Booknote: C.O.W.L., Volume 1

Kyle Higgins, C.O.W.L., Volume 1: Principles of Power. Berkeley, CA: Image Comics, 2014. ISBN: 9781632151117.

Genre: comics and graphic novels
Subgenre: heroes, detectives and mystery, noir
Format: trade paperback
Source: My local public library

This has been a pleasant discovery. After World War II, heroes in Chicago unionize and set up a contract with the city. It is now 1962. The last of the supervillains is defeated. The city, as it often happens in these stories, gets complacent and figures heroes are not needed anymore. So the contract negotiations between the city and the union get tense, and new threats are emerging.

This volume was a great read and a good start for this series. Readers of works like Watchmen will likely enjoy the combination of crime thriller, noir, and action this comic offers. C.O.W.L. faces threats from outside and conspiracies from within. There is a lot of intrigue for the mystery readers. As the layers of depth are revealed, the plot thickens. I was drawn in right away. Characters have various motives, and they are well developed by the author. The question arises: how far will Geoffry Warner, the founder of the Chicago Organized Workers League, go to preserve the organization?

Add excellent art to this great story, and you've got a must read work. The art really suits the grittiness of a city like Chicago. I think it also reinforces that this is a story taking place in an older time, the 1960s, an era when the Cold War and the Red Scare were happening.

This is definitely a volume to pick up, and it is one I will add to my personal collection.

5 out of 5 stars.

This book qualifies for the following 2015 Reading Challenges: