Black Kiss #1

"Black Kiss Book One" kicks off in 1988 with a moody, neon-drenched Los Angeles, where Dagmar Laine—a transsexual prostitute and longtime lover of faded 1950s star Beverly Grove—hunts a mysterious reel of film stolen from the Vatican’s secret archives. The reel, sent to Father Frank Murtaugh by his cardinal brother, becomes the center of a dangerous chase that takes a sharp turn when a nun steals it right from under Dagmar’s nose. Written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin, with additional art by Dean Motter and inks by Chaykin, the issue’s stark, cinematic style is matched by its cover by Chaykin, capturing the noir tension of a story where desire and deception are the only currencies.