This is a pretty wide-ranging graphic sampler of crime and mystery fiction, spanning almost the entire history of literary creation. Everything from ancient Greek tragedy to the Bible to Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe are represented, in a variety of graphic styles. Each piece has a nice introduction, to both the original work and the graphic (and sometimes textual) adaptation. There are a whole bunch of these volumes, and I'll probably continue to delve in, but in some ways they are like short story collections, with some pieces only a couple of pages long, some longer, and others really like annotated paintings, with only the barest interpretation of the original work. It's an interesting approach, though I do tend to favour long-form literature, so I'm not sure how much I got out of it. I did share a couple of snips with others though. ( )

I've liked the previous Graphic Canon's before this one. All of them have expanded my liking for literature. Not just authors and books I've heard of before, but even one's that are new to me. With this edition, there were a few, more than before, I was unfamiliar with. In some ways I liked that and others I didn't think it read well. Of course most of these are just samples of literature turned into comics, but sometimes with mystery and crime stories that's not such a great idea. Than again, this book makes me want to read the actual stories to full get "what the heck was going on!"

I'm hoping the next volume is better. They are only doing two of these that I know of which is good because they are missing some BIG names in crime fiction like Hammett and Chandler. This book had too much of what most people wouldn't include in crime and mystery it makes me wonder will be in the next volume. Maybe that one I'll be more familiar with the works or authors at least. ( )

This is a tough one to review. Overall, I think it's a really cool collection, with a nice diversity of samples of crime and mystery literature. Unfortunately, a great many of the stories were not my cup of tea. However, the art, and the variety of styles, is a treat! I think this almost feels like a textbook of sorts, more designed to expose the reader to a great many ideas and styles than to entertain the reader. Don't get me wrong, at times both things are accomplished, but for me not frequently enough to give it a higher review. ( )