If you are going to list the top hard-boiled detective writers of all time, the top two names on that list have to be (in no particular order) Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, with everybody else a distant third and beyond (in case you’re curious, I would put Ross MacDonald at number three and then probably Mickey Spillane and James Cain to round out the top five). So if you’re going to take on rewriting one of the masters, you have to realize that you’re not going to improve on it, but maybe you’ll bring a new perspective to a classic. Arvind Ethan David gives it a go in “Raymond Chandler's Trouble Is My Business”, a graphic novel of one of Raymond Chandler’s novellas, and for the most part he succeeds.

Los Angeles, 1930’s. Philip Marlowe gets hired by another PI to find out if a rich man’s son, Gerald Jeeter, is being taken advantage of by a “dame”, Harriet Huntress, who may be just a gold-digger out to make a buck. Sounds simple and straight forward, right? Ah, if it were only that easy.

Marlowe gets knocked out by Gerald. Gets involved with a casino owner, who has quite a few debts owed by Gerald and seems to be attached to Harriet as well. Finds another PI on the case, who happens to be dead. Gets confronted by the old man, but is he the client? Gets shot at by two low level thugs and rescued by the old man’s chauffeur, who happens to have a college degree and is quite an excellent shot. Gets kidnapped. Finds another dead body. Finally gets all the players in a room and figures out who did what. All in a day’s work for Marlow, after all, because trouble is his business.

A nice adaptation, with a few changes that will probably upset the purists. But the artwork and the language capture the feel, the mood of the original story, which you should definitely read if you haven’t yet.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor - Pantheon via NetGalley. Thank you!

My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor- Pantheon for an advance copy of this graphic novel adaptation of a short story about a detective, a woman too bad to be true, family ties and family lies, and the codes that helps us get through life, both good, bad and indifferent to others.

My gateway drug, or 7% solution to the mystery genres was Sherlock Holmes stories, followed y Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr and other giants of the golden age of detection. I became used to amateurs solving crimes, impossible puzzles, locked room murders and the like. Private detectives came later, probably the Spenser novels, whatever was popular enough to show up at tag sales and library sales. I remember getting something called the Pulp Detectives, I think, and not knowing anything about it, stuffed it in my bag for reading. It was a big bargain book, with a lot of authors and stories, and where my fascination with Black Mask stories and more came from. There was so much it blew my mind. Especially Raymond Chandler. The mystery was the key the MacGuffin as Hitchcock would say. To Chandler the mystery set the scene, the mystery was more about the people involved. Why do they do what they do? How long can a man, walking those dark streets not be mean, just give up being a knight-errant, and let the tide wash up over him. Chandler was a man with a lot of problems and a lot of darkness in him. This showed in his writings, and the many, many adaptations that have followed. Especially the most successful ones, like this one. Raymond Chandler's Trouble Is My Business is an adaptation of a short story by Raymond Chandler, adapted by Arvind Ethan David, with pencils and inks by Ilias Kyriazis and colors by Cris Peter tells of a detective who finds himself in a suddenly complicated case involving families, love, aspirations, gangsters, cops and lots of bodies.

Philip Marlowe is asked to help on what seems like a simple case. A father wants to keep his son away from a young woman who seems to be spending his money freely around town, especially with gamblers. Marlowe's client is a father who seems to care little for his son, or stepson that he adopted. Marlowe learns another detective had investigated the woman in question earlier, so Marlowe tries to meet with the detective who specializes in documents, but finds the man dead in his office. Already thinking this case was getting bad, Marlowe meets the woman, and falls deep in like with her something she seems to be receptive to, but Marlowe is knocked out before he can make more of this. Slightly concussed, and even more drunk Marlowe goes home to find two thugs, one using a .22 to get their point across, the same weapon that killed the detective Marlowe found earlier. As the night goes on, Marlowe has a run-in with the cops, is nearly killed twice, and still can't figure out why so many bodies keep appearing.

The best adaptations has capture the inner voice of Philip Marlowe, and the way he sees the world. This does that and more. The way key characters are introduced gives the reader insight in not only why they act the way they do, but clues to what might happen later. The writer has captured not just the feel, but the atmosphere of the time, the nastiness, the racism, the misogyny, the feeling that the world had gone to hell, or maybe was in hell, soon to be repeated in World War II. The writing is good, as is the changes to fit the graphic medium. The art is outstanding, a mix of Howard Chaykin, and European colors, with a detailed look of the times and the people. The clothes, the cars, even the way people carry themselves. The coloring is really good to adding to both the story and the emotions that the reader knows the characters are dealing with. A really wonderful read, and a beautiful book to look admire.

I really want more from this team. One can tell when a crew is firing on all cylinders, and this creative group are like the perfect heist gang. They know the job, how to do it, how to get in, get out, and leave the reader wanting more. More is what I hope I get. Perfect for Chandler fans, fans of crime comics, and creators like Darwyn Cooke and Ed Brubaker, and people who love to look at well illustrated graphic novels.

Philip Marlowe is hired to pry a dame off a rich man's son. But the more involved he becomes, the weirder the case appears. Another gumshoe is found murdered, the rich son clobbers Marlowe from behind, gunmen show up at his apartment, and the police seem to have a heads-up on case developments. But as the bodies start to stack-up, Marlowe calls all the interested parties together for the big reveal. But while most folks buy Marlowe's conclusion, Marlowe doesn't. But will he find out the actual path of events or will he be left in the dark? Pickup this well-drawn title and enjoy this version of a classic noir tale!

Thanks Netgalley and Pantheon Graphic Library for the chance to read this title!

Adaptations are tricky, and I always try to consider them first as their own story before comparing it to the source. Unfortunately, this graphic novel fails both to stand on its own, as well as twisting the source material into something nearly unrecognizable.

If I hadn’t signed up to review this graphic novel, I wouldn’t have finished reading it.

Each character has their own color palette and font for their narration, which distracts from the flow of the story. David, in his notes, takes full responsibility for these decisions, though he does not seem to realize they render the story nearly unreadable.

Other artistic decisions, that might appeal on their own combine with the above to further detract from the readability of the comic.

As far as plot goes, the choice to depict George as a Black man completely changes the entire story, resulting in a racist stereotype of an angry Black man, only narrowly redeemed by a total rewrite of the ending.

I went through a whole phase reading books like Raymond Chandler novels. There's just something so interesting about that gritty style. I like the artwork in this, but I don't know if this is the best way to tell the story. The formatting made it confusing for me to follow.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Having looked at a couple of the reviews before I read this graphic novel, I was worried that I had made a mistake. The reviews had complained about the artwork and readability of the story. However, I decided to go ahead with the novel. I did not see any of the issues identified. I felt the artwork was well-done and the held true to the original story. The book was a quick read and hard to put down. If you are a fan of older detective mysteries, you will enjoy this book. A good read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am not sure if there is a formatting issue for the digital books, but perhaps the print copy might be better.

I am normally a fan of Raymond Chandler, so why wouldn’t I love this, right?

This book, the format, is almost unreadable. It reads like a killer’s ransom note, with the text being different fonts and sizes. The art is not much better.

I’m hoping something got lost on the transition from print to digital. Until then, I’m going to have to give it two stars. I liked what I could understand, but it was not a great reading experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pantheon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You have to admire the chutzpah in thinking you've got something to add to Raymond Chandler -- though picking a good-not-great short story improves the odds. Sadly, the additions glaring in their inelegance; if they do anything positive, it's to highlight how economical and perfect Chandler's dialogue, plotting, and world view remains after all these years.

Underneath the clunky changes and earnest attempt at a new subplot (which destroys the smarts of the original's very smart finale), there's still a time example of a high end Black Mask story here. The illustration is good, maybe a little soft and cartoony for my taste; the layout is phenomenal and inventive in a way few illustrators approach the medium.

A great graphic novel adaptation of a noir classic. Hopefully will expose readers to the classic that is Chandler. Will order for my library.

Graphic novel adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novella that underwhelms. The art frustrates, not being terrible but also not allowing for a easy or enjoyable reading experience.