Clare’s Comic Catalogue – white NOIR

white NOIR

It’s Wednesday, it’s New Comic Book Day and I have a little recommendation for you all. Regular readers of this column will know about Matt Garvey and his prolific, genre-hopping talents. Well, he’s done it again in white NOIR.

After covering steampunk detectives, punk band shenanigans and vigilante heroes, next up from Garvey is a crime yarn that had its hooks in me from the very start. It’s also not for the faint of heart. But you might have guessed that from that bloody snow angel on the cover!

And I mean, how could you not when the amazing DIZEVEZ grabs you by the eyeballs from the very first page? That realistic style gets me, and in the case of white NOIR it really lends the comic a movie-like quality. Things don’t really kick in, plot wise, until the final few pages, but when that happens it’s at a break-neck pace. And no, I’m not going to apologise for these puns once you’ve read the comic. You can groan at me on twitter though.

The main bulk of this first issue is given over to establishing the locale and cast of characters. The stark, snow-blindness-inducing pages drip feed you the story at a slow burn pace. I don’t think it’d be unfair to offer a comparison to something like Fargo.

The setting obviously puts one in mind of those bleak, wintery landscapes of the Dakotas so beloved of that show. And the intrigue and tension building are not a million miles away either.

One thing I will say after reading #1, I trust Sheriff Nagle about as far as I can throw him. I don’t often make up my mind about characters this fast, especially when we know so little about them, but this guy gives me the heebie-jeebies! Everyone else I’m yet to make up my mind about, but that’s one reason why I am looking forward to #2. Garvey has established his setting now. If white NOIR were a movie, or an episode of a TV show, #1 is the pre-credit teaser (and it’s a doozy of one). Now we get into the nitty gritty.

Universe Building

Using the same artist as The Ether, and the same filmic style, one wonders if Matt is trying to create a little comic universe. Eagle-eyed readers will probably realise that’s absolutely what he’s up to. There’s an easter egg in white NOIR that ties it and The Ether together, and it made me giggle with delight. I mentioned the tie in to Matt and he said that there will be more connections in his comics. Whether that means Chunks will be stopping in Essex Peak on a US tour remains to be seen. But I’m suitably excited, not just for more of white NOIR but whatever Matt has coming next.

If you want to check out white NOIR #1 for yourself, there are a few, and I mean A FEW copies left from Matt’s website. If you are lucky enough to live near one of the many shops that stocks Matt’s comics, you can support your LCBS!

About author(s)

Clare Hemsworth

Hey, I'm Clare, aka Ciara or C. My current fandoms are RWBY and The Last Kingdom along with a bunch of other stuff I tend to let build up and then binge! I'm a keen, albeit amateur, cosplayer and love attending cons in various cosplays. I'm also the resident comic book girl around these parts, especially small press comics, so if you've got an indie book you want reviewed, I'm your gal! When I'm not doing the fangirl thing I am a keen long-distance hiker, having completed Te Araroa in New Zealand and The Pacific Crest Trail on the West Coast of the US.