Neo-Noir, L.A., And Country Music Make Beautiful Harmony: Kickstarting Stephan Franck’s ‘Palomino’
by Anton Kromoff
Welcome to the table,
Stephan Franck is one of my favorite people. I’m disclosing this to you because I like to be transparent. The fact that he is kind, genuine, and wildly talented only adds to my excitement for this project.
Stephan Franck, acclaimed cartoonist, writer, and director known for his work on popular characters like The Iron Giant, Spider-Man and the Smurfs, is returning to one of his passion project this spring with his graphic novel series Palomino volumes 2 and 3.
Set in Los Angeles’ country music clubs, Palomino is a neo-noir, slice-of-life tale following the adventures of Eddie Lang, a working musician and former detective turned private investigator, as he navigates a murder case involving a former TV actress.
Franck and his company, Dark Planet Comics, are turning to Kickstarter to crowdfund volumes 2 and 3 of the planned 4-volume series now live on Kickstarter.
“Palomino follows the neo-noir, slice-of-life adventures of a man on thin ice,” said Franck. “Eddie Lang is a former Burbank PD detective, who’s a private investigator by day and a working musician by night. In the new volumes, Eddie dives deeper into the murder case of a former TV actress and quickly finds himself uncovering too many deadly truths.
“Meanwhile, his old-soul teenage daughter Lisette just might be even more hard-boiled than her father. Lisette’s frustrated by her father’s refusal to reopen her mother’s cold case and she decides to begin her own investigation. What could possibly go wrong?”
Palomino being set in Los Angeles in 1981 is perfect for fans of mysteries, hard boiled dialogue, music, and the lived-in slice-of-life of Los Angeles’ forgotten history. Against the backdrop of the American Century running on fumes and Ronald Reagan’s first term as President, Palomino captures the essence of LA’s country music scene with its working musicians, TV actors, stuntmen, cops, hustlers, and broken souls who all play their part in the cultural myth-making of the era.
If you’re a fan of neo-noir, music, and gritty charm, Palomino is a graphic novel series that you won’t want to miss. Check it out now at the link.
Until next time, if you want to keep up with this project and Stephan’s work in general check out his Twitter and follow Dark Planet Comics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
