: £1 or will swap

A man lies dead in his flat. It appears that he was beaten to death with a hover vacuum cleaner. Traces of explosives on the victims person suggest some other criminal activity. Inspector Kim and his new partner Hong Yu start tracking leads and stubble upon an undercover operation and a ruthless armed gang willing to shoot their way out to freedom.

Taking his inspiration from Hong Kong cinema, Rob has put all the parts of a police procedural into an entertaining story that wouldn't look out of place on the big screen or your TV. The Hong Kong Setting makes for interesting locations, but isn't developed beyond that.

Rob's work with pen and ink has a naive quality to it - the faces are very 2 dimensional either shown frontal or profile. The characters have a limited range of posses and expressions so dialogue has to convey the interactions and emotions of those involved. The surroundings are illustrated adeptly, with some nice details. The have an observational quality to them, suggesting they were adapted from sketch book illustrations Rob drew on his travels in Asia.

The story flows well, covering the key aspects of crime stories. There's some nice touches such as the final confrontation on a deserted beach. Rob's paid attention to crime films and knows what works. The result is a quirky and entertaining comic.

In a Word: Arresting.



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