Parker adapted to graphic form

"Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter," adapted and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke (IDW, $25)

As thieves go, Parker was world-class. He excelled at putting together jobs that paid well and then disappearing without a trace when the job was done. He used his earnings to live well, traveling and living in luxury at the world's top hotels and resorts.

He was good. There wasn't a police agency in the world that had a file on him.

Things quickly went wrong.

Mal Resnick, a former mob associate who ended up blowing his connection with organized crime, has come up with what he believes is a job that will a) make him a lot of money so that b) he can use it to get back into the mob's good graces. He talks Parker into joining him on the job, but he has a double-cross planned. And Parker's wife is working with him.

That's the background on this hard-boiled crime story. If it sounds familiar, that's because the Parker series originally was written by the great Donald Westlake under the name Richard Stark. They have been adapted into graphic novel form by Darwyn Cooke, who has quickly become a superstar in the comics industry after a successful career in animation.

This is an especially good read for those who love graphic novels but are looking for something beyond the cape-and-cowl crowd.

Cooke brings a stark, noir-influenced look to the book. He also keeps in all the best bits from Westlake, like this exchange between Parker and his wife when he returns to her after surviving an attempt on his life:

"I'm glad you're not dead. Isn't that stupid?"

"Yes."

"You ought to kill me."

"Maybe I will."

One of the pleasures of the story is that the reader doesn't learn all the details of the betrayal of Parker until well into the story, which puts everything you've read in a different light.

The book opens with Parker, never Mr. Sunshine, in a murderous rage and seeking revenge. Later we learn he might have been justified.