''Violent Cases'' is a short
graphic novel
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 ...
written by
Neil Gaiman and illustrated by
Dave McKean. It was McKean's first published work in
comics. Though drawn by McKean in shades of blue, brown, and grey, when it was first published by
Escape Books in 1987, it was printed in
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
. Later editions have been printed in colour.
A narrator, who is drawn to look like Gaiman, tells of how, as a small child in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, he was taken by his father to be treated by an osteopath who was once employed by
Al Capone. The nature of the narrator's relationship with his father, the tales the osteopath told, and the disturbing events that followed, are partially obscured by the narrator's imperfect recall of things he was not old enough to understand at the time.
The book won the 1988 Mekon Award for "Best British Work", presented by the
Society of Strip Illustration
The Society of Strip Illustration (SSI), later known as the Comics Creators Guild, was a British network for all those involved in any stage of the creative process of comics production. The SSI, which was co-founded in 1977 by Denis Gifford, met ...
. It was nominated for the 1992
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...
for "Best Graphic Album: Previous Released Material".
Further reading
Both ''
The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch'' and ''
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
''The Ocean at the End of the Lane'' is a 2013 novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The work was first published on 18 June 2013 through William Morrow and Company and follows an unnamed man who returns to his hometown for a funeral and remembe ...
'' are also set around Portsmouth and employs elements from Gaiman's childhood. The three works can be seen as parts of a trilogy.
References
External links
Edward Carey: ''Examining Gaiman's'' Violent Cases ''with Peter Sanderson''-
Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic bookârelated news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
, February 7, 2007.
Violent Casesat ComicBookDB
Comics by Neil Gaiman
1987 graphic novels
1987 in comics
British graphic novels
Crime comics
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