Story Synopsis: Richard Stark’s Parker Vol. 1: The Hunter

Parker is looking for the woman he loved and the former business partner who both betrayed him and left him for dead in this weeks Comic Rewind, Richard Stark’s Parker Vol. 1: The Hunter.

It was 1962, New York City, and Parker was looking for his revenge.  He tracked down his former wife, Lynn. She shot him and ran off with his former associate, Mal Resnick.  Parker and Resnick were part of a robbery. The group of five men intercepted an arms deal, killed everyone and stole the money.  

However, Resnick got greedy and double crossed and killed everyone.  Resnick knew he would be too hard to kill so he threatened Lynn to do it or Resnick would kill her.  Parker survived, but didn’t forget who left him for dead.

Comic Richard Stark's Parker

However, Parker couldn’t care less about Lynn because he was more interested in finding Resnick.  After interrogating Lynn, he finds that Resnick pays her off each month to keep quiet.

Parker just needed to wait for the messenger and follow the trail back to Resnick.  Resnick is being hunted and he can only hide for so long before Parker finds him.

Richard Stark’s Parker Vol. 1: The Hunter was written by Darwyn Cooke and Donald E. Westlake with art by Cooke.  IDW published the volume in 2010.

I Love Noir But Not The Parker Kind

I was really looking forward to reading a crime noir comic.  However, this was not what I was expecting. I thought Parker was a P.I. or a cop who hunting someone down.  At the very least a good antihero. Parker is absolutely not though. He is a Grade A scumbag.

Personally the kind of noir I like has a hero who may do the wrong thing, but does it for the right reasons.  I want the hero to be a good person caught up in a bad situation. However, Parker is none of those things.

Parker Is A Garbage Person

Parker is not a good person and a prime example is how he treats women in the comic.  He is constantly slapping and hitting women. A woman would answer a door with him on the other side and he would punch her as soon as she opened the door.  This comic takes place in 1962 and things were different back then, but crap is that stuff hard to see. The guy has zero redeeming qualities.

It is hard to root for someone who is such a piece of crap.  The bad guy of the volume, Resnick, seemed like a much better and respectful guy.  I kinda hoped he would kill him for good.

Comic Richard Stark's Parker

Richard Stark’s Parker Vol. 1: The Hunter Is A Very Pulp Comic

I liked this volume and is was very pulp with the way Parker and other characters spoke which was kind of fun to read.  He’s is a badass and beats the crap out of everyone who gets in his way which is cool. I liked how no matter the situation Parker was always in control and never worried about a thing.

This was a good noir comic, but the reader has to know that it is very pulp and Parker is a terrible human being.  It is not my type of noir, but it is done very well and there was never a dull moment. I was on the edge of my seat the entire volume.

Rating:

4.5/5

Where To Buy This Comic

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