Delcourt editions offer an incendiary thriller in every sense of the word with Blacking Out. Set off in the 1970s with an investigator in the middle of a city affected by a vast fire.
A burning thriller
In Blacking Out, Conrad, a former cop fired for alcoholism, now works as an investigator for a defense attorney. He arrives in Southern California during wildfire season to find out who killed Karen Littleton during a fire last year.
Blacking Out starts in the fall of 2021 with crowdfunding and arrives today in France. This comic is very close to the comic book format by size. In addition, screenwriter Chip Mosher, a specialist in digital comics, fell in love with the complete 58-page story format when he came to the comic book festival in Angoulême.He teamed up with cartoonist Peter Krause known for his radical retelling of a superman in Irrecoverable.
A trip to the seventies
Blacking Out evokes the thrillers of the seventies of course by the chronological framework well camped by the cars among others but it goes much more than a setting. Time also seems frozen as a giant fire returns to the region every season. As in the films of the time with a prologue before the credits, the title arrives after a few pages. Indeed, the book begins at the end and then the story is made in voice-over by the main character. Conrad's disillusioned thoughts can be discerned. Blacking Out then becomes more the portrait of a man than a police investigation (which starts late). Conrad is a loser in need of money and trying to rebuild himself. He has not been in the police force for a year and continues to drink. He must return to the village where he worked during an engagement for the trial of Robert Littleton accused of both murder and arson because he set fire to a forest to hide the corpse of his daughter Karen. Conrad works for the defense lawyer, Lund, who makes this case a matter of honor, but why does he choose an investigator with such a deplorable reputation?
However, the private investigator has no leads. Instead of doing his job, he prefers to spend the evening in a bar and return with a waitress, Anita. He sees her as the one who will save him from decay. The gold necklace with a crucifix that is often found is not an accessory but its only clue to the investigation and the symbol of his quest for redemption.
A new vision of this past
However, society changed in Blacking Out because Mattie, Conrad's best friend, is a gay mechanic and has his right arm amputated. Sex is very present. Conrad hopes to start a love story to redeem himself because this one-night stand is associated with feelings. However, sex mostly causes problems when desire exceeds morality. It is often taboo and can be used to manipulate you. The smouldering fire of desire causes damage by exploding. All that remains is the ashes of shame.
The fires surrounding the village are also a parable of the upheaval Conrad brings back to the city. It chars certainties and thus endangers the habits of some. This man in search of redemption is put in parallel with Robert Littleton who seeks to prove his innocence.
Peter Krause adopts for Blacking Out a realistic style as shown by the vehicles or faces but he does not seek precision in each box because the sets are often refined. We think of Sean Philips but more irregular. He seems to have trouble keeping a regularity over a whole volume.
Between two dives in the cool water, Blacking Out is a perfect summer read. Without wanting to reveal the end, Chip Mosher and Peter Krause make a nervous and surprising thriller that chars our certainties.
You can find other thrillers on the sites with the chronicles of Safrane Chu and On the side of hell.
