Time to set up base camp as we reach the halfway point of Chris Sebela and Ibrahim Moustafa’s high-altitude noir, “High Crimes”. Things have gotten crazy since we last checked in.
Written by Christopher Sebela
Illustrated by Ibrahim Moustafa
19,000 feet above sea level and 10,000 more to go, Zan Jensen is locked into a deadly game of cat and mouse through avalanches and icefalls. With all her sights firmly set on summiting, Zan has to manipulate one partner to save another or risk all of them ending up as more dead landmarks on Mount Everest.
“High Crimes” is a comic that works quietly in the background of the comics industry as a genre and character piece that, once you know to look for it, impresses more and more with every issue. Coming from a publisher and creators whose following is loyal, but pales in comparison to that of the fabled ‘Big Two’, the biggest crime of this series is that more people don’t know to read it. It stands as a pillar of what can be done with comics once all the gimmicks and events are stripped away and all that stands are creators with a passion for the story they want to tell. Coming in at the halfway point of the series, “High Crimes” #6 takes a look at where its characters are and what stands in their way as they continue their attempt to summit Everest. So far, it has been an examination of Zan, the book’s ongoing trainwreck of a main character, and what drives her to say “Screw you, nature” and make the climb to the summit of Everest.
“High Crimes” is the passion project of writer Christopher Sebela and it definitely shows in his writing of each issue. Every panel on every page of this comic is built on and filled with an extensive knowledge and research on the climbing of Everest, making every page and entirely engrossing read. Even for readers who are clueless about the world of mountain-climbing and the culture, Sebela is smart in weaving the information into the story through perfect use of character narration and dialogue so as not to bombard the reader with exposition. Everything feels fluid, like you already the information because of the way it is presented. It makes what could be a series accessible to only those already interested and knowledgeable about the subject matter into a series that could educate and inspire as well as tell an interesting story. Though, after seeing what Zan and the other characters endure during their climb, perhaps inspiring isn’t the perfect choice of words.
Not only is this series astounding in its depth of research, but it also tells an engrossing noir crime story filled with characters that are as interesting as they are flawed. What makes this story stand out is not just because of the deft writing of Sebela, but because of how unique and interesting each character is. As noted in Sebela’s essay which closes each issue, there are very few heroes in mountain-climbing simply because of the pressures of isolation and self-preservation. This is true of “High Crime” as well as, thanks to the moral greyness of noir storytelling, there is no clear-cut hero to save the day. There is a broken woman running from her past, a washed up mountaineer selling the return of corpses left of the mountain, a seemingly sadistic government agent. Each of them with dark pasts and who are capable of terrible things and having each of them trapped on the same expedition to the summit of Everest makes for one of the most tense issues the likes of which rarely seen outside of cinematic thrillers. This is the kind of series no one but Sebela could write and boy, does he write it well.
Though, it’s not just a passion project for Sebela as artist Ibrahim Moustafa clearly puts his all into every page. Not only does Sebela infuse every panel with meticulously researched writing, but Moustafa’s art feels like watching a documentary on Everest in bluray. Moustafa’s art is so engrossed in the details of mountain-climbing, from the environments and landscapes to the equipment and clothing of the climbers, that it is entirely in sync with Sebela’s writing. This would not be the same book without him as the level of detail in the art also gives way to the harshness of the pencils and washed-out colours that really play into the noir stylings of the writing. Everything about Moustafa’s art seems set to play into the intricacies of the writing to create a cohesive whole. Not only that, but Moustafa’s use of white space of the snow- and ice-covered mountain region really captures the isolation of the climb to show just how arduous the climb is. From the writing to the artwork, this is a book that could only exist because of these two and with the talent on display and level of storytelling shown it’s nothing short of a miracle that it does.
“High Crimes” had an incredibly strong opening last year and we called it a “must-buy”. A year and five issue on and things have only improved. The story is twisting and turning at every step, the stakes are raising with every foot of mountain climbed and the boiling point of the tensions between characters is soon going to erupt, making this a tense thrillride of a comic. This is the kind of white-knuckle storytelling rarely found outside of film and Sebela and Moustafa have distilled it in a comic positively overflowing with style and research. Despite writing one of the most consistently best comics of the last year, Sebela and Moustafa still have nowhere near the recognition they deserve as storytellers making them, as they say, definitely ones to watch.
Final Verdict: 9.2 – There’s no reason for you to not be buying this, especially at 99 cents.
