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Luke Cage Noir Paperback – January 1, 2010

by Mike Benson (Author), Adam Glass (Author), Shawn Martinbrough (Contributor)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 45 ratings
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In 1930s Harlem, Luke Cage, fresh out of prison, tries to find out what happened to his girlfriend Josephine while he was in prison, and takes a case involving the death of a white socialite on behalf of her widower.
Previous page
  1. Part of Series
    Luke Cage Noir
  2. Print length
    120 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Marvel Enterprises
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 2010
  6. Grade level
    10 - 12
  7. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.25 x 8.75 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0785135456
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0785135456
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Marvel Enterprises (January 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 120 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0785135456
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0785135456
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 10 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.25 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 45 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
45 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

DuVay Knox
5.0 out of 5 stars Luke CAGE Fights 4 The Truth
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2022
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This noir comic is simply a dam good idea n next level. Then I peeped it was written by ADAM GLASS hoo currently has IN FRON THE COLD on NETFLIX which is hella decent. Def wanna see more of this stile in the comicbook world. LUKE CAGE turns HARLEM upside 4 Love n Revenge for a woman named JOSEPHINE.
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Richard C. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars great add to collection
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2013
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A brand new mythos of Luke Cage. Great add to action figure collection. Also great add to graphic novel collection.
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Paul
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2016
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Great read, gives you a lot of background about Luke Cage.
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S. M. Vennema
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Art and Excellent Storyy
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2013
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The black and white art is absolutely gorgious and perfect for the tone and time period of the story. This is well written and has the advantage of making perfect sense to someone who knows nothing about Marvel or Powerman, as it is stand alone.
One person found this helpful
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Kevin Cole
5.0 out of 5 stars Dope
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018
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This brings me back to a time in the 80's and 90's where there were great movies about harkens black renaissance and the gangsters as well as hard good guys out there as well. A story akin to shaft. It's a fun read and just gritty enough.
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Andrew Kuligowski
5.0 out of 5 stars Words and pictures combine to tell an excellent story
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2014
My usual definition of “noir” involves “can I picture Humphrey Bogart playing one or more roles in the movie version”. After reading Luke Cage: Noir, I may need to amend that definition slightly.

The basic plot: Luke Cage is released from prison (for a crime he did not commit) after allegedly agreeing to undergo a series of medical experiments. He arrives back in New York City and must decide how to put the pieces of his life back together and what to do with all of the tomorrows to come. (This overview may sound familiar to readers of the modern day “Hero for Hire”.) Cage is hired by a Randall Banticoff to investigate the murder of his young wife. Before addressing the “whodunit” aspect of the situation, the first part of the mystery is: why was a white woman found dead in Harlem, of all places? The second: why was she killed? Then, maybe, we can address identifying the culprit.

Benson and Glass re-imagine the modern day super-hero Luke Cage as a man inhabiting New York City in the 1920s. They successfully use this tableau to view and comment upon racial non-equality of the period, and how prohibition caused much social upheaval than simply whether or not one could buy a drink legally.

Perhaps my only quibble with the work is that the limited use of existing Marvel Universe characters redefined in a new environment seemed to actually distract from the material, rather than instilling a bit of fun in it as did Gaiman’s Marvel 1602. Then again, from a marketing standpoint, this move was probably a necessity – I, for one, probably would have passed by this work on the shelf had the tie-in to Luke Cage not caught my eye.

Kudos must also go to Shawn Martinbrough, for successfully capturing the spirit of Harlem in the 1920s and of Film Noir in his wonderful illustrations.

P.S. In truth, I could imagine Bogart in this movie. I’ll let others decide which role(s) might best utilize his talents, and we can then compare notes.

RATING: 5 stars.
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Kristian
3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, a bit over-dramatized
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is the second of Marvel's "Noir" titles I've read, after Daredevil Noir. It will likely be the last.

The problem with Luke Cage Noir is that it could have been so much more. Setting Luke Cage in Prohibition Harlem, at the height of the Jazz Age, is a natural. He keeps elements of the Luke Cage we know: he's a good man, he's done time but he's not guilty of anything other than standing up for himself and ignoring the unwritten rules that favor the strong over the weak.

Unfortunately, the Noir title keeps the thing that makes the original Luke Cage: Hero for Hire feel so dated. The original Luke Cage could talk jive with the best of them, as Marvel reached out to a more "urban" audience; read it now, and it feels like you're thrown in the middle of a blaxploitation flick. It feels dated, but at least the writers were using the contemporary jive. Like Cage Noir reads like the writers are more concerned with it sounding like a dime store idea of a noir tale, with the result that you never can lose yourself in the story. Making the characters "sound noir" distracts from what could have been a great tale.

Marvel has done decent period pieces: 1602 was a lot of fun, very well written, and Immortal Iron Fist vol. 2 (and or 3) has back story set in this time period, without getting weighed down by the trappings of genre. Luke Cage: Noir works so hard to make sure you don't forget it's a noir story that you might forget that it could be a good story.
One person found this helpful
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J. Hundley
5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Marvel Noirs
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2014
I really liked this one and it is, in my opinion, the best of the Marvel Noir series titles. Cage lends himself perfectly to the conceit and the story, dialog (mostly) and art (very much) capture both the character of Luke Cage and the ambiance of the Noir film style. I would, in fact, have loved to have seen this one become a regular series for Cage. An excellent match of style and character. Highly recommended.
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