Well, that was quick. Just hours after finishing Cooke's first book in the series, The Hunter, here I am reviewing book #2, The Outfit - guess that's what quarantine reading does to you.Actually enjoyed this one quite a bit more, in part because unlike Hunter it was an unfamiliar story to me, but also because I can tell that Cooke just had more fun drawing it. While he maintains the same "Saul Bass-ian" hard noir graphic style for most of the book, when he gets to the four robberies that make up...

Excellent adaptation of the novel. It even includes a nice "idiots guide" that explains illegal betting, the "numbers" racket and money-laundering/smuggling complete with illustrations. Yeah, I know it's a graphic novel, I was being sarcastic.Sadly, IDW has not made the previous book The Man with the Getaway Face or the martini edition of The Hunter that includes the aforementioned book available for download on Kindle/Comixology.https://www.bing.com/images/search?vi...

Parker is still under the gun from the Outfit, a crime syndicate. His recourse - attack back. He zeroes in on the operations, contacting other bad guys to hit the Outfit where it hurts - in the pocketbook.Good hard nosed noir.

This is a fantastic second graphic novel in this series. It is smart, fast paced and brutal with beautiful art that enhances the 1960s setting. Highly recommended.

After the success of Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter, in which Darwyn Cooke adapted a classic of crime fiction for the comic book page, we're treated to this gem of a book. Too bad I can't give it six stars!First off, there were some choices to be made, story-wise, to keep the book flowing evenly while respecting the source material and not going over a certain number of pages. Before the actual 'Outfit' story, Cooke included a short adaptation of Stark's The Man With The Getaway Face, in whi...

In the second of Cooke's Parker adaptations, Parker has changed his face via plastic surgery, being on the run from The Outfit. But when a colleague fingers him, Parker goes on the offensive, sending guys out on jobs hitting The Outfit at where it counts, the bottom line. I think I enjoyed this even more than The Hunter. It shows Parker's cold, calculated side as he schemes to take out the head of The Outfit. Cooke's art has a a 60's pop-art look to it that fits the 60's setting perfectly.

As a fan of the Parker series and comic books, these adaptations are right in my wheelhouse, but what I find most intriguing about them is the clever ways that Darwyn Cooke has used to tell a text story into a more visual form while staying true to the spirit of the original books.The Outfit was the third book in the Parker series, but this one also adapts the second novel, The Man With Getaway Face, into part of this story, too. Parker pissed off the Outfit and even though he’s gotten plastic s...

Darwyn Cooke's adaptations of the Parker novels are pure comics perfection. The artwork is a perfect match for the material, very much in the early 60's mode. Although I wasn't born until the late 60's, I've read enough magazines and whatnot from the era to appreciate details like business logos and so on. Cooke's research is right on the money as far as the time period goes. This is a world of Esso gas stations and Timex watches and AAA maps and so on. This book picks up close to where the prev...

Having read many of the Parker novels im hugely impressed by how Cooke adds a new dimension to the stories with his artwork,the way he narrates,uses two novels The Outfit,The Man with the Getaway Face into one Graphic Novel.Cooke’s art has never been better the inking,the coloring,the use of shadows. Every page with Parker himself is priceless because he got Parkers look,movement so well. I just stared in awe in how great Parker looked. How he can be retro,cartooney art style and still draw hard...

Darwyn Cooke decisively scored with his first comic book adaption of the Richard Stark ‘Parker’ novels: ‘The Hunter.’ ‘The Outfit’ doesn’t deliver the same bold punch. That might be expected from a sequel, and because the story line is not as hard-hitting or straightforward. Cooke’s choice of palette is an indicator of a more workman-like delivery. There’s still just one color other than black and white, but where it was crackling cyan in ‘The Hunter,’ ‘The Outfit’ is tinted with a more muted bl...

You know, if you read Darwyn Cooke's loving adaptation of Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake) Parker alongside Agatha Christie, as I am doing, the obvious thing to say is that it is way more brutal. Parker is a thief, a career criminal. But The Outfit is also bleakly beautiful in its depiction of the story, which is again, after Cooke's first adaptation of Starks' The Hunter, a kind of revenge tale. Parker, the toughest of tough guys, a really bad guy, never smiles in this book. He doesn't believe...

This is the second of Darwyn Cooke’s comic book adaptations of Richard Stark’s Parker novels with this one using material from the novels “The Outfit” and “The Man with the Getaway Face”. After Parker walks off with a hefty chunk of change from the Outfit (a crime syndicate) at the end of the first book The Hunter, a price is put on his head as Parker heads south to enjoy his earnings in the lap of luxury. But even after altering his face with plastic surgery, he’s spotted and the Outfit are ale...

Probably as interesting as the first graphic novel, this second one didn't leave me disappointed. Lots of cool 1960s decor and vibes are found in the cartoon panels. Remember the Esso signs? The graphic novel Parker fits my idea of the literal one from the Stark novels. The pages of text toward the middle slow down the story a little. Enjoyable enough.

I am not normally a very patient person. Some might go to the extreme of calling me impatient in fact. But I am learning. After almost 3 years of struggle, I have seen several of my initiatives come to fruition at work recently and realized that my patience paid off. There were several moments of hesitation where I wanted to throw in the towel because I thought things were not moving at all, but I hung in there, continued to build a diverse and fairly huge fan base, and delivered high quality ou...

This copy is signed by Darwyn Cooke.

3.5 starsThough it stands a little in the shadow of The Hunter (the excellent preceding volume featuring tough and taciturn antihero 'Parker'), The Outfit was still a reasonably entertaining graphic novel adaptation by Cooke from Westlake's long-running crime series. (I enthused in my prior review that it is a great collaboration between artist and author.) The energy or forward momentum is good until the halfway point and then things sort of . . . well, Parker is off-stage for many pages and it...

My Grade = 70% - C-Originally published as a novel (by Donald Westlake) - 1963. 152 pages.Current incarnation as a hardcover graphic novel - July, 2009. Price tag - $24.99.When I was a lad they were called comic books and they sold for a dime - and this one is not even in color.This one is from my favorite thrift shop in Pennsburg, Pa, where all adult books are sold for 50 cents (unless they are on sale for 30% off, or 50% off, or sometimes free day,) which is probably why I picked it up.March,

Writing under a pseudonym in 1963, Donald E. Westlake wrote a series about a calculating, hard-boiled career criminal named Parker, and after receiving Westlake’s blessing to adapt the series into a graphic novel series, comics artist Darwyn Cooke published this second installment in 2010. In the first installment, Parker was dealing with a former associate who double-crossed him, and ended up crossing paths with the mob, known as The Outfit. Since they continue to put hits out on his life, Park...

Parker had evened the score with the Outfit, or so he thought. After extensive facial reconstruction surgery, Parker is identified by a squealer, outing him to his enemies. Parker realizes that the fight isn't yet over and he intends to finish it!So, while I did like this book, I wasn't into it as much as The Hunter. Cooke seemed to take the story in a few directions towards the end, tying up loose ends and telling other parts in a different format. By throwing in a magazine style layout as well...

Book 2 Of Darwyn Cooke's graphic novels based on Donald Westlake's, aka Richard Stark, Parker books is The Outfit. This story picks up not to long after the first story, The Hunter, had ended and it continues the story of Parker's run in with the Outfit. Parker has gone back to his life of resorts and rich women after he had gotten plastic surgery to change his looks when an Outfit hit man tries to take him out. This sets off a series of things as Parker has to "convince" the Outfit to leave him...