Hank Steiner Monster Detective #1

One thing I am really focusing on is expanding the publishers I read.  Source Point Press was recently at my local comic shop, The Comic Signal, unfortunately for me; I did not have the time to get there and check it out.  Fortunately they did leave behind a good amount of comics.  The thing that drew me in is they are local to the Michigan area, and specialize in horror and sci-fi, but also write comics for all age groups.  I was stoked as I am a pretty big horror fan, and haven’t read too many horror titles.

I looked at the display, as they had roughly 20 different titles with a mix of “monthly” and graphic novels.  I looked around and decided with Hank Steiner Monster Detective.  Being a big fan of detective stories I figured this would be a good starting point.

The book takes place in New York, but not modern day as we know it, one that is split in two sides –Monster and Humans.  Hank Steiner is a detective for…you guessed it.. the monster side.  Hank has some nice, dry humor, but is also a serious detective.   The story itself is dealing with a dead imp, and Hank is brought in to figure it out as the humans don’t want to miss the playoff game dealing with a dead monster.  From here you find that not only are the humans against the monsters but also are fighting among themselves.  As the adventure unwinds you meet some informants, bad guys, and some even badder guys along the way.  Will Hank figure out who did it?  Find out by finishing the book.

Visually I really enjoyed it.  The cover is a colored silhouette of Hank Running with tie in the wind, which reminded me of some of the Dick Tracy images from the 90’s.  Inside the comic, however, it is the complete opposite as they are very detailed-oriented, with great imagery.

4/5 –  Great comic, and while I was hoping for more horror because of what SPP is known for, I probably shouldn’t have gone with a detective novel if I wanted that.  I look forward to reading more of what these guys have to offer!

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