Newburn Volume One by Chip Zdarsky and Jacob Phillips. Image, 2022. 9781534322394. Contains #1 – #8. Publisher’s Rating: M / Mature.
Easton Newburn used to be a police detective. Now he’s a private detective “on retainer to all of the major crime families in the city.” He investigates murders and other crimes committed against the families (often by members of the other families). None of them will touch him, no matter whom he implicates; they’ve agreed not to, plus he has dirt on the head of each family. The police even help him — it keeps the peace, plus he gives them information sometimes, too.
But Newburn wants out. In the initial investigation in the book, he meets Emily, recognizes her brilliance, and offers her a job. As Newburn mentors her, she keeps a journal (that we get to read). It’s a dangerous line of work made more dangerous not just by the violent people they investigate and anger, but by Emily’s former boyfriend as well.
The story is entertaining, and Jacob Phillips, who’s been coloring crime comics by his father Sean Philips and Ed Brubaker for years, shows that he can illustrate beautifully violent noir mysteries entirely on his own.
A second volume containing the second half of the series was published in 2024. It’s just as good.
