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Victor Santos

Rashomon: A Commissioner Heigo Kobayashi Case Hardcover – October 31, 2017

by Victor Santos (Author)

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Victor Santos (Polar, Violent Love) writes and illustrates a crime and mystery story inspired by Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s tales featuring the heroic commissioner Heigo Kobayashi

When the body of a skilled samurai is found along the road to Yamashina in feudal Japan, the search begins for his killer. Detective Heigo Kobayashi takes the case but finds only dead-end clues and no firsthand witnesses.

Print length

160 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Dark Horse Originals
Publication date

October 31, 2017
Dimensions

6.9 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches
ISBN-10

1506703178
ISBN-13

978-1506703176
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dark Horse Originals; Illustrated edition (October 31, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1506703178
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1506703176
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.9 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,378,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,823 in Literary Graphic Novels (Books)
- #3,835 in Dark Horse Comics & Graphic Novels
- #4,959 in Mystery Graphic Novels

Customer Reviews:
13 ratings

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Victor Santos

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Born in Valencia in 1977, Victor Santos has written and illustrated a variety of

comics published in Spain and France, including Los Reyes Elfos (The Elf Kings),

Pulp Heroes, Young Ronins, Lone in Heaven, Rashomon, Sukeban Turbo and Black Kaiser.

Santos has illustrated numerous comics in the United States, Azzarello’s New York Times best-selling Filthy Rich, one of the first titles of DC Comics’ Vertigo Crime line, the fantasy epic The Mice Templar, written by Bryan J. L. Glass and Michael Avon Oeming, James Patterson’s New York Times best-selling Witch & Wizard series, as well as different titles like Furious, Black Market, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Sleepy Hollow or Big Trouble in Little China.

His last works are the Image comics series Violent Love with Frank Barbiere and the oncoming Bad Girls, written by Alex de Campi for Simon & Schuster.

Meanwhile, Santos has continued his career as a writer in Spain with other

artists, creating the graphic novels Silhouette, Ragnarök, La sangre de las Valkirias (The Blood of the Valkyries), Ezequiel Himes: Zombie Hunter, La Hija de la Tormenta (The Storm´s Daughter) and Infinity Outrage.

His Polar trilogy published by Dark Horse, his most personal project to date, has been adapted by awarded videoclip/movie director Jonas Akerlund, with Mads Mikkelesen (Casino Royal, Hannibal, The Hunt, Roge One: A Star Wars story), Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical, Spring Breakers) Katheryn Winnick (Vikings) and Matt Lucas (Alice in Wonderland, Dr Who) in a Constantin films/Netflix production.

Santos has won six awards at the Barcelona international comic convention

for his work and three at the Madrid comics convention. In 2014 he was nominated to the prestigious Harvey Award for his work in Polar: Came from the cold.

He lives in Bilbao, Spain.

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1 star		13%

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Gerald O'Malley

Don't Waste Your Money on This Mess

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2017

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Pretty much a lesson in everything NOT to do in a graphic novel. This mess is unreadable. The prose is confusing with little to no explanation of what is happening either historically or in the context of the character's lives. The story is a chaotic jumble of half-finished conversations that never lead anywhere. The artwork is a dumpster fire of Frank Milleresque Sin-City noir with childish line drawings and an occasional splash of color. The characters are indistinguishable from each other. I'm a huge fan of detective stories and a huge aficionado of Edo-era Japanese fiction and I hated everything about this book. I wish I could get my money back. This is a ripoff.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Evan Pokroy

Distinctive art and a different take on classic stories

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2019

A rewriting of two well known Japanese tales based during the Tokugawa Shogunate (Bakufu). The first comes from "In the Grove" whose most well known adaptation is Kurosowa's Rashomon and the second is Chūshingura variously retold as The 47 Ronin. Both stories adhere closely to the source material, but are told from the point of view of Heigo Kobayashi, a sort of police detective employed by the Shogunate to get to the bottom of the strange circumstances. I thought the stories were well written and paced. Santos's art is stunning and I would compare it favorably to Miller's Sin City with a touch of Wes Craig's Deadly Class. Overall, highly recommended, I just wish there would more forthcoming!

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Nicola MansfieldTop Contributor: DC Comics

If you love shoguns, samurai and ronin this book will be ...

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2017

This is two separate mystery/crime cases which end up being tied together. The book is described as "crime noir" which drew me to read it. However, I didn't find that description fit at all except for the presence of a femme fatale. The book is set in feudal Japan and each case is immersed in the cultural history of that time and place. The first story was okay but the seconded depended so much on the history that I didn't really understand it. If you love shoguns, samurai and ronin this book will be right up your alley. The art is outstanding though. It's stylized with sharp angles and uses either black and white or limited colour palettes. The use of illustrations done in either warm or cool tones helps keep the mood of the storyline.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Stylized Noir Piece

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2017

Originally published in two parts (Rashomon and Seppuku) in black and white and Spanish, Dark Horse gives an American treatment of this merging of Japanese Cinema and American Noir. Despite the disparate themes, Santos does an excellent job of melding the two; he doesn't stick religiously to either yet his breadth of knowledge and clear affinity of the subjects is obvious. This feels very much like a labor of love.

First story: A samurai has been murdered in 1700s Japan. Detective Kobayashi investigates but is frustrated to find different and contradicting versions from the witnesses of what happened. The wife and bandit who raped her have one story while the dead man is raised by a medium and has an entirely different story.

Second story: A nobleman has died - forced to commit suicide (seppuku). His loyal retainers resent the means of his disgrace and flout the Shogun's orders by seeking revenge. Kobayashi is surprised to find that the wife from the first story is now the deceased noble's wife in this second story.

Fans of Japanese cinema will immediately recognize the two plots above: Akira Kurosawa's seminal movie Rashomon and the tale of the 47 Ronin. These two stories were merged with the atmosphere of film and novel noir, particularly the work of Dashiel Hammet and the movie Yojimbo. What this means is that we have an historical Japanese base but with very American aspects such as a femme fatale, light through the blinds aesthetics, characters with strong moral codes, and an obsession with weapons (guns in America and Swords in Japan). At times, it does feel more Western than Japanese despite a very well researched depiction of Shogunate Japan. Of note, as with the movie Rashoman, although the setting is from novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa's short story "Rashomon", the plot itself is from one of his other short stories, "In The Grove."

There are other homages as well - I especially appreciated the subtle references to other bakufu (police) of the era: the specific blue and reversed triangles of the Shinsengumi. Santos has even woven in a bit of the shinobi ninja and (dare I guess) a nameless ronin likely to be Miyamato Mushashi to round out the cast.

Stylistically, the cover is very representative of what will be found within. Inspirations from Eisner (the Shadow), Frank Miller (who was heavily influenced by Eisner), and Mike Mignola become very obvious. From very heavy 'Japanese ink' type of drawings that were then later colored in for the American audience in bold color blocks (very Sin City - red lips, red blood, and a very sparse set of colors so as not to distract from the story). But the square jawed, blocky art style should be familiar for those who especially read Mignola or Miller.

If the above makes it sound like Rashoman is derivative, don't worry. What Santos brings is a seamless merging of two cultures in a way that pays respect to both. If anything, I feel he learned most from Japanese dark classics such as The Bad Sleep Well - that the ending doesn't have to have a happy ever after and, in true Kurusawa form, it's about exploring the various realities and how people even deceive themselves - rather than finding a singular 'truth.' Our detective does find some truth and, like the source movie Rashomon, there is a bit of restoration in the faith of humanity at the end. But it fortunately isn't cut and dried, which is respectable in a medium that too often has to compromise for its audience (as Santos had to do with being required to color the comic for American/Western audiences rather than leaving it monochromatic).

The story is not dialogue heavy but there is a lot to take in; certainly, this rewards those who like to reread their graphic novels later. The source material - Rashoman and 48 Ronin - aren't really needed to understand or enjoy this book but they do give an appreciation of what Santos has done here. Certainly, I appreciate a European who has been able to craft an engaging story from both Japanese and American cultures - and make it look like he was born to both. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

2 people found this helpful

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Snarf

Not Really Noir, But Still Great

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2017

An excellent crime/mystery book, but not a noir story as it claims aside from the look. In that area it nails the mood, very reminiscent in places of Miller's Sin City and Cooke's Parker.

I won't score the book down for stretching the noir claim because it's still a really great story with gorgeous art. I'll be cracking this open a lot over time. Highly suggest to any samurai or crime fan.

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Juan Alcaraz

Excelente Novela Gráfica!

Reviewed in Mexico on September 13, 2018

Verified Purchase

Un gran paseo de los cuentos de Ryunosuke Akutagawa a la película del Gran Director Akira Kurosawa, esta novela gráfica complementa exquisitamente ambas anteriores entregas. Víctor Santos hace una magistral obra al adaptar y presentándonos a los personajes mas allá de los cuentos y la película, nos sorprendente al darle cara a personajes clave y llevando a otro nivel el legado de Rashomon.

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