The Big Hoax - a Hard Case Crime Comic

Titan Comics has been putting out some really great stories under the "Hard Case Crimes" banner.  Normandy Gold and Peepland are two previous mini-series that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. So, when I came across this hardcover graphic novel in a recent Previews, I decided to give it a shot. I enjoyed the others I have bought, so thought this premise sounded good as well.  I have never heard of the writer (Carlos Trilllo) or the artist (Roberto Mandrafina), but sometimes that works in the creators' favor, as I come into it without absolutely no preconceived ideas about any prior work they may have done.  And so it is that I finally picked up The Big Hoax to read it.

At 124-pages of story and art, The Big Hoax definitely has plenty of room to flesh out a good, hard-hitting story.  What I did not realize, until I reached the end of the graphic novel and read the bios for the author and artist is that Carlos Trillo died 10 years ago (back in 2011).  This, of course, made me wonder when this story was actually written.  The information I found online surprised me - Trillo was a rather prolific comic writer from Argentina, and he worked on a number of projects from 1963 until the late '90s or early 2000s.  From what I could find, The Big Hoax was originally published around 1996 as La gran patraña.  So, as it turns out, this graphic novel is not just a reprint, but it is also translated from Spanish to English (by Zeljko Medic).  But, that's okay - because that information gave me a new perspective on the story.

You see, when I first read the story in its entirety, I found it a bit odd.  Several characters break the fourth wall repeatedly, talking directly to the reader about not only the story itself, but about the main characters in the story.  There is also quite a bit of female nudity - and I mean FULL female nudity - which I didn't necessarily find off-putting, but I thought it to be somewhat biased that the reader is treated to numerous panels of female bodies, while the males remained carefully hidden/shadowed/discreet.  This fear of showing male nudity, while showcasing and praising female nudity, is an age-old argument, and my philosophy is - either show both or show neither.  But, considering this was originally written nearly 20 years ago, and in another country entirely, made me realize that I can't judge this based on today's viewpoints.  So, I took another crack at the tale.

The story is about a young woman who seeks out the help of alcoholic, ex-cop Donald Reynoso to help her.  You see, she is Melinda Centurion, otherwise known to the people of La Colonia as "The Intact Virgin."  But her life is a lie, a fictional tale created by the self-proclaimed talent, Milton Bates, at the request of the governor of La Colonia.  It seems the people have been churning out children left and right, all of whom are fodder for the guerillas who want to take over the province.  The governor convinces Bates to come up with a story that will encourage the women to remain chaste and lower the number of children being born, thus lowering the number of guerillas that his army has to fight.  Thus, "The Intact Virgin" was born!  (In reality, she is extremely loose of morals, sleeping with her uncle and pretty much any other man along the way!)  Now, though, her life is in danger, as someone has discovered that Melinda is sleeping with Donnie's own brother, who happens to be the Minister of the Interior for La Colonia.  If the people find out that Melinda is, indeed, not a virgin, then her uncle's plan will fall apart, and both she and Donnie's brother will be killed.  Not one to turn down a woman in need, Donnie agrees to help - but little does he realize that the hoax perpetrated on the people is but one of many hoaxes that will come into play before this whole drama is over!

Trillo creates a filthy world of crooked politicians, deadly assassins, seedy bars, filthy whore houses, and protagonists who are anything but good and innocent.  And with the second go-around at reading the book, I found that the interruptions by Milton Bates, Tropico (the owner and singer of El Rey Mago), and Mama Geremga (who runs the local brothel) to actually be a unique way of providing readers with backstory to the characters, and it added some flavor to such a dark tale.  And Mandrafina's art may be overexaggerated in parts (particularly with regard to the characters of color), I did find that he has an amazing talent when it comes to his characters' expressions - on page 38, for example, the looks on Melinda's and Donnie's faces tell the reader exactly what the character is feeling without any words necessary.  And the analogy set forth by Trillo and Mandrafina on pages 62-63 provides readers with an excellent foreshadowing of what is to come for one of the characters.

Certainly, The Big Hoax is not a story that I would typically read under normal circumstances; however, I am ultimately glad I picked it up, as it reminds me that great storytelling in comics is not limited to just the United States - there are some amazing creators and fantastic works from all around the world!

RATING:  8 men-eating women from Guyana out of 10 for reminding me that a really great story does not necessarily have to have a happy ending.