NOTE: This is a parallel review in which we have two reviewers looking at the same comic. The other review is by Xaviar Xerexes.

During the 1940s, when pulps were at their height, the concept of the hardboiled detective (usually a private eye but occasionally a police investigator) was ingrained in the public imagination. Since that time, the atmosphere, the language, and the characters have been evoked in pastiche and parody.

Will Eisner’s John Law by Gary Chaloner (whose current strips can be found here, and whose main site, with cast info and extras, is here) is one of the few modern detective comics to focus so heavily on that mode, at least in style, using the stark grays of the best film noirs. Though scripted and drawn by Gary Chaloner, the character himself was created by the late great Will Eisner.

Looking back on 2004, it's worth noting the changes, or lack thereof, that the year brought to the ever-fluctuating world of webcomics. Keenspot and ModernTales continued to expand and branch into other areas. The fully independent webcomic remains with us. New webcomics appeared, and many of the same have already vanished. A few of the old standbys have come close to retirement, as some cartoonists have had to rely increasingly on reader support to keep their strips alive.