''Kane'' is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series created, written and drawn by Paul Grist. Self-published through Dancing Elephant Press, Grist put out 31 issues of ''Kane'' from 1993 to 2001.

Overview

''Kane'' concerns a

police detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

who works in the 39th precinct of the fictional American city of New Eden, which seems to be located on the West Coast. Despite being a UK citizen, Grist appears to have modeled New Eden and its police force in the style of American cop shows such as ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

''. Another clear influence is the work of

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

, particularly his ''

Sin City ''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Presents'' #51� ...

'' comics. ''

Cerebus ''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...

'' was another formative influence, particularly because it proved to Grist that self-published comics were a viable proposition; the first issue of ''

'' that Grist read was #39, hence the designation of Kane's precinct. Kane has a difficult relationship with his co-workers due to a violent encounter with his former partner, which unfolds gradually and in flashback during the series. Police corruption is a recurring theme. ''Kane'' is also densely intertextual and brims with references to popular culture, particularly characters from British television, comics, and films. Since the end of 2001 Grist has concentrated on his

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

character

Jack Staff Jack Staff is a British superhero created by comic book writer/artist Paul Grist. Billed as "Britain's Greatest Hero", it is known for being in the style of an anthology title and for its multi-linear plotlines. He first saw print in comics pu ...

, although he has announced plans to continue Kane as a series of original

graphic novels A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

Reception

''Kane'' won the 1998

National Comics Award The National Comics Awards was a series of awards for comic book titles and creators given out on an annual basis from 1997 to 2003 (with the exception of the year 2000) for comics published in the United Kingdom the previous year. The votes we ...

for Best Self-Published/Independent comic.

Collections

Kane has been collected in the following trade paperbacks from

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

References

External links

Kane @ Paul Grist Comics Index
* British comics Defunct British comics Image Comics titles 1993 comics debuts 2001 comics endings {{UK-comics-stub