Based on a true story, this mini series explores the antics of Doctor Marcel Petiot in war torn Paris. Petiot has some sympathy, helping Jews escape persecution. From another point of view, he could be thought of helping the Nazi’s. Either way he is on a collision course of some sort as Police Detective Georges-Victor Massu and his son, Bernard, are on the good doctors trail. But are the police the real authority in Paris?
Stephanie Phillips has set herself a difficult job if truth be told, as this book is based on real life events. There will be those who will do a Google search to find out information and effectively spoil any surprise. To counter that, Phillips has created a synonym of a real world event and populated it with believable characters from across the various aisles in question. This is a murky world, filled with the desperate people, some of which are more obvious than others. Phillips makes no apologies for the Nazi characters, any elements of humanising them is quickly dealt away through arrogant actions. The dialogue works well throughout the book written at times in a convoluted manner which gives the impression and structure of different languages other than English which maintains its Parisian setting. The pace of the book is perfect; it’s a five issue arc and Phillips is clearly moving from the setup phase of the story and into the discovery stage.
The art is provided by Dean Kotz, who produces an angular style that suits the era that both he and Phillips are working in. It is a style that you have to get used to. At first glance you may not see the textures on show, but re-reading the book will allow you to see the nuances of the characters facial expressions. Remember, this is very much a detective story; any story movement that takes place is done at the character level not in any given action scene. The camera angles used are great, ensuring that the wordy level of the writing is not seen as static. Kotz is helped out immensely by the colors scheme of Jason Wordie who uses a clever ochre tinged scheme that hints at the horror involved in the book. Other times a standard, if washed out, scheme takes over which add a great juxtaposition between the various elements of the book. Finally, letterer Troy Peteri uses a simple and effective font, making the book easy to read, which is very important with this type of story.
True stories are a bit of a mixed bag for me. I haven’t seen the movie Titanic. Do I really need to? After all, I know what happens; it hits an iceberg and sinks. Surely I don’t need to sit through three hours for that ending? Fans of the film will say that I should see it because its about the fledgling romance between the classes and how love is defined by sacrifice. Its all in the details and that is a great way to think of this book. The events may be true, but it’s the details that are important and it is these details that Phillips and Kotz superbly fill in.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Color – 5 Stars
Overall – 5 Stars
Written by; Stephanie Phillips
Art by; Dean Kotz
Colors by; Jason Wordie
Letters by; Troy Peteri
Published by; Dark Horse Comics
The Butcher of Paris #2 is scheduled to ship on January 8th, 2020
Author Profile
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I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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