Creator: Will Eisner
Writer & Artist: Gary Chaloner
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $24.99
Release Date: March 4, 2025
After presenting Will Eisner's original stories, Part 2
discusses character origins and appearances. Careful editing transmuted the
eyepatched detective into The Spirit. Decades later, the stories reached comic
shops. Then Wil Eisner handed the reins of John Law to Gary Chaloner. The
character charts in Part 3: Passing The Badge reveal a world populated with
colorful characters. How will the stories change in Part 4: Dead Man Walking:
The New John Law Adventures? Let's leap into The Collected Will Eisner's John
Law HC and find out!
Story: Meet John Law
Two officers sit in a squad car. The young black
officer hears John Law request assistance. His partner, an older white man,
continues eating his lunch. He says John Law may inspire the rookies, but he's
got a death wish. Anyone who gets too close to him pays the price. The specter
of racism rises in this prelude story that introduces the titular hero as The
Gray Man. This shadow of eminent death is withheld only by the protection of
The Angel.
Art: Meet John Law
If Will Eisner's art suggests glossy photos, Gary
Chaloner's panels boast a matte finish. The gray tones diminish the stark
contrast between black and white. While Chaloner may use lines to suggest
shadows, he uses gray tones instead of Old School crosshatching or
computer-generated dots for shadows. Vehicles and pedestrians pass streets with
vendors offering goods for sale, damaged shopfronts, forlorn backyards and
alleys, and clothes drying on lines on flat roofs.
In Meet John Law, the first Gary Chaloner story in The
Collected Will Eisner's John Law HC, a heavyset cop with close-cropped hair
focuses on his sandwich. An arrestee with greased hair and one hand secured to
the roof sits in the backseat. The rookie argues, throws open his door, and
runs to help his hero.
Story: The Opal Skull
As kids play trick or treat at the Crossroads Police
HQ, Nugget (formerly Tiger) runs out of the Coroner's Office with Mrs Johnson's
femur. His master, Nubbin, shines shoes instead of joining with other boys. He
asks if John Law believes in spirits and zombies and stuff. John Law tells him
a story about an Australian gangster.
Wallaby Bob stole the skull from its aboriginal
caretakers in the outback and took it to the United States. One night at the
Crossroads docks, Bob tries to sell The Angel the fossilized skull of an
aboriginal elder laced with rare opals. When the Angel declines, Wallaby Bob
wonders what to do next. This second Gary Chaloner story in The Collected Will
Eisner's John Law HC dances to the drumbeats of an undead spirit who haunts a
desperate man.
Art: The Opal Skull
John Law reclines in his office chair, resting his feet
on the desk while Nubbin works on the floor. The policeman smiles, relaxing
with his hands behind his head, as the homeless orphan squints and frowns. Rain
pelts the men on the docks as a car arrives. Wallaby Bob, dripping wet, shows
the skull to the man with dark, oiled hair smoking a cigarette. He doesn't roll
down his window or touch the jewel-encrusted skull.
Story: A Family Concern featuring John Law's Pal Nubbin
It is Christmas Eve, and John Law is sick. Nubbin urges
the cops to rush John to the hospital. The desk sergeant laughs off John's
sickness as overindulgence. A veteran cop leans against the raised desk with
his hands in his pockets and dismisses the homeless boy's concerns. All the
patrol cars are out. Besides, it is John Law's fault that he is on duty! After
Nubbin helps get John to the hospital, the boy waits in an empty lobby while Dr
Groper operates on his appendix. But the criminal fraternity notices The Gray
Man's moment of weakness. And not all of them fear The Angel's wrath.
Art: A Family Concern featuring John Law's Pal Nubbin
While the desk sergeant recalls the officer who
dismissed the ghost in Will Eisner's story as a prank, the disinterested cop
recalls the veteran in Meet John Law. Nubbin struggles to keep John from
collapsing. Bent at the waist and vomiting, John seems barely conscious of
Nubbin struggling like Atlas to keep him upright. The two make slow progress
along the sidewalk while Nugget trots alongside. John clutches a bucket on a
wheeled table as Nubbin and Nugget accompany the tired nurses.
Nubbin sits on a bench near a water cooler as an older
man mops the floor. A reflection of the cleaner appears on the window as
gangsters smoke outside. This third new story in The Collected Will Eisner's
John Law HC shows Nubbin acting despite his fright when the gangsters enter. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
The first three Gary Chalconer stories in The Collected
Will Eisner's John Law HC evoke the complicated morality Mario Puzo presented
in his immortal novels. They recall an earlier era when homeless children
worked for their room and board. Yet John Law inspires young people who want to
make a difference in their world. Even people like The Angel, who chose to live
on the opposite side of the fence, respect his dedication to protecting
citizens and apprehending villains.
Rating: Essential Reading
(I'll calculate a more precise rating when I finish reviewing the complete volume).
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