Fun Facts: Richard Stark's Parker & the Precursor to the Modern Graphic Novel

Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin’s His Name Is… Savage! (1968) is widely acknowledged as one of the precursors to the modern graphic novel. The 40-page magazine-format one-shot is a stunning portrayal of just what was hiding behind the limitations imposed by the Comics Code Authority; it’s also a dynamic, bloody, violent story of espionage and intrigue residing somewhere between James Bond-esque adventures and the brutality of the cult film noir classic Point Blank (1967).

Of course, Gil Kane's Savage is visually based on Lee Marvin in Point Blank-- in itself a loose adaptation of Richard Stark's debut Parker novel, even if not a single line of dialogue from the book appears in the film --

(quote from The Comics Journal #186, April 1996)

but the similarities aren’t just skin-deep. Before Darwyn Cooke's incredible graphic novel adaptation, it's worth noting that the eponymous Savage can also easily be read as a proto-comic book Parker. In fact, more than a couple moments in the Kane-Goodwin classic quite explicitly call back to Stark's first novel much more than Point Blank ever does.

The Hunter (1962, Richard Stark) || His Name Is... Savage! (1968, Gil Kane & Archie Goodwin) || The Hunter (2009, Darwyn Cooke)