On sale date: April 2, 2024
Graham Chaffee's first graphic novel in seven years, Light It, Shoot It is a classic tale of noir below the spotlight.
Fresh out of prison for an arson conviction, clueless 20-year old Billy Bonney finds himself drifting through the seedy and unsavory world of cut-rate moviemaking, even more out of place amongst his peers than he felt as a teen six years earlier when he got busted. Following his brother to the sets of grade B and exploitation 1970s Hollywood seems like a path of least resistance, until he accidentally lands a job as a handler to a has-been actor. But the bright lights burn harsher and show more than he anticipated as he steps lucklessly into a gangster-driven plot to burn down a studio for the insurance money, and finds himself in over his head. Drunken, washed-up stars. Scrambling, past-their-own-prime producers. Teenage girls on the make, slick hustlers, and violent fixers. Drawn in bold brushstrokes, and hand-painted in subtle washes, Chaffee brings vintage LA to the page in a propulsive adventure.
Praise
"Graham Chaffee, a tattoo artist and painter, returns to comics shelves every few years with a moody roman noir; the latest, Light It, Shoot It, is worth the seven-year wait since his last." — The New York Times
"Simply put, Light It, Shoot It is an excellent example of noir storytelling at its finest, soaked in a uniquely 1970s mood." — The Arts STL
"This fittingly sleazy throwback noir [is] a sure thing for comics fans who dream of Quentin Tarantino helming a Raymond Chandler adaptation." — Publishers Weekly
"Illustrated in gorgeous black-and-white brushstrokes and moodily evocative painted washes, this twisty thrill ride through old Hollywood features a large cast of complex and nuanced characters." — Library Journal
"An overarching look at the corruption and sleaze of 1970s Hollywood." — Slings & Arrows
Specs
- Pages
- 208
- Format
- Paperback / Softback
- Color
- Black-and-white.
- Dimensions
- 7.9" × 10.3"
- ISBN-13
- 9781683966821
