REVIEW: 'Cold Hard Cash: A Martha Chainey Escapade' by Gary Phillips, Adriana Melo, and John Kalisz

 

'Cold Hard Cash: A Martha Chainey Escapade' #1

Written by Gary Phillips

Art by Adriana Melo and John Kalisz

Letters and designs by Tom Napolitano

Published by Comixology

Price $2.99

Release date: February 20, 2024

Martha Chainey gets looped into the assignment and sets out into Los Angeles to chase her early leads.

Score:

★★★★☆ (4/5)

One of the advantages crime novelist Gary Phillips has in introducing a character from his prose novels into a comic book story is the familiarity and fully fleshed-out characteristics that brings. Martha Chainey is a confident, smart, no-nonsense, ass-kicker (when necessary), who loves her community and has a knack for finding the truth. She's been hired to find the hackers who hacked a community organization and stole millions of dollars. Her investigation leads to some dangerous and seedy places but she's more than capable of handling herself. 

 'Cold Hard Cash' is a compelling mystery that's told with confidence and direction. Phillips establishes the plot quickly, set in LA within the Black community unapologetically defining Chainey's place within it and why she's needed. And like any good mystery, the reader is thrown into the story following leads along with Chainey coming across shady characters and slowly unraveling the whereabouts of the hackers. I'm just a big fan of stories told in LA like those of Walter Mosley, Michael Connelly, Héctor Tobar, and Joan Didion. Phillips' perspective on the city lends itself well to uncovering the people and locations you don't always see in other stories. And Chainey is the perfect icon to transverse the mean streets and environs of the southland. 

 Adriana Melo and John Kalisz create a well-saturated earth-toned landscape with good composition and a breezy efficiently paced story. The focus is squarely on Chainey as it should be and Melo makes sure to center her throughout the issue. She shows a range of emotions but Chainey's muscles and fighting prowess are on full display. She may not have superpowers but she's heroic nonetheless. 

Phillips immerses readers in an engaging mystery led by his stalwart heroine, Martha Chainey. 'Cold Hard Cash' is an irresistible crime thriller by a writer that adds authenticity and energy to the genre.