Frank Armstrong (Tumor)

Created by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Noel Tuazon

The former Governator of the Great State of California  was wrong, after all.

It IS a tumor.

Not to get too ecclesiastical on you or anything, but it sure seems like some private eyes are born to suffer as the sparks fly upward…

A good case in point is Joshua Hale Fialkov’s defective detective FRANK ARMSTRONG, a down-but-not-quite-out semi-retired Los Angeles gumshoe on his last go-round, trying to make up for a lifetime of regret and guilt before the inoperable brain tumor he’s carrying around wipes his slate clean for good.

Unfortunately, the tumor means Frank’s not tracking too well, and he’s never quite sure where–or when–he is. His long-dead wife and other spectres from his past dog Frank, as he tries to save a mobster’s runaway daughter.

Originally published in eight chapters as the first comic created for Amazon Kindle, it’s a surprisingly effective tale–a deft and precarious balance between heartbreak and hard-boiled action that teeters deliciously on the edge of noir before finally, gloriously falling in.

UNDER OATH

• “Fialkov’s near-perfect noir script, brim-full of violence and pain, is superbly realized by Tuazon’s detailed yet sketchy black-and-white drawing, which depicts Frankís seesawing between hard-ass gumshoe and whimpering old man so convincingly it’s scary. ”
  — Ray Olson (Booklist)
• “Fialkov’s hard-boiled script shows Frank’s desperate toughness… Tuazon’s crude-looking black and white art is also effective, switching from fine line and wash to scrappy brush work as Frank’s consciousness fluctuates. There’s nothing subtle about Tumor, but it’s successful noir storytelling.”
  — Publishers Weekly

COMICS

• TUMOR
  (2009, Archaia)
  Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
  Art by Noel Tuazon
  • “Tumor: Chapter 1” (July 24, 2009) | Kindle it!
  • “Tumor: Chapter 2” (August 3, 2009) | Kindle it!
  • “Tumor: Chapter 3” (September 3, 2009) | Kindle it!
  • “Tumor: Chapter 4” (September 17, 2009) | Kindle it!
  • “Tumor: Chapter 5” (September 28, 2009) | Kindle it!
  • “Tumor: Chapter 6” (October 17, 2009) | Kindle it!
  • “Tumor: Chapter 7” (November 9, 2009) | Kindle it!
  • “Tumor: Chapter 8” (November 15 2009) | Kindle it!

SHORT STORIES

• “B&E” (2010, Tumor)

COLLECTIONS

• Tumor (2010) | Buy this book | Kindle/ComiXology it!
  This spiffy hardcover edition (also available on Kindle), boasting one of the most clever covers I’ve seen in years, collects all eight chapters of the Kindle comic, and tosses in a short prose story, “B&E,” featuring Frank, plus an introduction by Duane Swierczynski for good measure.

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.