JOHN TIFFANY (VOL. 1), from Mad Cave Studios on 7/19/23, offers the sordid and deadly tale of a bounty hunter running for his life when the relative of an old comes looking for revenge.
The Details
- Written by: Stephen Desberg
- Art by: Dan Panosian
- Colors by: Dan Panosian
- Letters by: Lucas Gattoni
- Cover art by: Dan Panosian
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $10.99
- Release date: July 19, 2023
Is It Good?
Sordid, seedy, violent, and dramatic. If those words even remotely appeal to you in the endless search for comic reading pleasure, JOHN TIFFANY (VOL. 1) has you covered.
Stephen Desbergs’s story centers on the titular character’s life as a high-priced bounty hunter. When John Tiffany suddenly finds himself with a bounty on his head, set by the relative of a terrorist he brought in months ago, John desperately tries to survive while he searches for the one who betrayed him.
What’s great about this graphic novel? If you like gritty crime dramas where everyone is stained by their sins, ala Richard Stark’s Parker series, there are tons of seedy, grimy dramatics to keep you enthralled. Also, the heart of Desberg’s crime thriller is a relatively satisfying mystery surrounding Tiffany’s betrayer, so you get the crime and action with an intriguing mystery to boot. By the time the evenly-paced graphic novel is done, people are dead, hearts are broken, and the promise of money opens the door for future thrills.
What’s not so great about this issue? JOHN TIFFANY (VOL. 1) falls short in one key area. The pacing is even but not brisk. There’s a lot of narration and dialog to give depth and texture to the scenes, but you have to do a lot of reading to get there, especially when some of the scenes aren’t pertinent to the main plot. For example, the story is regularly interrupted with repetitive updates from Tiffany’s associate, Wan, about his effort to convert to Judaism. Ultimately, Wan’s conversion journey doesn’t have anything to do with Tiffany’s journey, but it takes up considerable space.
How’s the art? Gritty, hard-edged, and dramatic as it should be for this type of story. Dan Panosian leans on pulp noir atmosphere on every page to make the characters and the scenes play out with as much grit as visually possible. There’s not a single nit to pick in Panoian’s style or execution.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with John Tiffany enjoying a solo dinner in Mexico when he’s approached by a bounty hunter who informs Tiffany he has an $800,000 bounty on his head, and he aims to collect. Tiffany returns the favor by letting the bounty hunter know he has a gun aimed at his crotch. When Tiffany leaves the restaurant, his car is soon chased by a wave of bounty hunters who aim to collect.
Later, John recalls a bounty he brought into the US Embassy when he was in Pakistan a few months back, and the bounty currently placed on his head is related to the family of the Pakistani bounty. Tiffany’s situation becomes worse when he realizes only four people knew he was in Mexico, which means one of his four friends betrayed him.
We continue the graphic novel with unstoppable love that leads to heartbreak, mistaken identity, and betrayal.
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Final Thoughts
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JOHN TIFFANY (VOL. 1) delivers gritty, grimy, pulpy crime thrills in a story about a bounty hunter who becomes the hunted. There are too many twists and turns to count, and the graphic novel is packed with adult drama, but the even pacing might be too low for some readers.
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