This graphic novel has a confusing plot, so-so graphics, and poor calligraphy. The calligraphy is so bad in places it makes this a difficult to read book.

This was a good story. It started off quite exciting. I enjoyed the artwork but the characters were difficult to keep track of. I think ranks like Sgt. or Maj. instead of just Mr. This and Mr. That might've helped along with the agency they were with. I wasn't sure who was Black Diamond and who was with Secret Service. Other than that I enjoyed the story. I ended up reading it in one sitting.

It's difficult to know exactly what to say about Eddie Campbell's urban detective western that would explain how tempting it was to give it an extra star (that it really doesn't deserve on account of being too short) so lets leave at this ... It turns from interesting but rather baffling to fully engaging, wicked smart and visually arresting on a dime but not on a dime. But in a way where you're slow to realize the latter's what you've been reading all along.

19th century America and a seemingly normal day is upended when a train full of passengers is blown up on the tracks. In the fallout, the Black Diamond Detective Agency is hired to hunt down the bomber and bring him to justice. But with a trail that leads them up and down the country and leads to a coal mine in the middle of nowhere, the chase will be deadly and fraught with enemies.Eddie Campbell draws/paints the book beautifully and the artwork is of the highest anyone could hope for in comics...

I've had this for a long time and just wasn't that interested in reading it, but I should have been. Great graphic storytelling - this book comes about as close as I've seen to a film on the page, in terms of having a cinematic feel to the overall visual style and the flow of the story. The only complaint I might have is that there are points where the approach taken makes for a bit of a muddled presentation of action or events occurring though a span of time, so there are places where you're le...

1899, Missouri, and almost the entire citizenry of Lebanon has gathered at the trainyard to protest increased cost of shipping corn. Then, the train explodes, killing nearly everyone.The prime suspect: John Hardin, whose name is found on a box of nitroglycerine. Investigating: The Black Diamond Detective Agency.This book is a terrific whodunit, with plenty of great twists, believable, engaging characters, and Campbell's incredible eye for period architecture and dress. Hardin turns out to be an

The black diamond detective agency is a very good quality book and I can imagine why it is rated so highly. I don’t know if it’s just that it’s the first graphic novel I’ve read and I’m bad at reading them but I found it difficult to follow and I would get confused at some parts. The art style in the book is beautiful and so much attention to detail has been taken by the illustrator of this book. From what I understood from the story line there was a train explosion and parts of the debris have

I think stories like Monsieur Leotard, The Death Of The Artist or even Alan Moore's From Hell suit Campbell's style better; he's so good at conveying the inward focus of these kinds of tales that the relentlessly extrovert, action-packed ambit of this story about violence, retribution and conspiracies in the wild west seem like small beer in comparison. This may be a step or two better than A History Of Violence, a graphic novel and movie I find terribly overrated, and certainly the stuff about

This book was named "The Black Diamond Detective Agency" by Eddie Campbell. This book grabbed my attention because when i was looking through it the drawings were dramatically realistic. They looked like if every drawing was a picture and not a drawing. This book was also in form of a comic book. I also like reading mystery books and this book is one. This book is about a men named John who is really happy with his wife, then something unexpected happens and she goes missing. Him looking for h

The Black Diamond Detective Agency is a graphic novel set in the Old West. I've always been fascinated by the work of early detectives such as the Pinkerton Detectives and Texas Rangers, so I knew I'd enjoy the theme. Set in 1899, the story follows a man accused of causing a train wreck. Although the characters are sometimes difficult to follow, the story is an exciting mystery that begins in small town Missouri and ends with gangs in Chicago. The illustrations and muted colors reflect the time

“A rousing tale of the hunt for a mysterious train bomber”, “orphans! Mayhem! Terror!”. Key phrases reminiscent of a mysterious and thrilling forensic tale.‘The Black Diamond Detective Agency’ aims to present a world of forensic and crime investigation, but from the perspective of late 19th century technology and technique. A classic CSI tale, but one with its uniqueness and uncertainty. Brief Plot Summary Set in the late 19th century, ‘The Black Diamond Detective Agency’ aims to investigate a...

I feel Eddie Campbell is at his best when dealing with esoteric subject matters or philosophy or mythological topics. Stories where his style and unique characters aid the plot. A straight up crime drama, even one in a historical setting, is not one of those stories. While the art and painting is phenomenal, I think the story of exploding trains, revenge, and a falsely accused man is harmed by artistic choices. There are interesting characters whose development is hampered by the author's choice...

Eddie Campbell is one of my favorite cartoonists of all time, and without question one of the most interesting, so I never thought I'd come across a Campbell book I didn't enjoy (well, OK, the Alan Moore SNAKES AND LADDERS stuff was borderline unreadable). THE BLACK DIAMOND DETECTIVE AGENCY was a complete disappointment. The plot is hard to follow (and not in a good, "literary" way--halfway through I really stopped caring) and while Campbell's occasional forays into painted comics are usually de...

Recently I got in a bunch of new graphic novels that I took home to read. One of them is The Black Diamond Detective Agency by Eddie Campbell. It's an odd story because it's adapted from a movie screenplay. The author is known for the artwork he contributed to Alan Moore's From Hell, the gripping story of Jack the Ripper.Unfortunately this story is a bit uneven and the artwork isn't captivating. It was a bit of a disappointment to me because I bought it for the collection and I don't know if it

Eddie Campbell creates comics as if he's never read comics before. Or as if he's studied them all and abandoned them to forge his own way in the medium. This lushly painted book tells a rather simple story of a train robbery and the attempt (by a detective agency and by a man framed by the actual robbers) to hunt down those responsible. But in Campbell's hands, it sings. His characterizations are spot-on, the plot moves along briskly without losing the reader, and the art is beautiful. I've been...