Netherworld
Written by Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin
Line Art by Tony Shasteen with Dennis Calero
Colors by Dave McCaig with Lee Loughridge
Letters by Troy Peteri
Image Comics | Top Cow
Release Date: May 23, 2012
Cover Price: $19.99

Crime noir comics are not usually my cup of Joe. It takes a unique twist on the hardboiled genre to capture my ridiculously short attention span. Image Comics/Top Cow’s Netherworld accomplishes just that, adding a supernatural flair to the typical dirty cop storyline. You’ll ponder this deceptively deep storyline well after its exciting conclusion.

Ray Parker is a former cop scratching out an existence as a bounty hunter. Two separate clients hit him up with jobs concerning the same person: a young woman named Madeline. Alexis wants Ray to find Madeline at a specified location and bring her to a second location. On the other hand, Cyrus Kane has less information and wants Ray to simply find Madeline’s whereabouts. Ray must use all of his instincts to decide on which path to take. Finding Madeline begins a violent, action-packed tale of discovery as Ray peels away the layers of his city and his role within it.

Top Cow is adding a new miniseries to its roster of offbeat stories starting April 13, 2011 with Netherworld, from writers Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin, as well as illustrator Tony Shasteen and colorist JD Mettler.

Netherworld tells the story of one long night in a city following private detective Ray Parker as he searches for an 18-year-old girl named Madeline. The story promises to be dark and feature deep, layered characters. The city itself is seedy and full of criminals, and other unsavory types. If there’s good in this city we aren’t likely to see much of it along Parker’s path.

The writers take great inspiration from Frank Miller’s Sin City. While that world was the inspiration for the writers, Shasteen believes only Miller could create that particular city. He instead goes for something much more realistic and akin to films such as Se7en and Blade Runner. Shasteen’s references to Blade Runner meld well with his ideas for creating a city that is both familiar and foreign. He used images of densely populated Asian cities to help him craft the unique look of Netherworld. Shasteen also looked to Hollywood when designing the characters. Parker for example is based on a mix of Russell Crowe and Clive Owen while Avril Lavigne and Blake Lively inspire Madeline.