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Parker Graphic Novels #2a
Richard Stark's Parker: The Man with the Getaway Face
Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of The Hunter was one of the best-received and most popular graphic novels of 2009. A New York Times best-seller, it has appeared on over 50 "best of the year" lists. The second book, The Outfit, will debut in the fall, but IDW and Darwyn are presenting the first chapter here as a stand-alone preview comic. This is a full, 24-page story that offers new readers a perfect introduction to Richard Stark's classic crime novel anti-hero, as well as a great story that stands alone. As an added bonus to readers, this preview is a whopping 8" x 12."
24 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2010
About the author
Darwyn Cooke
252 books367 followersDarwyn Cooke was an Eisner Award winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier and Will Eisner's The Spirit.
In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.
In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.
He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year.
DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.
The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.
In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman).
The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in "The New Frontier" in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.
Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".
In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC com
In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.
In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.
He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year.
DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.
The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.
In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman).
The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in "The New Frontier" in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.
Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".
In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 12, 2019
This is Cooke's Parker adaptations distilled down to its finest. In only 24 pages, Cooke establishes an armored car robbery with it's own set of complications and Parker's character. Parker is stone cold. Cross him and you're dead.
June 14, 2024
Quick, brutal, and wonderfully illustrated! Parker doesn't mess around...
January 21, 2018
Book Info: This collection contains
Richard Stark's Parker: The Man with the Getaway Face
issue #1.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3.5/5 stars} (Rounded Up)
STANDARDIZED RATING: <4/5 stars>
For $18K, Parker's got himself a brand new face – one that he's hoping will keep the outfit off his trail. With only half that amount left in his pocket, Parker starts looking out for another gig. Soon, one of his contacts gets back to him with details for an armored car heist in Cincinnati. At the Green Rose diner (i.e. the intended site of the robbery), Parker meets up with his the rest of his crew to discuss the plan. But complications arise when Parker begins to suspect betrayal, and things don't end up going exactly as planned.
As it turns out, The Man with the Getaway Face is a strong follow up to The Hunter . At a mere 24 pages, this prelude volume is short and to the point. There's no time to waste a single page, but Cooke never seems as if he's pressed for time. And while the book may not be quite as memorable as the previous one, it benefits from a more focused narrative that can generate and sustain suspense just as easily, and with much less lead-up. Cooke's color scheme for this installment swaps his previous bluish-gray for a dark yellow, which worked about as well. The only thing was that the cliffhanger was a little too vague to be most effective, but it does present some potentially interesting implications for Parker's future.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3.5/5 stars} (Rounded Up)
STANDARDIZED RATING: <4/5 stars>
For $18K, Parker's got himself a brand new face – one that he's hoping will keep the outfit off his trail. With only half that amount left in his pocket, Parker starts looking out for another gig. Soon, one of his contacts gets back to him with details for an armored car heist in Cincinnati. At the Green Rose diner (i.e. the intended site of the robbery), Parker meets up with his the rest of his crew to discuss the plan. But complications arise when Parker begins to suspect betrayal, and things don't end up going exactly as planned.
As it turns out, The Man with the Getaway Face is a strong follow up to The Hunter . At a mere 24 pages, this prelude volume is short and to the point. There's no time to waste a single page, but Cooke never seems as if he's pressed for time. And while the book may not be quite as memorable as the previous one, it benefits from a more focused narrative that can generate and sustain suspense just as easily, and with much less lead-up. Cooke's color scheme for this installment swaps his previous bluish-gray for a dark yellow, which worked about as well. The only thing was that the cliffhanger was a little too vague to be most effective, but it does present some potentially interesting implications for Parker's future.
March 5, 2017
In discussing the work of Richard Stark and the works of his that he wanted to adapt, Darwyn Cooke once pointed out that he thought "The Man With The Getaway Face" was not the great work that The Hunter, The Outfit, or The Score were and that his best shot at adapting it was as something small, compact, and not the length of a regular Parker graphic novel.
In reading this, I think I'm down to one of the last pieces of Cooke's Parker adaptations I've not read. But I'm glad I saved it. This story has the pure unbridled joy of a Parker heist without the depth and twists that come in Cooke's later work. Those have long stretches of prose that fall in line with Stark's work. But this is quick, gritty, and fast. Any issues that Cooke might have seen with Stark's original treatment are basically nonexistent here. It's fast, quick, in, and out.
Really, the best thing, as ever, is the art. Cooke's use of silence and sequential storytelling is breathtaking to behold, and watching him lay out the main set-piece, this diner, the armored car, and the heist itself is the true joy of this.
More than even The Hunter this is the book to hand people to show what makes Cooke's Parker novels so absolutely great.
4.5 Stars (rounded down)
In reading this, I think I'm down to one of the last pieces of Cooke's Parker adaptations I've not read. But I'm glad I saved it. This story has the pure unbridled joy of a Parker heist without the depth and twists that come in Cooke's later work. Those have long stretches of prose that fall in line with Stark's work. But this is quick, gritty, and fast. Any issues that Cooke might have seen with Stark's original treatment are basically nonexistent here. It's fast, quick, in, and out.
Really, the best thing, as ever, is the art. Cooke's use of silence and sequential storytelling is breathtaking to behold, and watching him lay out the main set-piece, this diner, the armored car, and the heist itself is the true joy of this.
More than even The Hunter this is the book to hand people to show what makes Cooke's Parker novels so absolutely great.
4.5 Stars (rounded down)
September 11, 2020
Parker in this one seems to take to heart the lessons he learned in the first one.
November 4, 2023
(Zero spoiler review) 3.75/5
A story that really only suffers due to its brevity. All the usual qualities that usually make for a good Parker story are present and accounted for, except maybe for a fantastically fixating femme fatale. On second thought, that really is a bit of a drawback to this one. That and only clocking in at 30 odd pages leaves you wanting just that little bit more. Still, Darwyn Cookes gorgeous art style and the gritty and gruff protagonist are enough to elevate this one above the majority of imitators and ne'er do wells. The longer form stories are always the best, though. 3.75/5
OmniBen.
A story that really only suffers due to its brevity. All the usual qualities that usually make for a good Parker story are present and accounted for, except maybe for a fantastically fixating femme fatale. On second thought, that really is a bit of a drawback to this one. That and only clocking in at 30 odd pages leaves you wanting just that little bit more. Still, Darwyn Cookes gorgeous art style and the gritty and gruff protagonist are enough to elevate this one above the majority of imitators and ne'er do wells. The longer form stories are always the best, though. 3.75/5
OmniBen.
December 6, 2023
Short and sweet, The Man with the Getaway Face features a heist planned out by Parker and some associates. It's over quickly due to the short page count, but the brutality feels lasting. Though the twist is easy to spot from a while away, the story is tightly plotted and artfully executed.
January 15, 2019
Great even though this content is duplicated in Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit by Darwyn Cooke.
May 22, 2020
This is a Graphic Novel adaptation of the Parker Novel. It is edited and is included in the Martini Edition of Parker. I found a copy of it on ebay. The art work is wonderful as usual.
October 31, 2022
The best literary adaptation I have ever read.
February 23, 2024
Noir bad guy book if you’re into that kind.
May 14, 2024
All killer no filler
January 27, 2025
I got this originally as a comic preview. One of the best Comic Book Store finds ever!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews