Parker: The Score: 03

My brother loved this

I'm the perfect audience for these books as I've never read a Richard Stark/Donald Westlake novel about Parker but I love Darwyn Cooke, I like crime stories and looooove comics, so mixing all that up and serving it to me is gravy every time. I will read a Parker novel by Westlake one day but for now, The Hunter, The Outfit, and this one, The Score are perfectly enjoyable by themselves.Parker is his usual tough-guy self as he gets drawn into a scheme to rob an entire town, a small mining town in the middle of nowhere, in a single night. He assembles a team of expert thieves to assist in the raid and they plan meticulously - but of course things don't go according to plan, neither are they what they seem.My favourite book of the series so far is The Outfit though The Score is a close runner up and it's told in a more straightforward way, unlike The Outfit which made great use of various comics styles to tell the story. The Score is also the first Parker book where thing have gone wrong - in previous titles, Parker and co. have made a plan and pulled it off perfectly. Here, Parker finally encounters trouble and has to deal with complications as they arise, leading to a more tense and exciting story overall.The one criticism I would have is how few people the crew encounter in the town - even if there is a curfew and it's set at night, they meet just one person on the streets? In the entire town? Hmmm.Cooke's art is as amazing as ever and his adaptation - while I don't know how faithful to the source material it is - is a thrilling read. If you love crime comics set in the 60s-era with fantastic art and tremendous style, Cooke's Parker books are for you. The Score is terrific - can't wait for Slayground (Cooke's next Parker adaptation)!

This is hard-boiled crime fiction at it's finest. The art is amazing and the pacing is immaculate.So much fun.

This is a comic book version with tiny cartoons and not what I expected after reading Parker by Richard Stark

This Parker book by Darwyn Cooke continues his amazing retelling of Richard Stark's Parker, everything from the art to the story and characters in these books are nearly perfect for me. This particular book tells the story of how Parker and a crew plan to box in and rob an entire town when they'll be flush with money on a particular night. Of course nothing goes exactly as planned (would make it pretty boring) and how Parker reacts and leads is everything. If you have read any of the other Parker books by Darwyn Cooke and liked them, then this is one I would highly recommend, if you haven't then I recommend you read them all (four books in all), including this one, as each book is great.I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Richard Stark was arguably the most succesful author of crime-noir novels of all time, but for a younger generation they would most likely know of his influences only through screenplays and movie adaptations (i.e., "The Grifters",and "Payback", with Mel Gibson).Thanks to retro-noir graphic artist Darwyn Cooke, he is most recently re-emerging through graphic novels, with this latest effort being the third such installment. That Cooke's accompanying artistry isn't overshadowed by the gravitas of Stark's stories is truly a testament to just how talented Cooke is. Rarely has there been a more perfect pairing between literary and picture-based story telling to create one seamless package.For those familiar with Cooke's other two works(Book One: The Hunter, and Book Two: The Outfit), and looking for more, they're not going to be disappointed. OK, maybe just a little disappointed, in that I think both previous efforts were stronger stories, and a little less formulaic. But both Starke and Cooke are also victims of their own success, and its hard to win the World Series every day. For those who like Cooke's visual atmospheric style of a hard luck, tough as nails 1960's noir world you really can't get that fix anywhere else, and most of us have been jonesing now for almost 2 years.The one major change in the book is the use of coloring. While Hunter and Outfit were mostly tone on tone with atmospheric blues, the Score is instead toned in orange. Sometimes bright orange. Sometimes a LOT of bright orange. In many ways this works, as the Score is hued primarilly to the story's two major themes, the coppery tones of the desert and the fiery action in the city's streets. But sometimes it can almost be visually fatiguing, and the orange might have been better purposed for only certain scenes or chapters. In any event, sometimes I missed the old blues, but I'm sure Cooke is doing his best between giving us what we want and making sure he doesn't get bored with the same 'ol same 'ol. If push comes to shove, I'd rather keep him creative and productive.Most of what you need to know plotwise you can get from the book description above, there is little reason to give you the cliffs notes here or give away any surprises. If you haven't been exposed to Parker before, he's not a nice guy, and you really shouldn't call him even a "dark hero" or an "anti hero". He's a charismatic thug, and nothing more, and if he does anything noble it's probably because you just haven't seen the angle yet. If you've watched Mel Gibson in the original "Payback", and then compared it to "Payback - the Director's Cut", you'll know what I mean. The only reason you may root for the guy is because the guys he goes up against are frequently even worse.Bottom line, this is an easy pick-up for previous fans, and even though this is labeled as "Book Three", any newcomer would have no problem starting off with it as a standalone story. With that said, I do like the others slightly better, and there certainly is no reason not to start with "The Hunter" and work your way to here. Cooke says "Parker will be back" in 2013, so you might as well smoke through this one now.

The Richard Starks "Parker Series" by Darwyn Cooke are SOOO great that at this point I'm just going to talk about how WELL the book is put together (at this point, you should be ALL IN for Cookes Parker stories) I noticed as I am reading this 3rd book (start with the 1st book - by the way) that I constantly thought I had pages stuck together (like a book that has just been trimmed) then I realized that no, they are NOT stuck together - the pages were just that heavy! NICE! Thats a sign of GREAT production. And that, in turn, lets the pages hold more ink & the rich color values are only made MORE prominent by how Cooke uses only TWO colors through the entire book! (black + one)A Great Great Series. I cannot recommend these books enough.As I read it, Parker reminds me of what would be the a perfect Steve McQueen vehicle.

Parker is not a widespread cultural icon, but to those who love crime fiction he is paramount. Stark's books are some of the best in the genre ( I read all of them in one year). I was so starved for more I even read the Grofield novel offshoots. Cooke, however, has really brought to life the visual elements from these books, something all film adaptations have failed at. Hollywood wants to change Parker and make him what he is not: He is a criminal and there's nothing nice about it. The Score captures all the brutality of the character, and doesn't gloss over the details or try to add superfluous characters or trendy modern plot developements to the story. Cooke masterfully paints this graphic novel in the style of the times -- the early 60s. Cooke knows his subject and chooses the right imagery to extract. His light and shadow touch lightly on noir, but he doesn't submerge the reader in darkness. In this novel especially, he allows Parker to fully realized.If you are a graphic novel fan, this should appeal to you, mainly those who enjoy Frank Miller. Unlike many novel-to-graphic novel adaptations, Cooke doesn't force too much text upon the reader. He pulls enough from the book and lets the story live through his brush strokes. The book had some delay coming out (first scheduled for May, then June and now finally out in July), but it was well worth the wait. We can only hope he will continue this work.England may have Bond, with all of his cheesy romanticism and judo chops, but America has Parker, a true reflection of the country -- brutal, industrious, intelligent and relentlessly confident.