Benkei, a mysterious Japanese expatriate with a debonair appearance, settled in New York as a painter. But in the shadow of the skyscrapers, he also made revenge his business. Unearthing the most sordid secrets hidden by his “clients”, this mutic character has no equal when it comes to healing old wounds, contract after contract… Coldly and definitively.
A dark and violent work
Praised by critics when it was released in the United States, An assassin in New York de Jinpachi Mori et Jirô Taniguchi will touch the hearts and souls of thriller lovers. This work offers a real dive into the New York of the 1990s like a retro film noir with its mafia and its rich patrons.
The different dark and violent stories that make up the book focus on the life of Benkei, an artist with gentle manners but also “Revenge matchmaker” (adauchi in Japanese) cold and detached. Each chapter describes the modus operandi of the killer during a contract and each contract is the occasion of a magnificently designed and psychologically heartbreaking “promenade” in the heart of urban darkness, whether in the shadow of sordid alleys or in the soft atmosphere of opulent villas. Flashbacks, cleverly distilled, plunge into the sordid and secret past of the protagonists, and bring out old actions or resentments that beg to be resolved.
If Benkei is a hitman, he emerges from his “job” some poetry and a certain creativity in the traps specially designed for each of its preys always in connection with the revenge that he executes! In the chapter titled “Haggis”, for example, Benkei uses memories of a trip to Scotland to gain a man’s trust, persuading him to visit a secluded bar where a familiar but horrific dish awaits him… In “Throw Back”, another strong chapter, the protagonists compete in the American Museum of Natural History using the weapons “at disposal” giving a new meaning to the expression “interactive exhibition” … This chapter is also a remarkable example of the work of Jirô Taniguchi who transcribes an epic and breathless fight almost without sound effects or words! A real master stroke!
The sober and refined style, with clear and fine lines, of Jirô Taniguchi serves the story wonderfully: the layout changes relentlessly from a slow rhythm to a more sustained rhythm, alternating the composition in a pure “cinematographic style”. If the murder scenes are raw, they are delivered with calm and serenity in a refined, almost clinical style, which nonetheless remains emotionally impactful for the reader.
The two authors, Jinpachi Mori and Jirô Taniguchi, knew how to create with 4 hands, a work without any measure, from both a script and graphic point of view, which will plunge you into a maelstrom of conflicting emotions and feelings.
Pika Graphic, a collection for enthusiasts
An assassin in New York integrated the new graphic charter from the Pika Graphic collection.
Pre-published as NY no Benkei (NYBenkei) in the magazine Big Comic Original Zoukan (Master Keaton, Monster, Dr Koto…) by Shogakukan from 1991 to 1995, the work An assassin in New York was published in 1 volume in Japan in 1996.
It is one of the rare works by Jirô Taniguchi unpublished in France.
From October 13, 2021, dive into the depths of the city alongside a hitman unlike any other in An Assassin in New York in the collection Pika Graphic. Work in 1 volume.
An assassin in New York tome 1
Drawing: Jirô Taniguchi
Scénario: Jinpachi Mori
Translation: Thibaud Desbief
Collection : Pika Graphic
Japanese reading direction
17 x 24 cm
224 pages
16 € TTC
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