Espresso Detective #1 is a comic created by Eric Erdek. I’ve read quite a few noir comics and books, but this might be the first one I’ve read where the main character is Hispanic. Caetano Sanchez is known as the “Mexican P.I.” but he isn’t even Mexican. This comic has two main stories, both dealing with the kidnapping of little girls. The first one takes place in Mexico and has more daunting stakes, whereas the second takes place in Los Angeles and this victim happens to be an heiress. The first story does touch on some heavy subjects so be warned. The introspection and narration required for a good noir story is very present and accounted for. We have metaphors, the in-depth descriptions, reckless gunplay, we even have a few sprinkles of self-deprecation in here. The only negative I can give is that it might be a bit wordy sometimes. Noir fans probably won’t mind the excessive gab though. I specified that there were two main stories earlier because there is a small story at the end and the subject matter will surprise you.
The art here fluctuates from very apt to rough. In exterior shots and close-ups it looks good but every now and again you’ll be focusing more on the words than the picture. The faces are drawn well most of the time and do a passable job at conveying emotion. But there were moments when I couldn’t tell who was who and had to backtrack and double check. I do have to say that the art style fits the story, dark tones and few colors are hallmarks of the noir genre.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like noir you should read this. If you like detectives and mysteries you should give this a spin.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
PG-13.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“I get asked why I make this face when I have a shot. No idea what they’re talking about.”
Comic Site: https://espressodetective.com/
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/espressodetective/espresso-detective-comic-no3-plus-no1-and-no-2-relaunch/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 28
Violent Pages: 5, for 18% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 2
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 1
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 1
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 1
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
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