I mentioned in my last post that during my trip to NY, I bought quite a lot of books. One of those books was Kill My Mother, a graphic-novel by renowned cartoonist Jules Feiffer.
I should perhaps start by saying that I'm only passingly familiar with Feiffer's work. I know who he is and I've seen a few of his drawings as well as his animated short-film Munro, about a four-year old who gets drafted into the US army, but that's as far as it goes. However, the cover of Kill My Mother, featuring a woman holding a smoking gun, as well as the enticing front-page blurb by Neil Gaiman, convinced me to shell out the bucks for it. Was it worth the prize? Short answer: Yes.
Kill My Mother is, according to Feiffer himself, a love-letter to the noir-films and the classic adventure comic strips of yesteryear; those drawn by great artists like Milton Caniff or Will Eisner. The story begins in Bay City in the 1930's, it's here that we meet Elsie, the widow after a cop who was murdered during the Prohibition. Elsie now works as a secretary for her late husband's friend, Neil Hammond; a perpetually inebriated private-detective, in the hopes that the job will enable her to one day track down her husband's killers. We also meet Elsie's daughter, Annie, a rebellious teenager who harbors a schoolgirl-crush on Neil and resents her mother, believing that Elsie has effectively abandoned her. One day, a tall blonde by the name walks into Neil's office. She wants his help to find her old drama-teacher who has vanished without a trace. Neil suspects that there's something fishy going on, especially since the woman in the photo bears an uncanny resemblance to his client. Still, he needs the money, so he agrees to take the job.
I'll stop there, since I don't want to risk spoiling anything for those of haven't read Kill My Mother yet. Suffice to say that Feiffer tells a highly engaging story, one that takes many twists and turns and involves a large cast of characters. Speaking of which, the characters in this story are all memorable, whether it's the major characters like Annie and her boyfriend Artie or minor ones such as the communist liquor-store owner, I found them all to be interesting in their own ways.
On the artistic side, Feiffer draws in a sketchy style that may take some getting used to and may perhaps even put off some readers, which would be a great shame. Personally, I liked the artwork, it's very energetic with characters that sometime seem like they could leap out of the panels. In fact, this would make for an interesting animated movie.
All in all, Feiffer has certainly succeeded in creating a homage to the comics and movies of his youth. If you are a fan of the works of Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler (to mention a few names), I'd suggest giving Kill My Mother a go.
