Fogtown is an amazing piece of literature, not only by graphic novel standards but also by literary standards. This graphic novel follows Frank Grissel, a hardened detective who makes his living solving crimes and charming the ladies. However, he has more than a few secrets locked in his closet ! The novel features all the characters you would expect from a noir - the private dick, pimps, shipyard owners, the city's grit, sordid sexual underbelly, and a bevy of unsavory characters. The story has...

interesting. weird. rating is probably 2 3/4 stars, but oh well...

Went in blind based on the rep of the publisher - an excellently twisted take on detective noir, although the art leaves much to be desired.Update 2022 - Accidentally read it again, and it tickled no memories while doing it.

Even for the uniformly exceptional Vertigo Crime series, this one stands out The Vertigo Crime series is incredible - par for the course there means an incredible tale worthy of five stars.But this one is a bit better than par.It is the absolute noirest of noir tales, until it takes a turn or two that takes it to the next level.Just incredible - whether you are a fan of Vertigo, Graphic Novels, noir or not - I'd check this one out.

Set in 1950s San Fran, this Vertigo Crime graphic novel "Fogtown" is a pulp tale about a hard-boiled, dick-loving dick. And it's nearly fantastic. The plot and most everything else is pretty straightforward noir fare; what makes "Fogtown" atypical is its progressive and honest approach to sexuality. Specifically, the sexuality of the main character. Gabrych's take on the gay man (albeit closeted, mostly) is admirable and hopefully we see a lot of this in the future - in more comics, in more medi...

The art's great, but the story is totally unbelievable, full of too many coincidences even for a crappy pulp novel, which is what this is. In addition, even though this is presented as a "classic" noiry type of private-dick story, the level of misogyny and homophobia evidenced here really turned me off. Disappointing.

This is the second book I've picked up from the Vertigo Crime imprint and I think it will probably be my last. I try not to give spoilers in my reviews so what should I say about this? A lot of it was very cliché. All of the most overused tropes are dragged out and combined with strange LGBT themes. I was left with a rather ambiguous idea of whether the author was trying to say that homosexuality is a perversion or not. On the surface he seemed to be saying no but some of the subtext was telling...

Fogtown is a hard boiled graphic novel, heavy with genre troupes. The art matches the tone; dark inks in black and white, femme fatales drawn with a sexy and dangerous intensity which ooze sensuality, and a protagonist of the muscle bound, chiseled jaw stereotype. Like the story, any notion of shades of grey is an abstract concept.The 1953 period setting in San Francisco plays to a post WWII era backdrop as eviscerated prostitutes, shady men hiding behind religious fanaticism, and a complex PI i...

Nothing special. Incoherent plot that leaves the reader with loose ends, even by noir standards. Design was bad most of the time, with the main characters having a slightly different face from panel to panel and the almost complete absence of backgrounds made for a comic scetchy and empty. Even the attempt of drawing close-ups that pay homage to the hollywood crime movies of the '50s didn't come out good (pg. 100 & 121 for example).Wouldn't say it was a waste of money, but it wasn't that far fro...

Hang with this one. You might be bored and offended by the first thirty pages, but let me just say there are some surprises. The art looks flat and pulpish, but hey this is pulp, and commentary on pulp, really, so finally you can't complain about that too much, really, as it fits.

I found this book at my local library while searching for graphic novels done in the film noir style. At first, I was happy to see this story, the hard-boiled detective and all of the trappings.However, as many others have noted, the plot is weak and convoluted. Filled with every genre cliche. While I'm not adverse to swearing or sex in stories, the crass and vulgarity of story just seemed out of place. It was almost cursing for cursing sake. The storyline was clunky and had too many subplots.

1953: San Francisco - a down and out private eye - a great read for a foggy night.

This is not a comic for kids, The writing was over cliched 50's dime novel crime crap copied and modernized for the gay community. I have a very hard time figuring out who the real target audience was supposed to be. It did have a story from start to finish and got marks for that. I usually end all my book reviews with this was a good read. maybe that is a good place to stop. Oh hell be brave and give it a read, it was a risk and they did put a lot of work into it, This was a good read.

A fairly conventional hardboiled whodunit... with a compelling conceptual twist: What if grizzled gumshoe Sam Spade had been a closeted homosexual? I'm sure that's the sort of pitch that got this project sold.Some here on Goodreads have criticized Fogtown for being a derivative grab-bag of detective-story clichés, but it's Gabrych's very fidelity to the genre's shopworn tropes that gives his single narrative innovation -- a gay tough-guy P.I. -- its punch. Fogtown wears its pulp influences on it...

A private eye story set in San Francisco in 1953, a closeted private eye is hired to track down an errant daughter which spins into a sordid tale of prostitution and a sex trade for she-males. Very brutal, this story pulls no punches. The period details are consisted as art and story blend together perfectly. A tale well worth reading for those who want a sexual twist on the hard boiled detective genre

I love hard boiled crime stories, but this one just didn't appeal to me. The story seemed to spin it's wheels, and seemed almost like a parody of the genre. The artwork wasn't very impressive either. So far the Vertigo Crime imprint, which I thought I'd love, has been a bit of a mixed bag. This is my least favorite of the imprint I've read so far.

A comic that's a really dark private-eye story set in San Francisco and that pushes back against the straight macho sexuality of Mickey Spillane... would be a good idea. This isn't the way to do it. This is just clunky, ineptly lurid and embarrassing.

I get that that narrative is supposed to reflect the “womanizing private dick” hero, but it is clear that Gabrych’s “Fogtown” is just a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic pile of trash.

Honestly, I had about 15 pages left and just didn’t care anymore. It’s a cliche about the damaged PI returning from war and he has his demons and the story just isn’t compelling. I hate to be so rude about it, but it wasn’t for me.