I’ve said many times that I like a book with a distinctive voice, and Andrez Bergen’s work consistently hits that mark. Not only that, he’s never been content to write the same book twice. His latest, SMALL CHANGE: A CASEBOOK OF SCHERER AND MILLER, INVESTIGATORS OF THE PARANORMAL AND SUPERMUNDANE, ventures into the realms of occult detective fiction. Set in Melbourne, it’s a collection of short stories and one novella narrated by private detective Roy Scherer, who along with his partner, the beautiful blonde Suzie Miller, investigates cases involving zombies, mummies, werewolves, immortals, and other sorts of bizarre creatures. There’s a bit of jumping around in time as well (not literally), as the novella explains how Roy came to work for Suzie’s father, who founded the agency.
All this would be fine and entertaining by itself, but Bergen’s fast-paced prose also includes a steady stream of pop culture references. For someone like me who grew up watching movies and TV and reading comic books and hardboiled paperbacks, this is great fun. Bergen even provides an appendix explaining the references, in case you missed any of them. (I didn’t, I have to say.)
SMALL CHANGE is perhaps the most traditional of Bergen’s books so far, and being a traditional sort of guy for the most part, I think it’s my favorite. I hope we haven’t seen the last of Roy and Suzie, because I really enjoyed this volume and would love to read more about them.
Up until now I've known Andrez Bergen primarily as a novelist with a distinctive, entertaining voice, as is evident in TOBACCO-STAINED MOUNTAIN GOAT, WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA?, and DEPTH CHARGING ICE PLANET GOTH, among others. But he also writes comics, and BLACK/WHITE, a new anthology title he's produced with several different artists, is just out.
Most of the stories in this book are noir, starting with "Zig Zag", which opens with a man cleaning an antique gun. You know that gun's going to go off sooner or later. Very spare, effective art by Drezz Rodriguez on this one. "Get Busy", with art by Marcos Vergara, is about the odd goings-on in a busy bar. "Linoleum Actress" is probably my favorite story in the book, a nasty slice of domestic noir with great art by Michael Grills. "The Writing on the Wall" is a dystopian story with art by Nathan St. John. Bergen provides both story and art in "Waiting for Sod All", a tale of desperation. The anthology closes with "Come Out Swinging" by Bergen and artist Andrew Chiu, a short, action-packed private eye tale.
All these stories are well written and enjoyable, and the art is good in all of them. If you're a fan of noir comics, BLACK/WHITE is well worth reading. It's available in both print and digital editions, and it can be ordered directly from the publisher here.
