Murder Mysteries [Hardcover]

P. Craig Russell (Author), Neil Gaiman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 2002

One of the most celebrated writers in the history of comics teams up once again with one of the industry's most accomplished artists! For the first time in nine years, since the award-winning 50th issue of Sandman, Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell once again venture into the world of myth and angels. Constructing and maintaining all of heaven and earth is an immense task, which God has divided up amongst the various ranks and stations of angels. As with any such huge effort, there are bound to be casualties. This unique passion play sheds light on the hands behind creation, as well as one lonely man in Los Angeles who gets to hear the whole story of a most unspeakable crime: a murder in paradise!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Celebrated comics creators Gaiman (Sandman) and Russell (The Ring of the Nibelung) have teamed up to produce a story of deception and vengeance involving the first betrayal, the first heartbreak and the first crime in God's own city of angels. Raguel is a lost angel, a ragged drifter on the streets of Los Angeles, who tells this story to the narrator, a young Brit stranded on his way back to England. In Raguel's former world, the one in which he had wings, he served as the agent of the Lord's vengeance. When an angel was found murdered, Raguel was assigned to find the killer and his motives. Like an unearthly detective, Raguel questioned his fellow angels until he discovered the murderer and then delivered the Lord's terrible punishment. But upon wreaking God's vengeance, Raguel began to realize it was God himself who set up this murder. Using sharp, crystalline drawings of the eternal city and ribbons of color that suggest creation's simultaneous plasticity and solidity, Russell conveys a bright, illuminated world of purity and divine experimentation. His crisp and vividly rendered drawings capture the haunting sense of loss and isolation Gaiman expresses in this mythic tale of love and jealousy.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This is a masterful adaptation by P. Craig Russell of a deep and dark prose short story by Gaiman, known for his wonderful, multiple award-winning Sandman and his recent novel American Gods. The original story can be found in Gaiman's collection Smoke and Mirrors and in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (St. Martin's, 1993). In it, a stranger bums a cigarette off a young man and, in exchange, tells him an ancient story, which makes up the bulk of the book. In the city of the angels, where the universe is being prepared according to the Lord's specifications, one angel is found dead, and Raguel, the Vengeance of the Lord, is sent by Lucifer, Captain of the Host, to investigate. Russell is known for his many fine adaptations of such works as Michael Moorcock's novel Stormbringer (Dark Horse/ Topps). This showcases his marvelous pacing and exquisite artwork, along with Lovern Kindzierski's beautiful coloring. Mature elements make this for older teens and adults. Highly recommended, especially for the many fans of Sandman who want more of Gaiman's thoughtful fantasies.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (June 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156971634X
• ISBN-13: 978-1569716342
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The FIRST Detective Story...., November 25, 2002

By 

Daniel V. Reilly (Upstate New York, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Murder Mysteries (Hardcover)

I must have read Neil Gaiman's short story Murder Mysteries four or five times since I originally encountered it; It's been featured, and rightfully so, in many short story collections. It's one of Gaiman's best, most thought-provoking works, and since Gaiman is one of the best storytellers around, that's really saying something. P. Craig Russell is one of the masters of the comic book art form, and he especially excels at adaptations of fantasy, having previously done Wagner's Ring Cycle, Michael Moorcock's Elric, and numerous Oscar Wilde stories. Gaiman and Russell collaborated on what many consider to be the best issue of Gaiman's DC/Vertigo Sandman book, and Russell has adapted a few other Gaiman short stories (One Life, Furnished In Early Moorcock, and Only The End Of The World Again). Murder Mysteries stands as a high-water mark, in my opinion.

The story-within-a-story, told by a homeless man to a visiting Englishman in L.A., tells of the first murder ever: An Angel killed in "The Shining City"; Our homeless storyteller is in reality the Angel Raguel, the vengeance of "The Name" (God). Raguel becomes, in effect, the first Detective, attempting to discover a motive that can lead to bringing the killer to justice.

Gaiman's story works on many levels, and I have to say that as much as I loved the prose short story, the ending has always left me vaguely puzzled; It's a very involved and thought-provoking piece, and I often find myself thinking about the ending. Russell's adaptation went a long way towards making that ambiguous ending more clear. It turns out I was on the right track, but Russell's visuals make the ending more visceral and powerful.

Murder Mysteries is presented in a gorgeous hardcover format, much the same as Dark Horse's previous Gaiman/ John Bolton book, Harlequin Valentine. This is a must read for all fans of Horror/Fantasy, as well as lovers of beautiful art. It deserves as wide an audience as possible. Give it a try, and spread the word.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Painfully exquisite, February 17, 2004

By 

Jenn "jenncw" (SoCal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Mysteries (Hardcover)

Combine Colderidge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" with Raymond Chandler and all the mystery and promise in the spaces between the words, "The world was without form and void," and you have Murder Mystery. An old man tells a story to a younger stranger in Los Angeles. The investigator of heaven is called to the scene of the very first murder, one in heaven long before Cain & Abel.

The story is divinely erotic and eloquently woven with a master's hand. The illustrations complement perfectly and entrance with their powerful delicacy. This is a must have for anyone interested in a theological or simply intriguing graphic novel.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mystery not solved, but resolved, October 3, 2007

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Murder Mysteries (Hardcover)

Two of the best things that can happen to a comic are to have Gaiman write it and Russell illustrate it. The combination emerges as a wonderful, haunting story. It imagines Lucifer's fall from heaven - a baffling rebellion, unless some specific needs to be rebelled against. And, with an all-powerful god, even Lucifer's rejection of heaven must itself have been divinely ordained. This story posits wholly sufficient reason, a real theological thorn that irritates many mere mortals, and a Macchiavellian orchestration of Lucifer's departure.

This isn't bible-thumping, though. It's story-telling, the kind where elegant images set off a thoughtful, thought-provoking myth. Along the way, it reminds us that the age of myths isn't over. Our own age needs to understand itself through fiction as much as any other ever did, and Gaiman and Russell contribute to that understanding.

-- wiredweird