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‘Mumbai Confidential Book 1: Good Cop, Bad Cop’ – Graphic Novel Review

Mumbai Confidential Cover

 

Mumbai Confidential CoverI’m not a noir expert, but I’ve seen the classics: Chinatown, The Maltese Falcon, Touch of Evil, Out of the Past.  You get the idea.  I love this genre, I love the thrills, I love the characters, the twists, the violence, and treachery.  It’s a genre where nothing means what you think it means, and everyone has a secret, a dark past, and ulterior motives. It’s a genre with a deep and ongoing history, and Archaia’s new hardcover graphic novel, Mumbai Confidential, from writer Saurav Mohapatra and artist Vivek Shinde is an inky, burning fuse of a story that deserves a place alongside the classics.

Mumbai Confidential follows Arjun Kadam, an Indian police officer battling criminal masterminds, police corruption, and personal demons.  It’s a fictionalized account of the all-too-real Encounter Cops of Mumbai, essentially a government-sanctioned hit squad of police officers that targeted players in a swelling criminal underground in the 1980s and ’90s.  The rumors are that the Encounter Cops eventually began taking bribes and even executing hits as the line between police officer and perpetrator became blurred.  Set during this time of ethical ambiguity, Mumbai Confidential follows Kadam, a former cop, who finds himself drawn back into the game as he attempts to track down the driver in a tragic hit-and-run accident.  As Kadam digs deeper, however, he discovers that this is merely one thread in a vast criminal fabric that is rapidly and dangerously becoming unraveled.

Mohapatra and Shinde have woven a story that is violent and dark, and as thrilling as any of your favorite noir tales.  I’m a particularly gullible reader; you don’t have to work too hard to surprise me, but, even so, I found these twists and turns particularly affecting.  The art is moody and full of shadows, creating a tone that is pitch perfect for the story.  If you’re a noir fan, you must check out this beautiful, new hardcover from Archaia, available here.

I give it a glowing 5 Femme Fatales out of 5.

 

 

Sam Rhodes

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Favorite MovieYojimboFavorite Game:  The newest version of HaloFavorite Beverage:  Ballast Point's Big Eye IPA

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