CSI Omnibus, Volume 1 Book

I had no idea that this book even existed until I spotted it in the bargain bin of a book shop in Minehead, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to get it. What we have here is a graphic novel that's based upon the escapades of Gil Grissom, Sara Sidle, Warrick Brown and the rest of the team from the original CSI television series.

Penned by Max Allan Collins, the guy who wrote the graphic novel that eventually inspired Road to Perdition, the three crimes contained within this first volume feel right at home with the TV series, and your enjoyment of the collection will largely depend upon whether you're a fan of the show. You'll pick up on occassional references to the show inside the pages, and the only thing that jarred with me was the fact that (massive spoiler alert) Warwick is supposed to be dead.

The artwork is fantastic, and even though the artwork is published in black and white, it somehow seems to add to the gritty realism of the series, and you really feel as though you're watching an episode of the show or following the detectives on the beat as they patrol sin city. Don't worry if you're a little squeamish, either - despite the gory murders, the images themselves aren't too unpleasant to look at, and the two illustrators tend to switch styles and take on a more abstract approach whenever there's a close-up of a corpse or a bullet wound.

Overall, this is a pretty impressive collection of three tales of murder and intrigue that stands out as one of the better graphic novel adaptations on the market - in fact, it holds its own up against some of the giants of the graphic novel industry, from the non-fiction of Maus and Epileptic to the brilliance of the Chew series. It's a great place to start if you're a fan of the show.