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The Crow - IDW #3
The Crow: Curare
Retired Detroit police officer Joe Salk was a good cop, but when a young girl is murdered, his obsession with justice drives him to the brink. Consumed with revenge and completely alone, he finds aid from the victim herself, now empowered by a dark spirit of vengeance, The Crow.
104 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2013
About the author
James O'Barr
99 books356 followersJames O'Barr is an accomplished artist and writer, best known for creating The Crow.
In 1978, O'Barr's fiancée, Beverly, was killed by a drunk driver, and he joined the Marines in an effort to cope with the loss. He was stationed in Germany and illustrated combat manuals for the military. While living in Berlin in 1981, O'Barr began work on The Crow as a means of dealing with his personal tragedy. O'Barr was further inspired by a Detroit newspaper account of the murder of a young couple over a $20 engagement ring. After his discharge from the Marines, O'Barr continued his painting and illustration as well as doing lots of odd jobs, including working for a Detroit body shop. The Crow sat on a shelf for seven years, but at last someone wanted to publish it: Gary Reed of Caliber Press. In The Crow, the protagonist and his fiancée are murdered by a gang of criminals. He then returns from the dead to hunt their killers.
O'Barr's own hope that his project would result in a personal catharsis went unfulfilled, he told an interviewer in 1994, saying, "[A]s I drew each page, it made me more self-destructive, if anything....There is pure anger on each page". The Crow has sold more than 750,000 copies worldwide.
The book was adapted into a successful film of the same name in 1994, but it resulted in further tragedy. Brandon Lee, who played the main character, was accidentally shot and killed during filming.
O'Barr was the second American to be awarded the "Storyteller Award" by the International Comic Festival held annually in Angoulême, France.
In 1978, O'Barr's fiancée, Beverly, was killed by a drunk driver, and he joined the Marines in an effort to cope with the loss. He was stationed in Germany and illustrated combat manuals for the military. While living in Berlin in 1981, O'Barr began work on The Crow as a means of dealing with his personal tragedy. O'Barr was further inspired by a Detroit newspaper account of the murder of a young couple over a $20 engagement ring. After his discharge from the Marines, O'Barr continued his painting and illustration as well as doing lots of odd jobs, including working for a Detroit body shop. The Crow sat on a shelf for seven years, but at last someone wanted to publish it: Gary Reed of Caliber Press. In The Crow, the protagonist and his fiancée are murdered by a gang of criminals. He then returns from the dead to hunt their killers.
O'Barr's own hope that his project would result in a personal catharsis went unfulfilled, he told an interviewer in 1994, saying, "[A]s I drew each page, it made me more self-destructive, if anything....There is pure anger on each page". The Crow has sold more than 750,000 copies worldwide.
The book was adapted into a successful film of the same name in 1994, but it resulted in further tragedy. Brandon Lee, who played the main character, was accidentally shot and killed during filming.
O'Barr was the second American to be awarded the "Storyteller Award" by the International Comic Festival held annually in Angoulême, France.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 20, 2022
It's funny how much a child's mind can block, especially when the child is supposed to be dead.
March 20, 2020
This one is not for the faint of heart. No spoilers, but trigger warnings against child abuse, sexual trauma, and such should be noted before you even read one page of this book. This time the spirit of vengeance known as "The Crow" inhabits the body of a young (7-9 y/o) girl who was brutally murdered and left in a field to die. What comes next is a textbook dive into madness and the repercussions of the police detective that is trying to survive in finding her killer.
Dark, gritty, and sometimes hard to stomach, the Crow: Curare is definitely something you want to think twice about reading if you are at all sensitive to the topics contained within. If you can make it past the warnings, the story is a tight course on police procedure and the toll it takes not only on the police that try to solve the crimes but their families as well.
Dark, gritty, and sometimes hard to stomach, the Crow: Curare is definitely something you want to think twice about reading if you are at all sensitive to the topics contained within. If you can make it past the warnings, the story is a tight course on police procedure and the toll it takes not only on the police that try to solve the crimes but their families as well.
November 12, 2013
A very young girl was murdered, not just murdered, but every imaginable crime and a few unimaginable ones were also carried out on her. All of this happens in the first few pages and it is a downward spiral from here. The main character is the police detective given the case to solve and how his single minded focus on this case drives him to drink, to lose his family, to scare his children and finally to the point of madness where a crow and a ghost of a girl are almost normal to him.
Never before in my life have I been grateful that an artist’s style was ‘imprecise.’ Had this have been drawn by someone like Ribic or Alphona I think I would have been sick, or more likely they would have gone mad trying to draw it. The concepts that this covers are so twisted and horrible that trying to put it onto paper in an anatomically correct, precise fashion would utterly mess with your mind. It actually shows you very little, nothing in fact, of the heinous crimes that it describes, but listening to the coroner describing the crimes while all you can see is a small child’s foot on a slab is actually more disturbing that being shown it.
The best way I can describe this book is that anyone who has read this review and wants to read this book, you should go and check yourself in at your local mental health centre. Perversely, anyone who has read this and decided that this book is not for them, you should go and read it. I am not too proud to say that there was more than a little tear in my eye when I finished reading, so now I am off to slam a couple of doors so that my daughter wakes up and I have an excuse to go and give her a hug.
Never before in my life have I been grateful that an artist’s style was ‘imprecise.’ Had this have been drawn by someone like Ribic or Alphona I think I would have been sick, or more likely they would have gone mad trying to draw it. The concepts that this covers are so twisted and horrible that trying to put it onto paper in an anatomically correct, precise fashion would utterly mess with your mind. It actually shows you very little, nothing in fact, of the heinous crimes that it describes, but listening to the coroner describing the crimes while all you can see is a small child’s foot on a slab is actually more disturbing that being shown it.
The best way I can describe this book is that anyone who has read this review and wants to read this book, you should go and check yourself in at your local mental health centre. Perversely, anyone who has read this and decided that this book is not for them, you should go and read it. I am not too proud to say that there was more than a little tear in my eye when I finished reading, so now I am off to slam a couple of doors so that my daughter wakes up and I have an excuse to go and give her a hug.
February 7, 2014
Based on an article O'Barr read in a newspaper, this tale tells the story of a young girl brutally raped and murdered and the detective assigned to her case. Unable to make any progress, Salk soon becomes obsessed with the little girl and finding her killer, the case consuming his life, ruining not only his marriage but also his career.
Skip 5 years into the future and Salk wakes up to find the ghost of the dead girl in his living room with the crow as her guide. She provides him with the clues he has so desperately been missing and together they track down her killer, seeking revenge for both of their lost lives.
Although the subject matter of this story is distressing it is handled beautifully, with sympathy and the knowledge to steer away from graphic violence, which is in contrast to the original crow. Dode's soft artwork, muted colours and cartoony style help to diffuse some of the brutality, making the book more palatable. I also thought the use of 3 specific colour palettes in order to denote the era of the narrative was brilliant, subtle and meant the overall aesthetic wasn't spoilt with "and now back in 1973".
I would recommend this to any fan of the crow and anyone interested in crime.
Skip 5 years into the future and Salk wakes up to find the ghost of the dead girl in his living room with the crow as her guide. She provides him with the clues he has so desperately been missing and together they track down her killer, seeking revenge for both of their lost lives.
Although the subject matter of this story is distressing it is handled beautifully, with sympathy and the knowledge to steer away from graphic violence, which is in contrast to the original crow. Dode's soft artwork, muted colours and cartoony style help to diffuse some of the brutality, making the book more palatable. I also thought the use of 3 specific colour palettes in order to denote the era of the narrative was brilliant, subtle and meant the overall aesthetic wasn't spoilt with "and now back in 1973".
I would recommend this to any fan of the crow and anyone interested in crime.
December 31, 2013
When a little girl is brutally murdered, a retired policeman makes it his life's goal to track down whoever was responsible for her death and bring them to justice, making him lose things, and possibly his mind, along the way as he travels further and further into a pit of obsession.
When I saw that there was a graphic novel of The Crow available on Netgalley, I knew that I had to have it. I simply adore The Crow, as well as the work of James O'Barr (not to brag, but I have a signed lunch tin. Just saying). I'm happy to say that this book did not at all disappoint.
It has the grit and darkness that any fan of The Crow would come to expect. The story was well paced, and the artwork was haunting enough to pull me in and to focus on closer details of the story. This is a must have for fans of crime and mystery books, fans of a darker kind of graphic novel, and for any one who is as big of a fan of The Crow series as I am.
Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for my copy. This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose.
When I saw that there was a graphic novel of The Crow available on Netgalley, I knew that I had to have it. I simply adore The Crow, as well as the work of James O'Barr (not to brag, but I have a signed lunch tin. Just saying). I'm happy to say that this book did not at all disappoint.
It has the grit and darkness that any fan of The Crow would come to expect. The story was well paced, and the artwork was haunting enough to pull me in and to focus on closer details of the story. This is a must have for fans of crime and mystery books, fans of a darker kind of graphic novel, and for any one who is as big of a fan of The Crow series as I am.
Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for my copy. This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose.
October 4, 2013
Wow. What a surprise this graphic novel was! The Crow is gritty, sad and completely unforgettable. The story is about a Detroit police officer - Joe Salk - that, like many others, becomes obsessed with his job and one case in particular. The rest of his life and his sanity begin to unravel with every moment he dedicates to finding the man who raped and murdered a young girl. There's a possibly paranormal twist to this mystery that leaves us guessing whether Joe is visited by the ghost of the dead girl or whether he has become so far gone that he imagines her talking to him and encouraging him on his search for the culprit.
It's a brutal and hard-hitting read that quickly introduces the reader to a complex protagonist they can love and continues to develop his character throughout. A very pleasant surprise.
It's a brutal and hard-hitting read that quickly introduces the reader to a complex protagonist they can love and continues to develop his character throughout. A very pleasant surprise.
January 5, 2019
I think people's biggest complaints with The Crow is that it always starts and ends the same way. I can't fault them for that. It's true. I've only ever read The Crow: Skinning the Wolves outside of the original graphic novel, and it was indeed pretty similar to its source: grave injustice, uber violence, etc. etc.
The very concept of Curare operates on another level though. It's an unexpected but still thematically cohesive entry into this particular canon. But nearly everything is so different. It's colorful? The violence and depravity is handled tastefully? The protagonist is a child?
A part of me was like, oh shit, yeah, I'm down, this is gonna be good. But another bit of me was like, what if this is some kind of weird misfire? How is this even going to work?
It works. It so works. It's fabulous and wonderful and it works.
And it was a really smart move to go with a different art style on this, I'm not sure how I would feel to see this story told in O'Barr's monstrous grotesques, and I think part of what makes it so interesting and out of the box is switching it up.
I mean, I hope I've adequately conveyed that this is a super sad story where a super fucked up thing happens and you will get punched in the gut a few times, because all of that is true. It's true of any of these stories. But it's a good story at least, and one that feels lovingly and strongly told.
Now if only I had the motivation to write about other books like this.
The very concept of Curare operates on another level though. It's an unexpected but still thematically cohesive entry into this particular canon. But nearly everything is so different. It's colorful? The violence and depravity is handled tastefully? The protagonist is a child?
A part of me was like, oh shit, yeah, I'm down, this is gonna be good. But another bit of me was like, what if this is some kind of weird misfire? How is this even going to work?
It works. It so works. It's fabulous and wonderful and it works.
And it was a really smart move to go with a different art style on this, I'm not sure how I would feel to see this story told in O'Barr's monstrous grotesques, and I think part of what makes it so interesting and out of the box is switching it up.
I mean, I hope I've adequately conveyed that this is a super sad story where a super fucked up thing happens and you will get punched in the gut a few times, because all of that is true. It's true of any of these stories. But it's a good story at least, and one that feels lovingly and strongly told.
Now if only I had the motivation to write about other books like this.
November 7, 2017
I'd say that this book was in the halfway mark between "I really liked this" and "it was amazing". I had read before that they wanted to illustrate the different eras by showcasing cars from that era but I really didn't have a problem with not knowing when they were in the present and then when they showed us a flashback. I think it was very much with this book that I very much know that these stories are great reads on their own, as opposed to what readers want translated into cinema screens. I think you might lose something in the translation. So the real question is, in this story, did Salk eventually just go mad in talking to the little girl, which speaking of, was it me or did they go from calling her Carrie to Curare, or did the Crow , in its own way, bring her back for some peace. Certain parts made me think a little bit. The Crow telling Salk that the girl only knows or sees in bright colors and yet, she implored Salk to let a dying man have his peace. Honestly, the story felt a little Doyle-like(where Sherlock Holmes found that "one clue" that connected everything)and then everything fell into place. There are a lot of unexplored points....although those points are food for thought.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2021
I love the original Crow movie when I was little and I used to watched with my family. I even love the third movie The Crow: Salvation. I remembered my second brother used to own the graphic novel of it and I burrowed it to read it,but I had lost it sadly. 😞
I decided to get two The Crow graphic novels, "The Crow: Memento Mori and "The Crow: Curare". I wasn't fond of comic books,but I got them to reminds me of my brother and my Sister-in-law.
I thought "The Crow:Curare" was pretty good. It's pretty much about a cop got haunted by a case about a murdered little girl that he had tried to solve in the past,but he got a visit of a Crow reincarnation of the little girl and the girl ends up helping him to solving her murder.
I thought Curare was really adorable I even feels bad for her backstory,but I wish she should do more like the other Crow reincarnations. The relationship between her and the cop was kinda sweet,but I think Curare was right that he shouldn't yell at that guy. 😥
But I do think the artwork of last couple pages are cool. I even thought it was interesting that inspired by a murder case.
I thought the story was meh,but I enjoyed it. 😌
I decided to get two The Crow graphic novels, "The Crow: Memento Mori and "The Crow: Curare". I wasn't fond of comic books,but I got them to reminds me of my brother and my Sister-in-law.
I thought "The Crow:Curare" was pretty good. It's pretty much about a cop got haunted by a case about a murdered little girl that he had tried to solve in the past,but he got a visit of a Crow reincarnation of the little girl and the girl ends up helping him to solving her murder.
I thought Curare was really adorable I even feels bad for her backstory,but I wish she should do more like the other Crow reincarnations. The relationship between her and the cop was kinda sweet,but I think Curare was right that he shouldn't yell at that guy. 😥
But I do think the artwork of last couple pages are cool. I even thought it was interesting that inspired by a murder case.
I thought the story was meh,but I enjoyed it. 😌
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2021
actual rating: 3.5
This one was a little bit better than the one set in WW2 but still ultimately fails to capture the energy of the original. I liked the idea of a Crow that was a young girl but she didn't really do very much except follow the cop around while he solved the case, and I would have liked for her to have a little bit more of an active role in the plot. I know she's a child so she's not going to be running around beating everyone up on her own in the same way the adult Crows do, but the Crow does generally give the person more strength and fighting ability so it would have been nice to get something out of that. There was a lot of like creepy little girl potential here that was entirely thrown away. A decent read but in the end it reads more like a crime thriller than a Crow book to me.
Trigger warnings: murder of children, rape/pedophilia, expected levels of gore/violence
This one was a little bit better than the one set in WW2 but still ultimately fails to capture the energy of the original. I liked the idea of a Crow that was a young girl but she didn't really do very much except follow the cop around while he solved the case, and I would have liked for her to have a little bit more of an active role in the plot. I know she's a child so she's not going to be running around beating everyone up on her own in the same way the adult Crows do, but the Crow does generally give the person more strength and fighting ability so it would have been nice to get something out of that. There was a lot of like creepy little girl potential here that was entirely thrown away. A decent read but in the end it reads more like a crime thriller than a Crow book to me.
Trigger warnings: murder of children, rape/pedophilia, expected levels of gore/violence
March 2, 2023
Another good Crow tale from creator James O'Barr. This was different than the prior Crow stories, in that the "Crow" character wasn't exactly someone back from the dead for vengeance, but instead a child helping a haunted detective try to solve her 30 year old murder. The art didn't quite fit the story, but it worked well enough. This was very dark, as was the previous Crow series, but the Crow series isn't exactly known for being light hearted. Still good, just know going on it's a dark story.
January 29, 2019
I know The Crow series is known for being dark and gritty but DAMN! This makes work from DCs Vertigo look like PG-13 stuff with some dark matter that dark matter being child murder and I felt emotional in a few places reading this. And in the style of The Crow series this is a story about revenge. Powerful stuff and not for the feint of heart.
April 16, 2022
James O' Barr explorando los potenciales de otros posibles cuervos llega a un potencial incómodo: Qué pasaría si uno de estos espíritus vengativos se tratase de un niño víctima de un homicida pedófilo.
Tiene una gran dinámica entre este y un detective en busca de redención, alguna veces el arte llega a ser perturbador, otras parece todavía un sketch.
Tiene una gran dinámica entre este y un detective en busca de redención, alguna veces el arte llega a ser perturbador, otras parece todavía un sketch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2017
This was an interesting storyline, with a child instead of an adult. I really enjoyed it! James O'Barr has wonderful comics when dealing with The Crow.
September 15, 2018
A cop disturbed by the murder of a child, gets help from the Crow and the murdered girl to catch her killer. Beautifully disturbing and very satisfying.
January 6, 2020
Wow this was genuinely moving throughout.
October 4, 2023
Darkly beautiful. But depressing
October 20, 2020
The story takes place in an alternate reality that looks something like an even more extreme, grim and merciless version of Batman’s Arkham Asylum. Despite the cruel and unforgiving society they live in, Eric Draven and his fiancé Shelly fall madly in love and find comfort in each other’s arms. Eric and Shelly go for a peaceful, romantic drive down the open road one fine day, enjoying each other’s company when their car is suddenly pulled over by a violent gang of thugs. They drag the two out of the car and they force Eric to watch them torture his girlfriend to death before shooting him in the back of the head. Just like that, the two lovers are dead. On the anniversary of their deaths, Eric resurrects from the grave as a vengeful spirit and takes on the mantle of a supernatural avenger, tracking down the thugs that killed him and his bride-to-be one by one and slaughtering them without mercy.
The story begins with Eric violently interrogating a man named Mr. Jones, a thug with connections to the criminals that murdered him and Shelly. Here we get a taste of the protagonist’s cruelty and lust for vengeance. He’s not the sweet and compassionate man he used to be. He’s cruel, sadistic and enjoys the suffering of the people that wronged him. He’s no hero of justice and he doesn’t quite fit the definition of vigilante hero either, he’s just a heartbroken man fixated on personal revenge and he’s willing to throw away his humanity to get what he wants. The Crow does a great job of showing just how tragic and depressing revenge truly is. It’s not glorified or beautiful, but it can be dangerously satisfying, and that addiction to the pain can destroy a person from the inside.
That’s the gist of the plot. A man resurrects from the dead and hunts down the men that killed him and his girlfriend. It’s a very simplistic revenge story with a unique gothic-horror aesthetic. Eric often goes into insane ramblings where he randomly babbles out dark poetry and edgy quotes like Edgar Allan Poe hopped up on drugs, vengeance and a rockstar charisma. Speaking of Poe, this story is pretty much what you would get if John Wick was written by Edgar Allan Poe. The villains are fairly one-dimensional, but it suits the mood of the story. This is about a broken man lashing out at the world because he's unable to contain his grief. It captures how one truly feels toward people that steal everything that was once precious away from you. There's no mercy or sympathy, there’s no attempt to see eye to eye or try to understand why they did what they did, there’s only a spiral of despair, rage and a self-consuming lust to give them the punishment they deserve
The story feels more personal and intimate when you read it knowing that it’s loosely based on the author’s own experience and feelings of losing his significant other. You can feel his rage and despair pouring out from the writing and the bleak black and white pages smothered with rain, blood and grime. It also has an extremely good movie adaption featuring the late Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee. It’s rich with a gothic atmosphere and has that nostalgic 1980’s action hero that throws out cool one liners vibe. I heard it was recently released on Netflix and I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.
The original comic is a short and sweet self contained story, but there are quite a few spinoff stories where James collaborated with other authors to show off the dark avenger in action once more. In most of these stories, Eric resurrects other unfortunate souls that died tragic deaths and gives them the opportunity to avenge themselves like he once did. None of these stories are quite as good as the original in my opinion, but I thought they were worth mentioning for people that really want to see more from this cool character.
***
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The story begins with Eric violently interrogating a man named Mr. Jones, a thug with connections to the criminals that murdered him and Shelly. Here we get a taste of the protagonist’s cruelty and lust for vengeance. He’s not the sweet and compassionate man he used to be. He’s cruel, sadistic and enjoys the suffering of the people that wronged him. He’s no hero of justice and he doesn’t quite fit the definition of vigilante hero either, he’s just a heartbroken man fixated on personal revenge and he’s willing to throw away his humanity to get what he wants. The Crow does a great job of showing just how tragic and depressing revenge truly is. It’s not glorified or beautiful, but it can be dangerously satisfying, and that addiction to the pain can destroy a person from the inside.
That’s the gist of the plot. A man resurrects from the dead and hunts down the men that killed him and his girlfriend. It’s a very simplistic revenge story with a unique gothic-horror aesthetic. Eric often goes into insane ramblings where he randomly babbles out dark poetry and edgy quotes like Edgar Allan Poe hopped up on drugs, vengeance and a rockstar charisma. Speaking of Poe, this story is pretty much what you would get if John Wick was written by Edgar Allan Poe. The villains are fairly one-dimensional, but it suits the mood of the story. This is about a broken man lashing out at the world because he's unable to contain his grief. It captures how one truly feels toward people that steal everything that was once precious away from you. There's no mercy or sympathy, there’s no attempt to see eye to eye or try to understand why they did what they did, there’s only a spiral of despair, rage and a self-consuming lust to give them the punishment they deserve
The story feels more personal and intimate when you read it knowing that it’s loosely based on the author’s own experience and feelings of losing his significant other. You can feel his rage and despair pouring out from the writing and the bleak black and white pages smothered with rain, blood and grime. It also has an extremely good movie adaption featuring the late Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee. It’s rich with a gothic atmosphere and has that nostalgic 1980’s action hero that throws out cool one liners vibe. I heard it was recently released on Netflix and I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.
The original comic is a short and sweet self contained story, but there are quite a few spinoff stories where James collaborated with other authors to show off the dark avenger in action once more. In most of these stories, Eric resurrects other unfortunate souls that died tragic deaths and gives them the opportunity to avenge themselves like he once did. None of these stories are quite as good as the original in my opinion, but I thought they were worth mentioning for people that really want to see more from this cool character.
***
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My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...
My Wattpad Account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Michael-...
My Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/SorbelloHorror
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September 16, 2018
Review originally posted: http://francesandlynne.wordpress.com/...
“A life comes apart at the seams. He wants to blame the dead girl. But the stitching had become frayed long before that.”
The Crow: Curare by Antoine Dodé and James O’Barr
For many years now I have been a huge fan of anything to do with The Crow. It started when I caught The Crow: City of Angles on television, and then went and saw The Crow starring Brandon Lee. After I fell completely in love with the concepts and themes of the movies, I was able to get my hands on the graphic novel of The Crow with the art and story by James O’Barr, and I fell even more in love. So when I was browsing NetGalley, and saw a Crow themed graphic novel I had to click on it. It did take me a little longer to decide if I really wanted to read it, as there are some really bad interpretations of the mythos out there, but in the end I couldn’t resist. It was not until I was about to do the write up that I realized that James O’Barr had actually been involved with this project.
The story of The Crow: Curare is about Joe Salk, a retired Detroit police officer who cannot forget one case. He has let this case destroy his career, his family, and really his life. It is only when he is completely alone that the murdered little girl, empowered by the Crow, shows up in his house and helps him find her killer, and ultimately her vengeance.
It took me a little while to actually get into the story for this one, and part of that was the art work. While I tend to favor the “pretty” art in manga (specifically shojo ones) I do read a good number of American styled comics, but I found this rougher than those. However, once I became accustomed to the art, things were interesting.
This is not a very nice story though, not that Crow stories ever are, but this one is particularly dark. The fact that the Crow character in this comic is a little girl is a bit rough to deal with, when I am more used to a grown man playing the part. Also there are a lot of details about her murder that paired with her age makes the story very dark and rather graphic. For me, it was a little bit too close to some of the cases in my forensic research. If you are of a more sensitive disposition, I don’t think this story is for you.
I did like some of the references to the original comic of The Crow. Having lived near Detroit, and knowing that O’Barr lived and based The Crow on this city, made it interesting to return there. Also there was a beautiful white cat that was very reminiscent of Gabriel, the cat owned by Eric Draven in the original. I was not as fond of some of the changes to the original ideas, though. I found the fact that the little girl was actually a ghost, instead of reanimated or ambiguous like Eric had been, a bit weird. Also I’m not sure I am a huge fan of the crow (the bird) talking.
I found the main character, Salk, not particularly likeable, but he was sympathetic. He lives in a very rough city, and has seen some of the worst things humans are capable. However, he is flawed, and the loss of his family reflects that. While I admire his drive to find the killer of the little girl, he neglected his own daughters. In the end, when Salk finds the killer, there is a price to pay, but I think given the crime, it was probably worth it.
Final Verdict: A very dark addition to The Crow universe and not for the faint of heart, but worth a read for those who enjoy a story of vengeance.
“A life comes apart at the seams. He wants to blame the dead girl. But the stitching had become frayed long before that.”
The Crow: Curare by Antoine Dodé and James O’Barr
For many years now I have been a huge fan of anything to do with The Crow. It started when I caught The Crow: City of Angles on television, and then went and saw The Crow starring Brandon Lee. After I fell completely in love with the concepts and themes of the movies, I was able to get my hands on the graphic novel of The Crow with the art and story by James O’Barr, and I fell even more in love. So when I was browsing NetGalley, and saw a Crow themed graphic novel I had to click on it. It did take me a little longer to decide if I really wanted to read it, as there are some really bad interpretations of the mythos out there, but in the end I couldn’t resist. It was not until I was about to do the write up that I realized that James O’Barr had actually been involved with this project.
The story of The Crow: Curare is about Joe Salk, a retired Detroit police officer who cannot forget one case. He has let this case destroy his career, his family, and really his life. It is only when he is completely alone that the murdered little girl, empowered by the Crow, shows up in his house and helps him find her killer, and ultimately her vengeance.
It took me a little while to actually get into the story for this one, and part of that was the art work. While I tend to favor the “pretty” art in manga (specifically shojo ones) I do read a good number of American styled comics, but I found this rougher than those. However, once I became accustomed to the art, things were interesting.
This is not a very nice story though, not that Crow stories ever are, but this one is particularly dark. The fact that the Crow character in this comic is a little girl is a bit rough to deal with, when I am more used to a grown man playing the part. Also there are a lot of details about her murder that paired with her age makes the story very dark and rather graphic. For me, it was a little bit too close to some of the cases in my forensic research. If you are of a more sensitive disposition, I don’t think this story is for you.
I did like some of the references to the original comic of The Crow. Having lived near Detroit, and knowing that O’Barr lived and based The Crow on this city, made it interesting to return there. Also there was a beautiful white cat that was very reminiscent of Gabriel, the cat owned by Eric Draven in the original. I was not as fond of some of the changes to the original ideas, though. I found the fact that the little girl was actually a ghost, instead of reanimated or ambiguous like Eric had been, a bit weird. Also I’m not sure I am a huge fan of the crow (the bird) talking.
I found the main character, Salk, not particularly likeable, but he was sympathetic. He lives in a very rough city, and has seen some of the worst things humans are capable. However, he is flawed, and the loss of his family reflects that. While I admire his drive to find the killer of the little girl, he neglected his own daughters. In the end, when Salk finds the killer, there is a price to pay, but I think given the crime, it was probably worth it.
Final Verdict: A very dark addition to The Crow universe and not for the faint of heart, but worth a read for those who enjoy a story of vengeance.
January 24, 2014
I’m a longtime fan of the Crow phenomenon and the universe of stories that flowed out of it. I still remember seeing the original film with Brandon Lee in the theater and reflecting how tragedy found a way to tie together reality and fiction in one story. From then on I read and watched whatever I could get my hands on that bore the name of The Crow. Admittedly not all of it was amazingly worthwhile (if you’ve seen the straight-to-DVD flick, The Crow: Wicked Prayer, you know very well what I mean), but in the printed world of the graphic novels the stories rang much more true to the original by James O’Barr. They were darker, edgier and poised themselves on the ledge between pain and perseverance, where the depths you were shown made you want to look away at times, yet you yearned to watch the violators get their due. They were stories of redemption and punishment and they never failed.
It’s been a while since we have seen a new story and Curare isn’t just a random addition to the fold. It comes from the mind of O’Barr, not a hired gun by the studios mad to pump out something for the sake of keeping the franchise alive. It also changes the game in terms of how the Crow operates. Those who’ve been through the volumes of stories are used to the crow bringing someone back from the dead in a physical form in order to exact their vengeance, but in Curare what’s brought back is only the ghost of a small girl who was brutally raped and killed, left in a field to rot alone. An unlucky detective pulls the short straw that night and finds himself drawn into a case that haunts himself, engulfs him and eventually breaks him down until there is almost nothing left.
The little girl follows him through his trial until the time is right to help him take the final step towards ending not only her pain, but his own. There is only the briefest of impressions of the infamous painted face donned by all the previous travelers back from the land of the dead. This story is purely about justice and the lengths some people will go in order to find it.
If you came upon this graphic novel after only watching the first Crow film, it is likely to be jarring in it’s darkness and brutality, but for those who are not strangers to the other tales from O’Barr, his tone is familiar and relished. The artwork from Antoine Dode layers nicely over the dark story, giving a roughness, an unfinished edge to the characters that makes them even angrier. Dode makes solid choices about what to include in the frame and what to leave to your imagination, allowing you to create something even worse. But once you’ve settled in, he will hit you with an image you just might wish you hadn’t seen, something which sets the rest of the story on it’s back.
The Crow: Curare is a really nice addition to the franchise and universe of the Crow and old fans should flock to it, while new fans may find themselves impressed with the no-holds-barred brashness of the content, something which is lacking in today’s hyper-colored comic book world.
It’s been a while since we have seen a new story and Curare isn’t just a random addition to the fold. It comes from the mind of O’Barr, not a hired gun by the studios mad to pump out something for the sake of keeping the franchise alive. It also changes the game in terms of how the Crow operates. Those who’ve been through the volumes of stories are used to the crow bringing someone back from the dead in a physical form in order to exact their vengeance, but in Curare what’s brought back is only the ghost of a small girl who was brutally raped and killed, left in a field to rot alone. An unlucky detective pulls the short straw that night and finds himself drawn into a case that haunts himself, engulfs him and eventually breaks him down until there is almost nothing left.
The little girl follows him through his trial until the time is right to help him take the final step towards ending not only her pain, but his own. There is only the briefest of impressions of the infamous painted face donned by all the previous travelers back from the land of the dead. This story is purely about justice and the lengths some people will go in order to find it.
If you came upon this graphic novel after only watching the first Crow film, it is likely to be jarring in it’s darkness and brutality, but for those who are not strangers to the other tales from O’Barr, his tone is familiar and relished. The artwork from Antoine Dode layers nicely over the dark story, giving a roughness, an unfinished edge to the characters that makes them even angrier. Dode makes solid choices about what to include in the frame and what to leave to your imagination, allowing you to create something even worse. But once you’ve settled in, he will hit you with an image you just might wish you hadn’t seen, something which sets the rest of the story on it’s back.
The Crow: Curare is a really nice addition to the franchise and universe of the Crow and old fans should flock to it, while new fans may find themselves impressed with the no-holds-barred brashness of the content, something which is lacking in today’s hyper-colored comic book world.
October 12, 2013
An ARC was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review
Joe was always a good cop. When a little girl is raped and murdered he becomes obsessed with finding her killer. This young victim becomes his life and Joe begins to forget about the living. Mainly his wife and daughters.
Years later, alone with his obsession the ghost of a young girl young girl accompanied by a crow appears. Joe has studied the evidence for years and years. He know the answer is there somewhere. Curare shows that often we need a fresh view on things before we really see what's going on. Sometimes the eye sdoesn't see what's right in front of them. In this case it's what's not there is the clue to cracking the case and releasing him from his personal demons.
The illustrations are incredible. They are scrawled, random, full of tension and anger which reflect the emotions portrayed by Salk. My only critique is that it's a little short. I would have loved more characters and possibly a plot twist/turn.
However I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good murder/mystery graphic novel. You won't be disappointed.
September 3, 2016
Thank you so much Netgalley for providing me with an electronic copy of this graphic novel to read in exchange for an honest review.
This was fabulous.
It was James O'Barr and The Crow, so fabulous is to be expected. But still.
The story was beautiful. Some of the phrasing was gorgeous enough for poetry. Such careful crafting is rare in a graphic novel, which tend to rely on visuals for conveying emotion.
I was drowning in the experience of this story. The artwork was evocative, the language was moving and the content was rich.
This is the story of a little girl who was brutally assaulted and murdered, and the cop who tries to bring her killer to justice. Haunted for years by the ghost of the child he has failed, he falls into a depressed obsession that threatens all aspects of his life.
The little girl needs justice, and he is her instrument. It's an interesting take on the 'normal' Crow dynamic, because the need for vengeance/justice is being felt by someone other than the dead. The two share the experience, and provide comfort, but also pain, for each other.
A wonderful example of what graphic novels can be. Deep, evocative, powerful- not just pictures and words, but story enhanced and furthered by art.
This was fabulous.
It was James O'Barr and The Crow, so fabulous is to be expected. But still.
The story was beautiful. Some of the phrasing was gorgeous enough for poetry. Such careful crafting is rare in a graphic novel, which tend to rely on visuals for conveying emotion.
I was drowning in the experience of this story. The artwork was evocative, the language was moving and the content was rich.
This is the story of a little girl who was brutally assaulted and murdered, and the cop who tries to bring her killer to justice. Haunted for years by the ghost of the child he has failed, he falls into a depressed obsession that threatens all aspects of his life.
The little girl needs justice, and he is her instrument. It's an interesting take on the 'normal' Crow dynamic, because the need for vengeance/justice is being felt by someone other than the dead. The two share the experience, and provide comfort, but also pain, for each other.
A wonderful example of what graphic novels can be. Deep, evocative, powerful- not just pictures and words, but story enhanced and furthered by art.
October 14, 2013
Fantastic. The sepia tone drawings add to the noir-ish feel, but this more than noir, it's gritty and bloody and disturbing. O'Barr plays with all the familiar tropes and stereotypes: the damaged cop who over-obsesses on a case to the point of ruining his marriage, losing his kids, and taking to drink; the old captain who still cares and is willing to help out; the tired cops at the end of a shift who make the mistake and let the murderer and child rapist go; etc. However, despite the tropes, O'Barr plays them well and perhaps because these things are familiar and I enjoy them, I didn't feel let down by them.
The detective is drawn like Andy Sipowicz from NYPD Blue. The tale is one of a child left for dead after massive trauma and rape and Det. Francis' obsessive hunt for her killer as the ghost of the girl, haunts him, begging the detective not to forget about her. In the meantime, the crow, the girl's friend and the truth-teller, comes along for the ride and acts as an interpreter between girl and interpreter.
I don't immediately understand the symbolism of the crow nor see his importance. Nor do I understand why at the end (SPOILER ALERT) the girl wanted her murderer's head, without his eyes.
The detective is drawn like Andy Sipowicz from NYPD Blue. The tale is one of a child left for dead after massive trauma and rape and Det. Francis' obsessive hunt for her killer as the ghost of the girl, haunts him, begging the detective not to forget about her. In the meantime, the crow, the girl's friend and the truth-teller, comes along for the ride and acts as an interpreter between girl and interpreter.
I don't immediately understand the symbolism of the crow nor see his importance. Nor do I understand why at the end (SPOILER ALERT) the girl wanted her murderer's head, without his eyes.
March 15, 2014
The Crow: Curare is based on a newspaper article that Crow creator James O'Barr read and deals with an obsessed cop and the brutal murder of a young girl. The cop can't shake the case and wants to solve it, even if it ruins his personal life.
Joe Salk is a good cop. He's got a wife and a couple kids. When he is pulled into the brutal murder of a young girl, he gets in over his head. he becomes obsessed with the case to the point where he frightens his children and his wife eventually leaves him. This doesn't stop him. He pores over the evidence looking for answers. Then, in true Crow fashion, he gets help in an unusual form. The young girl, and her strange pet crow, assist him in finding her murderer and bringing him to justice.
This is the complete 3 issue series, written by O'Barr and illustrated by Antoine Dode. The illustrations are splashed on the page in a frantic style which seems to match the thinking of Joe Salk as he tries to track the killer. It's a dark story, but a good one.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Joe Salk is a good cop. He's got a wife and a couple kids. When he is pulled into the brutal murder of a young girl, he gets in over his head. he becomes obsessed with the case to the point where he frightens his children and his wife eventually leaves him. This doesn't stop him. He pores over the evidence looking for answers. Then, in true Crow fashion, he gets help in an unusual form. The young girl, and her strange pet crow, assist him in finding her murderer and bringing him to justice.
This is the complete 3 issue series, written by O'Barr and illustrated by Antoine Dode. The illustrations are splashed on the page in a frantic style which seems to match the thinking of Joe Salk as he tries to track the killer. It's a dark story, but a good one.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
November 10, 2013
The comics remains faithful to the spirit of the movie. Although, I found that the action lacked some pace and twists.
The plot is based on the kidnapping and abuse carried out on a child. So, the frames are not particularly happy and the addiction of the sepia coloring is a very good idea. This color a little outdated brings nostalgia, sadness to a story already somber and black.
I liked the interplay between the colors and atmosphere. It's nicely done!
The illustrations are well detailed, simplistic or roughly drafted based on emotion or rhythm that the authors want to give to the graphics.
Quite different from the comics that I recently read, I liked the attention to detail and the fact that Antoine Dode emphasizes Joe Salk's moods by showing his obsession through point-by-point vignettes.
The only downside for me was the lack of surprises in the investigation and the relatively late arrival of the crow. But the dark and obsessive aspect of the atmosphere seemed very realistic.
A comics with potential.
Lucie
http://newbooksonmyselves.blogspot.fr...
The plot is based on the kidnapping and abuse carried out on a child. So, the frames are not particularly happy and the addiction of the sepia coloring is a very good idea. This color a little outdated brings nostalgia, sadness to a story already somber and black.
I liked the interplay between the colors and atmosphere. It's nicely done!
The illustrations are well detailed, simplistic or roughly drafted based on emotion or rhythm that the authors want to give to the graphics.
Quite different from the comics that I recently read, I liked the attention to detail and the fact that Antoine Dode emphasizes Joe Salk's moods by showing his obsession through point-by-point vignettes.
The only downside for me was the lack of surprises in the investigation and the relatively late arrival of the crow. But the dark and obsessive aspect of the atmosphere seemed very realistic.
A comics with potential.
Lucie
http://newbooksonmyselves.blogspot.fr...
February 17, 2016
I read this book at the beggining of October, completely forgot to review it, and each time I remembered I just didn't have the time to sit down and remember how I felt when I read it.
So I will keep this to the point, a much shorter review than I'm used to, but here you go...
Joe Salk used to be a very good police officer of Detroit, until he couldn't solve the case of a little girl's murder. He becomes so obsessed with it, he gives up on everything, haunted that the killer managed to escape and is probably stil free. In fact, he actually sees, or at least he believes he sees the girl's ghost, who is trying to help him solve the case so they can both have peace.
The art is very dark, fitting the story beautifully. It will make you emotional for sure, and you will hate the murderer more and more with each page, especially since this is the story of way too many children, whose killers may or may have not been caught.
So I will keep this to the point, a much shorter review than I'm used to, but here you go...
Joe Salk used to be a very good police officer of Detroit, until he couldn't solve the case of a little girl's murder. He becomes so obsessed with it, he gives up on everything, haunted that the killer managed to escape and is probably stil free. In fact, he actually sees, or at least he believes he sees the girl's ghost, who is trying to help him solve the case so they can both have peace.
The art is very dark, fitting the story beautifully. It will make you emotional for sure, and you will hate the murderer more and more with each page, especially since this is the story of way too many children, whose killers may or may have not been caught.
October 12, 2013
Joe Salk is a down and out cop. After failing to find the killer of a little girl, Joe becomes suicidal and his life spirals out of control; losing his family and his badge.
Some time later, the little girl returns as a ghost with her friend, The Crow, who can talk. She begs Joe not to forget her and offers her help to find and exact revenge on the perpetrator he couldn't find. Redemption is possible.
The drawings captured my interest, but I felt like I was missing some background information, like an integral part of the story was missing to make me fully comprehend Joe, the killer, and the little girl. Joe was enraged all the time and some of his actions didn't make sense, or were over the top. The conversations he had with the ghost girl seemed inappropriate to me, seeing as she was still acting like a little girl, but yet he was talking to her like a grown-up.
This story fell short for me. It was an okay read.
Some time later, the little girl returns as a ghost with her friend, The Crow, who can talk. She begs Joe not to forget her and offers her help to find and exact revenge on the perpetrator he couldn't find. Redemption is possible.
The drawings captured my interest, but I felt like I was missing some background information, like an integral part of the story was missing to make me fully comprehend Joe, the killer, and the little girl. Joe was enraged all the time and some of his actions didn't make sense, or were over the top. The conversations he had with the ghost girl seemed inappropriate to me, seeing as she was still acting like a little girl, but yet he was talking to her like a grown-up.
This story fell short for me. It was an okay read.
November 7, 2013
I haven't read anything from the Crow franchise since the original series and wasn't sure what to expect from The Crow: Curare. I was blown away. This was such a great story and the artwork and color suited it.
I will say the subject matter was just on the edge of discomfort for me. Children in peril is touchy ground, but O'Barr gave it that aspect of the story due respect. This is a story of the spirit of a dead girl, a washed up ex-cop, and a bird hunting a killer, the killer of the little girl. The trail they follow is horrifying and fascinating and O'Barr presents a mystery that holds up to most mystery novels on the shelves today. He pulls you along in the horror and dirt until it reaches it's brutal and satisfying ending. All with a pervasive melancholy that only O'Barr can deliver.
I recommend The Crow: Curare to any comic book fan, mystery/thriller fan, and noir fan whom can handle some darker topics.
I will say the subject matter was just on the edge of discomfort for me. Children in peril is touchy ground, but O'Barr gave it that aspect of the story due respect. This is a story of the spirit of a dead girl, a washed up ex-cop, and a bird hunting a killer, the killer of the little girl. The trail they follow is horrifying and fascinating and O'Barr presents a mystery that holds up to most mystery novels on the shelves today. He pulls you along in the horror and dirt until it reaches it's brutal and satisfying ending. All with a pervasive melancholy that only O'Barr can deliver.
I recommend The Crow: Curare to any comic book fan, mystery/thriller fan, and noir fan whom can handle some darker topics.
October 15, 2013
The best part of this story is that it stands alone from any of the other Crow stories. It's a great introduction to the world and offers a short tale for those looking for a simple horror story.
The crow in this story is nearly an afterthought but that doesn't interfere with the tale its self.
Joe is a retired cop who lost everything in the attempt to solve a crime. When the ghost of the child who died comes to him, he's able to resolve the mystery that has haunted him.
You don't get an afterword in this story but you can assume that maybe he gets it all put back together, or not. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that one man didn't give up on a child.
The crow in this story is nearly an afterthought but that doesn't interfere with the tale its self.
Joe is a retired cop who lost everything in the attempt to solve a crime. When the ghost of the child who died comes to him, he's able to resolve the mystery that has haunted him.
You don't get an afterword in this story but you can assume that maybe he gets it all put back together, or not. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that one man didn't give up on a child.
May 28, 2015
I love The Crow for being one of the most dark comics I had read. This one, not being less, is very grim. The story revolves around a child that was murdered and raped, and a detective that can't forget the case. The art is amazing, reminds a bit of 30 Days of Night-finds-The Maxx ....
... Now, the only thing that made me give it 4 stars, and not 5, is that this comic have nothing to do with The Crow. Let me explain : it is a very grim story, dark ambient, and there is a crow in it, but, the crow have nothing to do with the vigilantes of the other Crow comics. Ok, I had spoiled enough.
All in all, a very good read.
4 out of 5
... Now, the only thing that made me give it 4 stars, and not 5, is that this comic have nothing to do with The Crow. Let me explain : it is a very grim story, dark ambient, and there is a crow in it, but, the crow have nothing to do with the vigilantes of the other Crow comics. Ok, I had spoiled enough.
All in all, a very good read.
4 out of 5
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