If there is a theme arising from the first days of this year's Comic-Con, it could be a renewed interest in crime comics, the dominant comics genre of the 1940s, and in attempts to snag a portion of the bookstore audience that has made crime and detective fiction perennially popular over the decades (see “Karen Berger on Vertigo Crime”).  Latest case in point is IDW Publishing’s announcement that Darwyn Cooke (New Frontier, The Spirit) will be adapting the legendary “Parker” crime novels of Richard Stark (pseudonym of Donald E. Westlake).  These taut thrillers featuring an amoral hero have been adapted into some of the best movies in the crime genre including John Boorman’s critically-acclaimed Point Blank (1967) and the equally good, but highly-underrated The Outfit (1973) starring Robert Duvall in one of his best performances.  Westlake has given his full approval to the graphic novel adaptations of his work, which may stir additional interest in the Parker novels that have never received their due as pure examples of American crime fiction at its very best.

Cooke is set to adapt the first four volumes in the Parker series, The Hunter (the source for Point Blank), The Man With the Getaway Face, The Outfit, and The Mourner.  Cooke’s adaptation of The Hunter will debut in late 2009 with subsequent volumes slated for two-year intervals.  IDW plans on publishing its Parker adaptations in black-and-white (with single color highlights) and in a smaller format than traditional comic book size in order to make the volumes more bookstore friendly.