Thank you to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Listen, I think this has so much potential, it really does. The art style was well-fitting towards the style of the graphic novel: rough, quick, and edgy. The idea for this story is brilliant, and it had so much potential; it's not often you get to read something about Brighton's gang-crime in a visual format. However, the execution of the story was mediocre. It was too cliché, especially the ending (no spoilers). It's this typical "bad guy who's actually good" story with an unnecessary Albanian subplot. Apart from that I really enjoyed it . Simple and easy to get through.

I really enjoyed the art style of it all, The story was a little weaker, but i really loved how it looked and the style.

The simplicity and brilliance of the blue-toned cover immediately drew me into this graphic novel. From the introduction, I gained a clear overview of the plot, setting the stage for a gripping story of crime and betrayal. It quickly became evident that this was not just a tale of criminals working together but also against one another.

The core narrative follows the kidnapping of a young girl and her uncle’s relentless attempt to rescue her. However, it soon becomes apparent that even the uncle’s past is far from spotless. As the story unfolds, layers of corruption and involvement in shady dealings are revealed. The novel does not shy away from depicting violence in all its brutality. Far from romanticizing crime, it offers a raw, unfiltered portrayal of violence’s harsh reality—a point explicitly stated by the author in the preface.

The pacing fluctuated throughout the story. Some sections felt abrupt and rushed, while others stretched out in greater detail. Despite this variation, the central question remained compelling: Would the girl be found, and at what cost? This question kept me hooked until the very end.

For me, one of the most unsettling aspects was the depiction of human trafficking. Although I anticipated graphic content from the introduction, these scenes were particularly disturbing.

While the use of coarse and derogatory language suited the gritty nature of the story, I sometimes found it difficult to digest.

Visually, the graphic novel was captivating. The art style, with its clear and deliberate color palette, perfectly matched the dark tone of the narrative. The masterful use of light and shadow heightened the drama, creating striking and memorable imagery that left a lasting impression on me.

I'm at a loss with the missed opportunity here. The art itself has depth and is interesting to look at with its effective use of color helping to establish mood. Unfortunately, great art can't overcome a lackluster story with questionable pacing. There's no emotional investment in any characters other than baseline human decency. It would also help if the characters were a bit more distinctive, as there's a lot of characters who look very similar to one another. The infighting between the crime bosses is set up like it's a massive deal, but the readers don't understand the scope of the situation, so it just feels like you're lazily rooting for the "good" guy with minimal context. If there was more depth to the story, whilst also simplifying some of the less necessary territory dynamics, then more time could be spent on establishing characters and emotionally investing your audience in them. It would be wise to lessen the total amount of characters, too, which would allow the focus to be on the ones that do actually matter the most. Further, what little investment that was created here is completely diminished by how so many storylines are cut short by senseless deaths. Now, within the context of this world, mortality is an ever-present threat, but there is a way to properly balance the reality of their world while also not eliminating half of the cast, because, without that balance, who's even going to care that they're dead anyway?

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read for a fair review! This graphic novel ticks the boxes of a good crime story: a fast-paced noir-ish vibe, engaging art and dialogue, organized mob guys, and a hero who's easy to empathize with (even if he does make - or has to make - the worst decisions). I definitely will seek out Jordan Thomas's work again.

There has been and always will be a darker side to society.
John Bannan must return to Brighton to find his niece, Grace, that has gone missing. Much to his chagrin, he learns that she was dating an infamous crime lord’s son before she went missing. As John reconnects with old friends to assist in the search for Grace, he must dodge criminals and police alike, that are both after his head.
While I do not condone the actions of the characters in this graphic novel, they are “no different than a thousand other thieves and crooks that have washed up here over the centuries”, but you find yourself hoping for a cathartic ending. It is worth the read.

I love comics. They are a great and versatile medium. I read superheroes mostly, but I love a good crime comic.
Mugshots fits that bill perfectly.
Mugshots tells the story of a kidnapping in London that sets off a chain of events. Front and center to this case is John Bannan. Uncle to the kidnapped girl and a bit of a marked man.
The story took me right in and didn’t let me go until the end. I felt like I was right there in the action.
The artwork was great. It seemed both detailed and still kind of simplistic, if that makes sense.

I quite enjoyed this! Writing and plot were fairly good and I liked the art style. Art style matched the story well. I thought the inclusion of overlapping action was done well throughout too.
I think the only things that I didn’t love was the amount of characters and the Albanian “sub”-plot. Think the story could have been more concise/felt like it was a bit of a bait and switch.
Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am very torn here. While I love the art style of the graphic novel (perhaps one of the best I have ever seen this year), I find the actual story rather lackluster. The stake is not high enough and the ending is so anticlimatic, I almost couldn't believe that that is how it ends. Overall, I appreciate the beautiful arts but not sure if I will pick up this in store or for a reread. n

Thanks to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for this eARC. I loved the art style! Regarding the story, while each character was clearly different, it was sometimes difficult to follow, like who is who (ex: page 33) and where (ex: page 35 seems to be 2 locations but the color changes only on the next page while at the same location)...

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

The artwork was the strongest part of this. Each panel was done in black and white plus 1 accent color, and I really liked the style of it. The story was fine. It was interesting enough, but the conclusion just felt a bit anticlimactic and was just over with quickly. I also would have liked it to feel a bit more believable. But it was nice that it wasn't just straightforward and had a bit of a twist to it.

1 / 5 Stars

Thank you to Mad Cave Comics and NetGalley for the ebook ARC.

Mugshots is about a detective (or spy) named John Bannam trying to track down his missing niece through sleuthing and kicking some behind. Family drama and A LOT of violent and brutal actions.

As much as I want to give positive comments to this piece, as every work of art has effort put forth, there is very little I enjoyed about this in particular. I DNF’D 40% into the story.

My biggest criticism of this comic is the pacing. This can be subjective for other readers reviewing this piece, but it’s blatant when we go from one scene to another in the same chapter with NO written or explained transition. I noticed this in the beginning when John was walking away from a scene without being noticed and his former criminal colleague getting punished, but didn’t think much of it because it was small. Maybe they didn’t see him? But it became more obvious in the scene where John talks to his friend on the pier then a whole other person in the next panel. Not the next page or something with a transition…but the next PANEL? And nothing indicating it. It made reading it confusing when there was little indication of what was happening.

One piece of dialogue that stuck with me was a character referencing seeing Taken, as this story takes place in the late 2000s when Taken was released in theaters. This is important to note because my brief description at the beginning is literally taken. Both spies, or beat-em-up secret good guys (idk), find their missing girl and track them down using serious sleuthing while beating up others. I know it’s a far stretch but that comment made this story feel like it had less of an identity than it already had.

The only positive I have is the art. That’s why I picked it up. It reminded me of early Boomerang cartoons mixed with early DC Animated Shows like Superman. The main character, John, has a Superman chin (for better or for worse). Even then, some of the characters look more or less the same sometimes. There was one scene where the father of Grace, the missing girl, confronts the boss and I had a hard time keeping track because they both looked alike.

I feel I could go on with the mundane dialogue or plot but I just really did not enjoy this book. It’s a shame because I really wanted to like it but I couldn’t get into it.

I guess that’s one mystery solved: my star rating for this book.

Mugshots combines several things I love into one neat, vicious package: noir narrative with a smart as lead, generational trauma, the suffocating suspense of the inevitable, and spare, sleek art that elevates the story without pulling punches.

Matthews’s spare, sleek art evokes 1950s advertising sketches while still showing the grit and grimness of 2008 Brighton.  The limited color palette is striking and effective - sharp black and white lines with either a cool blue or alarming orange to highlight the mood.

I am a sucker for noir. There’s something about the grimness, about hoping everyone comes out alright and the good guys win, even though you know it’s going to end in tragedy and even a victory won’t save you.  This is a great, knowledgeable addition to the genre.

I think this was a fun read. I like the art style and how it was reliant on a few colors. I like that style when it comes to comics/manga/graphic novels etc. the story moves fast and I think the characters work well together.

After an introduction that was a little too uncomfortably eager to sell the book, I wasn't optimistic. Then I got a story that feels like Darwyn Cooke illustrating a Darwyn Cooke crime saga written after Richard Stark (with plenty of nods snuck in). If that isn't reason enough to run out and buy this book, and eagerly await the next one, I don't know what to tell you. Terrific top to bottom.

Mad Cave does it again! Mugshots is an excellent Taken/Guy Ritchie crime story. The art tries for Darwyn Cooke and maybe doesn’t live up to the standard, but still enjoyable.