Kane (comics)

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For other uses of Kane, see Kane (disambiguation).
Cover of the first issue

Kane is a comic book series created, written and drawn by Paul Grist. Grist also self-published it through his company, Dancing Elephant Press. It concerns a police detective who works in the 39th precinct of the fictional American city of New Eden, which seems to be located on the west coast. Despite being a UK citizen, Grist appears to have modeled New Eden and its police force in the style of American Cop shows such as Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue. Another clear influence is the work of Frank Miller, particularly his Sin City comics. Cerebus was another formative influence, particularly because it proved to Grist that self-published comics were a viable proposition; the first issue of Cerebus that Grist read was #39, hence the designation of Kane's precinct.

Flashback with his former partner

Kane has a difficult relationship with his co-workers due to a violent encounter with his former partner, which unfolds gradually and in flashback during the series. Police corruption is a recurring theme however, Kane is also densely intertextual and brims with references to popular culture, particularly characters from British television, comics and films.

Since the end of 2001 Grist has concentrated his comics work on his superhero character Jack Staff, although he has announced plans to continue Kane as a series of original graphic novels.


Kane has been collected in the following trade paperbacks from Image Comics:

Title Material collected ISBN
Kane vol. 1: Greetings from New Eden Kane #1–4 ISBN 1-58240-340-6
Kane vol. 2: Rabbit Hunt Kane #5–8 ISBN 1-58240-355-4
Kane vol. 3: Histories Kane #9–12 ISBN 1-58240-382-1
Kane vol. 4: Thirty Ninth Kane #13–18 ISBN 1-58240-422-4
Kane vol. 5: Untouchable Rico Costas and other stories' Kane #19–23 and others ISBN 1-58240-551-4
Kane vol. 6: Partners Kane #24–29, 31 ISBN 1-58240-704-5

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