Rat Catcher

I dig Andy Diggle.  I really enjoyed his Vertigo title (which later became a Hollywood flick) The Losers.  He even had a pretty solid run on Hellblazer.

But sometimes a guy who writes comics can't really hit a home run when it comes to writing a graphic novel.  Which is why I was pretty unsure about Diggle's Vertigo Crime offering Rat Catcher, featuring art by Victor Ibanez.


Rat Catcher is a crime story set in Texas.  It involves two Federal Agencies the FBI and the Marshals Service as well as organized crime.  Oh and there's the Rat Catcher an underworld enforcer who silences snitches.

When the Rat Catcher strikes again, killing a federal witness and those protecting him, Moses Burdon, the one agent who actually believed the Rat Catcher exists, thinks he can finally catch him.

And he's in luck because apparently the Rat Catcher was wounded in the attack and is now trying to cover his tracks by bringing it to Texas' underworld.

From there it's a cat and mouse chase between Burdon and his prey, with two U.S. Marshall getting in the way.  Oh and then there's the matter of the Fed who's beholden to the Earl Rawlins, the underworld boss.

Honestly Rat Catcher has a ton of twists and turns, enough that I can't really go into any sort of detail when describing the story for fear of spoiling.  I will say that Rat Catcher is a highly satisfying read.  It's really quite thrilling.

Honestly, it's a book that I could totally see being adapted into a movie.  It'd make for quite an awesome suspense thriller.  Like seriously.  You read it and you instantly see how it could play out on the big screen.

That's due in large part to Victor Ibanez's art. It's dynamic and incredibly fluid. Every character looks distinct and their expressions are so vibrant. When we first meet Burdon he's beaten and world weary, and Ibanez conveys it perfectly.  And later when he's surprised, again, the art captures it.

I'm telling you that Rat Catcher will be made into a movie at some point down the line, so you should get up on it now so you can be ahead of the curve.