The classic nonfiction Homicide spurred much of the modern TV detective tropes and provided the basis for The Wire, easily the best cop show out there. The illustrated version is excellent, evocative and intense, and I have every intention of getting the subsequent volumes. It is jarring, however, to see the "warrior cop" mindset so clearly laid out and to know all the brutality that Simon doesn't hide barely scratches the surface. When a cop says he would like to give a reluctant witness a "rough ride" of the type that broke Freddie Gray's neck or Landsman engages in questioning known to elicit false confessions, I squirmed. The "miraculous" ways of closing a case seem to be little more than torture and lying. When I read the original Homicide, I was enthralled and it shaped my idea of detectives and police in a positive way, but rereading the illustrated version took away my illusions and forced me to see what was actually there - a horror and a growing police state that has only become more totalitarian since it was written. Set aside the misogyny, the homophobia, the undisguised racism - what this book shows is the monstrosity of American policing, more terrible for the ways we've been trained to see the monsters as heroes.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher First Second Books for an advance copy of this graphic novel adaptation of the nonfiction true crime classic.

Near the end of the Eighties a reporter David Simon was given something no other reporter had really ever been given. Simon was allowed for almost a year to embed himself in the Homicide unit of the Baltimore Police Department. Here was able to go out on calls, walk alleys looking for clues, sit in on meetings, interrogations, court trials and bail hearings. The book that came from this experience Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, became a bestseller, leading to many tv specials and lots of media talking heads discussing urban crime, but not getting to the real heart of the problems. In addition many television shows sprang from this book, Homicide, The Wire, The Corner. The book is still looked at as a classic and one that many books on policing are judged by, and mostly found wanting. French graphic novelist and illustrator Philippe Squarzoni has adapted the book into comic form, Homicide: The Graphic Novel Part 1, is the first one of two to be released.

Two men in suits stand over what looks like a body in the street, joking about the amount of blood, the many names they can call a shooting victim while waiting for a coroner to arrive. One is a veteran of the homicide unit, and has seen much. The second is still getting his legs in homicide but has an instinct and a drive to find answers to the unknowable. A quick circuit finds the usually, no one saw anything, no one will say anything, par for the course in this neighborhood. Soon we will met other cops, some new, some old, some driven, some not caring. A board is made with cases, some are easy, some aren't. There are suicides, a real mystery in which a suspect was shot, but a weapon can't be identified, thought it could possibly be a cop. Stories are told, lies are written down, and bodies keep coming, while the city does as much as it wants, which is very little.

The book is of its time, so there is a lot modern readers might not like. The treatment of the dead is sometimes not proper. Women are thought of as burdens, especially in homicide. There are not many black faces, in the police, a few but not much. So it seems a lot like today. What is still clear is that Simon was reporting this while screaming about what was going on. Cases wouldn't be solved, due to lack of interest in who the victims were, or how they lived. Money and gentrification were a big issue too, which the graphic novel covers. Squarzoni does a very good job on the book capturing the feeling of the men, the city that seems to be dying and what the bureaucracy of murder is like. The art is really good, the men all in black, a little red when needed, details very clear in the backgrounds, and each character having his own unique look, even if it is usually suit and tie. A very well done adaptation.

Recommended for fans of the book, people who enjoy nonficton graphic novels, though the story is grim, and for people who love the European art sensibility mixed with American murder.

My full review will be published on No Flying No Tights (http://www.noflyingnotights.com/) closer to the publication date. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

This book does a great job of turning the original work into a graphic novel. The art is good, and I like that it's black in white except for the occasional red. This makes the artwork pop and adds good emphasis to the violence in the book.

This is a DNF for this reader. I get that this book is supposed to be the dark side of the police force, particularly homicide in 1988 in Baltimore. This book is just darker than I am interested in reading. It starts with a dead guy in the street and all the homicide cops talking above him and it’s very reminiscent of an 80s style cop show or movie. It’s just dark and every other word is F this, F that, calling people hoes, making fun of trans street walkers. While I know this is realistic to 1988, I don’t have to read it or enjoy it.

Spellbinding action, suspense, and gritty, even sometimes bloody displays of true crime victims and the detectives following breadcrumbs to uncover leads to expose the doer of the deadly deed. As exciting and drama filled this graphic novel was, getting to the end to discover it was a part one was crushing. Reading ‘Homicide’ is like taking a walk through a day in the life of a homicide detective; experiencing all the woes of an uncanny street murder and the delirium of a psychopath as they race to make an arrest.

I’ve wanted to read Homicide for a while bc it’s always discussed on Small Town Murder, one of my favorite podcasts. But when I saw that it was being released as a graphic novel, I knew this is the way I wanted to read it. With the exception of being slightly confused by how similar all the detectives and suspects looked, I was very compelled by the story. I’m not the biggest fan of cops, everyone who knows me knows that, but homicide detectives at least are somewhat respectable as they do a thankless job that, if police deserve to exist at all, are the cops that we need. I’m excited to read the second part.

This is a graphic novel version of David Simon's slice-of-life Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. Strong source material is matched by equally strong illustrations from Philippe Squarzoni. Stark, muted tones match the toughness of the text. Anyone who's a fan of the original book, The Wire, or the Homicide TV series will find much to love here.