Feeling nausea with Vertigo Crime

It's just over a year since Vertigo published the first of their sub-line of black and white hardboiled hardback original graphic novels and it's fair to say they have been a disappointment. Even a cursory glom of the internet reveals far more negative than positive reviews. The Comics Journal.
Most of the reviews, like the one linked above, are written primarily from a comics perspective, and this is fair enough since they are , after all, graphic novels,   but, one imagines, by people with only a passing interest in crime fiction. Unfortunately for people such as my self with a foot in both camps, so to speak, there is still little to get excited about.

Which is a shame because the premise is a good one. Pairing crime writers from the comics or book world to produce original noir in a pocket sized affordable format is a great one. And could still be one.
Brian Azzarello and Victor Santos (Filthy Rich) get things off to a good start with a genuine noir about a washed up gridiron ( I refuse to call it Football)  star falling for a femme fatale but as often with Azzarello it's too convoluted. I remain convinced this guy could do great things if he gets a good editor.

The less said about Dark Entries (Rankin, Dell'Edera) the better. Ian may be a famous crime writer but this is not a crime story. Not even the best original Constantine book of the year, Hellbalzer  Pandemonium pisses all over it.
Jason Starr (The Chill, with Mick Bertilorenzi) has a genuine noir pedigree and seemed a smart choice.His recent books, though,  have been a little weak and lacked the meanness which made his early work, e.g. Cold Caller, stand out. The Chill, the third in the series, is a frankly ridiculous story about a pair of mystical Irish serial killers. I half expected a psychotic leprechaun to become involved. Begorrah!
We will whistle past The Bronx Kill (Milligan, James) as there is really very little to say about this inter-generational family noir by numbers and move onto more positive things.
Area 10 by Christos Gage and Chris Samnee is another with a supernatural flavour but here it sits well within the hardboiled story of a down-on-his-luck cop trying to crack a case and put his career and personal life back on track.

Next in the series is The Executor (Jon Evans, Andrea Mutti). This time it's a washed up Hockey player ( what is it with ex professional athletes and noir comics?) brought back to his hometown by the death of his childhood sweetheart. he has to face down corrupt cops, a paedophile ring and and his own demons. Take away the last page where our hero is granted redemption (Yawn!!!!) and this is a real slice of hardboiled writing which doesn't pull it's punches.
The most recent of the series is also the best. Fogtown (Andersen Gabrych, Brad Rader) is really the only to justify Vertigo's suggestion to be for mature readers. Set in post WWII San Francisco about a conflicted and closeted PI's search for a missing prostitute, Gabrych's story explores themes of sexuality, family and the importance of forgiving yourself. This could have been written by Goodis, it really could.
I had been upon the point of abandoning this series but the guys at page 45 recommended the book and i'm glad they did. Any more like this one and Vertigo Crime will be in danger of getting a good reputation.

For the future they should consider Greg Rucka, Scott Snyder, Michael Koryta and Dennis Tafoya. Failing that how about giving these guys a call?