Pat Novak For Hire

Written By Steven Grant
Illustrated by Tom Mandrake
48 Pages, B&W One-Shot
Moonstone Books, 2006

The most recent release from the Moonstone Noir imprint, Pat Novak For Hire is based on a 1940's radio show starring Jack Webb. The radio show has the reputation of being one of the most hardboiled and cynical of its type, and in this one-shot comic, writer Steven Grant (The Punisher, Damned) and artist Tom Mandrake (The Spectre, GrimJack) have lived up to the show's high standards, cleverly updating the character while adding a bit of sly humor to the mix.

You see, it's 2006 and Novak's still around, a retired senior citizen living on his houseboat at Pier 19 in San Francisco with his adult granddaughter, Malone. When a young woman comes to him asking questions about an old case, he soon finds himself revisiting the decades-old murder investigation, where he is reminded once again that there are no easy answers, secrets rarely stay that way, and things are never what they seem.

You know – the usual.

Grant's story is suitably twisty and tightly plotted in the best P.I. tradition, with snappy dialogue and solid, deftly-drawn characterizations. The true genius of the book, though, is the handling of Novak himself.

Some years ago, the late, great noir icon, Robert Mitchum, guested on Saturday Night Live. The highlight of that episode was a sketch in which Mitchum parodied his Philip Marlowe role from Farewell My Lovely, by once again portraying a classic 40's private eye, complete with hardboiled narration. The joke, though, was that instead of a voice over, Mitchum spoke his narration out loud. The reactions of the other characters to Mitchum's audible "inner monologue" were priceless.

Well, Grant has borrowed that gimmick, with the slightly-senile Novak (who, as drawn by Mandrake, somewhat resembles the elderly Mitchum) providing an ongoing, metaphor-laden commentary – out loud – as he goes about his investigation. As in the Saturday Night Live episode, the other characters react to Novak's rambling in a variety of humorous ways, and it allows Grant to affectionately satirize the genre without pushing it all the way over into outright parody.

Mandrake's moody black & white art perfectly suits Grant's gritty story. The inking style is sketchy and loose, with plenty of appropriately noir shadows. Each character is distinctive and expressive, and the storytelling is straightforward and clear.

This is by far one of the Moonstone Noir line's best titles, and a great crime comic. If I have any complaints, it's that it's a one-shot and that today's market wouldn't support an ongoing title like this. Personally, I'd love to read more of Novak's adventures – the old guy's still got a lot of life in him!

Five out Six Bullets.

Pat Novak for Hire is still available and can be purchased directly from Moonstone Books.