"Black Wings Has My Angel" by Elliott Chaze (NYRB)

ISBN: 9781590179161 NYRB

"Black Wings Has My Angel" by Elliott Chaze (NYRB)

Fucking and crime are the basis of all classic noir, and clearly the novel, "Black Wings Has My Angel," has that in spades.  Elliot Chaze wrote a noir tale that is basically a definitive frame of what noir is.   A man against a system or himself, and falling for his weakness or the power of the sexual pull.  One's life starts from the bottom, and goes straight down to Hell.  It's a classic premise for a crime narrative, and Chaze's novel is another example of that shadowy world. 

The peaks of heaven are always cash in the pocket and the sexual urge being satisfied.  The beauty of "Black Wings" is that it is written beautifully and there is a tinge of real sadness that comes with the despair.  On the other hand, this book is very much the typical noir literature of the 1950s, but well thought out and written with great skill.   For me, nothing is better than David Goodis' series of novels of the underworld, and this book comes close to that insane landscape, but follows a guide rule to write the practical crime book.  Still, it's a pretty amazing read, and the crime itself is very livid with overtures of the definitive existential angst.   Lovers of noir will love it, and no one will be bored.   Enter and don't be afraid. 

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec Volume 2" by Jacques Tardi

"The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec comes back!   Volume 2: "The Mad Scientist" and "Mummies  on Parade."   Jacques Tardi is my favorite living comic book artist from France,  and of course I have favorites in Japan, but let's not confuse categories and things.  Volume 2 is more mood narratives that fall in the French pulp genre then anything else.  Things can happen any moment and time - and our hero Adele seems to never have a night's sleep - with assassins  breaking into her apartment, and strange phone calls in the middle of the night.

Jacques Tardi

Adele is a Detective of sorts who studies the occult and secret organizations and has a thing for mummies.  She and a group of individuals and creatures make strong impressions on the landscape of turn of the century Paris.  And it is Paris that is really the star of the series.  Always mysterious and dangerous (especially in the middle of the night) and yet hauntingly beautiful.  And with the addition of a tight narration makes this series into a graphic novel masterpiece.   Volume 3 is coming out in 2013, and that is the only tragic part of the series.  The waiting...