Good Cop Bad Cop – The novel

A couple of days ago I was contacted by an old friend of 5D (though he would probably deny even knowing me), comics writer, Jim Alexander who wanted to know if I would like a peek at his latest release. In fact, not only was his latest release, but it also just happens to be his debut novel – GoodCopBadCop. 

For those of you in the know, you will be fully aware of my past ravings about the work of Jim and his press label, Planet Jimbot. However, if you are  completely  oblivious to my words of wisdom on many things Jimbot, well you can find a couple of prime examples of my scribbling attempts HERE & also  HERE.

In a nutshell, Jim has written “Judge Dredd”, “Calhab Justice”, “O’Rork” and “Pandora” for the Judge Dredd Megazine and “The Grid” for 2000 AD in the early mid 1990s. Since then he was worked for Marvel, DC, Tokyopop and Metal as CV’s go that’s annoying good……jealous? Moi? Yes. In 2012 he set up a small-press label called Planet Jimbot. Its publications include Amongst the Stars (drawn by Mike Perkins), Wolf Country (drawn by Luke Cooper), the anthology Amazing & Fantastic Tales and Savant (drawn by Will Pickering and Fin Cramb; originally conceived for Strip Magazine). GoodCopBadCop and Gabriel have also been rebranded as Planet Jimbot comics  Click Here for more info.

So, my impatient reader, yes I can hear you say, “You could actually tell us something about GoodCopBadCop, you know”

Anyhow, back to the story. I must admit that I do like my characters to have certain shades of grey in their personality make-up. I simply cannot abide cardboard cut-out black and white figures………boring!! I think it’s safe to say that Detective Fisher has more than his fair share of grey texture as he battles with a sadistic figure from his own mysterious past, the wonderfully named ‘Horse Peter’ who seems keen to wreak his own particular brand of horror on the local police and populace.

GoodCopBadCop is a hugely enjoyable no-holds-barred romp of unhinged psychosis and violence (and I’m not just talking about the bad guy). The dialogue, courtesy of Mr Alexander is as crisp and dynamic as ever which provides a nicely authentic feel of that area of the world without ever falling into Rab.C. Nesbitt territory of pastiche. As I’ve already mentioned, this is a violently harsh tale (though it must be said, not without its humour) that deals with subjects that some may find challenging in their grim depiction. I personally found the reading experience completely pleasurable and simply cannot wait for the world to get a hold of a copy of this deliciously dark story.