Sam Noir

Sam Noir
Sam Noir issue #1
Publication information
PublisherShadowLine, Image Comics
FormatLimited series
Publication dateSeptember 2006
Creative team
Written byEric A Anderson
Manny Trembley
Artist(s)Manny Trembley

Sam Noir is a comic book mini-series written by Eric A. Anderson/Manny Trembley and illustrated by Manny Trembley, first published in September 2006.

Rendered in grayscale, the comic is a fusion of hardboiled noir fiction and a samurai adventure tale. While originally a three-issue mini-series, the comic's popularity and critical acclaim caused it to continue, with another 3-issue "Ronin holiday" mini-series getting published by Image's ShadowLine imprint (the last page indicates another mini to be published in June 2007 but as of early 2009 no new series has been announced).[1]

Plot

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Sam Noir, a ronin detective, is paid to track a young woman named Jasmine, and after watching her for a while begins to fall in love with her. After Jasmine's murder by ninjas, Sam starts to look for "Master Fuyu", the man who ordered her assassination.

Reception

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Comics Bulletin calls Sam Noir's art "fantastic", but the story "more than a little derivative".[2] Broken Frontier stated that "Anderson knows his hard-boiled style ... [making] the reading itself compelling—not to mention witty at times," while the art's "lyrical framing, evocative panel constructions, light and shadow effects [are] so well executed they’re like characters in the story".[3]

Conversely, The X-Axis found the series "frustrating", stating that "it feels like there are two completely different, and better, comics struggling to get out - one which is much more funny, and one which takes [itself] entirely seriously".[4]

Collected editions

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  • Sam Noir: Volume 1. Image Comics 2007-06-13. ISBN 1-58240-758-4 ISBN 978-1582407586

Notes

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  1. ^ "The Samurai Detective Goes On Vacation". IGN. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
  2. ^ "Sam Noir: Samurai Detective #1 Review". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
  3. ^ "Sam Noir: Samurai Detective #1". Broken Frontier. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
  4. ^ "Sam Noir: Samurai Detective #1 Review". The X-Axis. Retrieved December 7, 2006.

References

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See also

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