Graphic Novel Review: Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business by Avrind Ethan David (author) and Ilias Kyriazis (artist)

Posted on August 14, 2025 at 7:23 am by Gene Ambaum

Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business by Avrind Ethan David (author) and Ilias Kyriazis (artist), with Cris Peter (colorist), Taylor Esposito (letterer). Forward by Ben H. Winters. Pantheon, 2025. 9780553387599. 128pp.

This graphic novel adaptation of Chandler’s novel isn’t black and white, but its most noir scenes are so dark and smoke-filled that my brain remembers them that way. I’m a huge fan of Chandler’s novels, and it was great to see how this fit so much dialogue into so few pages; there are many with a single image and interwoven word balloons that capture the back and forth of a conversation.

If you’ve never read a novel starring private eye Philip Marlowe but love crime comics, this is a great place to start. And if you love classic noir mysteries but not graphic adaptations, pick this one up. The story features Marlowe investigating a young woman who has her hooks into a rich man’s son, and maybe to buy her off. Then the twists and turns begin.