Hard-Boiled Defective Stories

Hard-Boiled Defective Stories

by Charles Burns

Pantheon Books / RAW, 1988

'Hard-Boiled Defective Stories' (96 pp.) has been issued by a variety of publishers, under various titles (including El Borbah: The Complete Charles Burns Cartoon Library, No. 1). All existing copies have steep asking prices. 

Last Fall I was fortunate to get the 1988 large-size trade paperback, published by Pantheon, for $3 for a copy in pretty good condition.

'Hard-Boiled' contains five episodes, all starring the masked wrestler El Borbah, published between 1983 and 1988: 'Robot Love', 'Dead Meat', 'Living in the Ice Age', 'Bone Voyage', and 'Love in Vein'. Some of these first saw print in the indie comic Raw, while 'Bone Voyage' appeared in Heavy Metal magazine.

Every story displays Burns's genius for melding Weird Science themes with dark humor and sarcasm. More than once I found myself laughing out loud at the stuff depicting in these pages.

Burns's inventive and distinctive artwork also is on display in every panel of 'Hard-Boiled'.

It's a shame affordable copies of 'Hard-Boiled Defective Stories' are so rare and highly priced, for anyone with an appreciation for creative artwork, humor, and a unique visual style will like the book. My advice is, if you see a copy in good condition with a reasonable asking price, don't hesitate to grab it.