Created by Steven S. DeKnight (text)
Leno Carvalho & Bruno Hang (art)
He’s HARD-boiled.
The 2025 graphic novel he appears in is called HARD Bargain.
And the name of this tough guy private dick in 1940s Los Angeles is FRANK HARDING.
Do you think maybe the author, Steven S. DeKnight, is trying too HARD?
Still, let’s cut him some slack. Hard Bargain is the first-ever graphic novel written by the film and television big shot, whose credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spartacus, and Netflix’s Daredevil. Most significant, though, is his work as a staff writer for Angel, which seems to operate in the same sort of “supernatural noir” vein; a pulpy mash-mash of gritty street-level detective fiction and fantasy/horror.
So it’s not like this is his first rodeo. “I started working on the concept for Hard Bargain years before Angel premiered,” DeKnight admits. “I like to think Hard Bargain influenced my work on Angel as much as Angel influenced my work on Hard Bargain.”
And so, true to form, Frank has been up and down those mean streets more than once, as hard-boiled private eyes in 1940s LA are won’t to do. He thinks he’s seen it all—and that includes the occasional monster, demon or sundry other supernatural beings. In fact, they’ve sorta become his speciality.
Fortunately, Frank’s not handling it all alone. He’s got his steamy, voluptuous assistant Nahla to lend a hand, who has more than a few magical tricks up the silky sleeves of her low-cut (of course) outfits. Plus, Frank knows a guy, Rumi, who can hook him up with assorted magical concoctions and weaponry, if the need arises.
Which it will.
Seems some mysterious woman, a femme more fatale than usual, possibly in conjunction with some of his old enemies, including his arch-foe Doctor Wraith, is using dark magic to make some of Frank’s old pals do some very nasty things to themselves, and Frank… may be next.
“Doctor Wraith”?
Yep.
I told ya, we’re talking pure pulp here, despite the art by Leno Carvalho and colorist Bruno Hang, which lends a very European bande dessinée vibe to it; a clean, sophisticated, almost formal glaze that fans of Blacksad or Dylan Dog will instantly recognize.
But it’s still pulp.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
American TV, film and comic book writer Steven S. DeKnight got his start in show biz as one of the staff writers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and went on to write, direct and produce its spin-off Angel, Smallville, and Dollhouse. Other credits include creating and running Spartacus for Starz, and then acting as the show runner for the Marvel/Netflix series Daredevil. Hard Bargain is his graphic novel debut.
Brazilian comic artist and illustrator Leno Carvalho is best known for his realistic and detailed style, and has worked for DC, Dynamite Comics, Red 5, Soleil, Scout Comics and Humanoid, Inc. His credits include Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, Dean Koontz’s Nevermore, Bionic Woman, The Rift, Crusaders, The Source, and Hard Bargain. When he is not at his desk drawing, he can be found in the kitchen eating or making cakes.
Bruno Hang is a colorist who has worked for DC, Marvel and Humanoids, Inc, and his credits include Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Girl, Nova, House of M, and Hard Bargain.
OH?
- “With noir, it’s incredibly easy to fall into a trap and end up with two dimensional characters buffeted by an insanely convoluted plot.”
— Steven DeKnight (March 2025, ComicbookClubLive)
UNDER OATH
- “Oh man, I’m a sucker for supernatural noir… Steven DeKnight’s Hard Bargain, loaded with hairpin turns, crackling dialogue, humor, horror, and tragedy, is one of the best versions I’ve read. James Ellroy meets Stephen King, with a healthy splatter of Sam Raimi.”
— Eric Kripke
GRAPHIC NOVELS
- HARD BARGAIN | Buy the graphic novel
(2025, Humanoid, Inc.)
Writer: Steven K. DeKnight
Art by Leno Carvalho and Bruno Hang
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts
Things That Go Bump in the Night, and the Eyes Who Go After Them
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
