I think its good to go back and remind people that there is a book they should be reading. Black Monday Murders is very much a book deserving it.


Jonathan Hickman and Tom Coker have created a well drawn mystery that posits all economic activity has been manipulated by Mammon, a genuine, real, dark god. The transactions made to control or appease him are handled people in a group so small they make "the 1%" look like the population of China all went to India on vacation, got locked inside, and had to become one country.


Within that world is Viktor Eresko, a creation so terrifying, so plausible in how he's presented, that I had to put down the copy I was reading and walk away. For context, he's the person who'd find the ending of 'The Mist' too lighthearted. The rest of the characters are as clearly drawn, but differently motivated. There might even be someone who would care if the population of the planet could be kept around, but she's cagey, so I can't say for sure.


Tom Coker's art presents the proceedings clearly, deftly, with a high dose of nuance and realism. It adds to the unnerving nature of the book. You might feel bad afterwards, but you also might feel worse if you don't give a book this unique a chance.