news

Parker 1969 - La Proie: An Efficient Take on Richard Stark’s Most Complex Novel

03/22/2025

The long-awaited French-language adaptation of The Sour Lemon Score has finally hit the stands and after our chat with the creative team earlier this month, we couldn’t be more excited to dive into the pages of the first Dupuis graphic novel released under the Aire Noire imprint. La Proie is as blunt, purposeful, direct and efficient as its protagonist – sometimes losing the finer touches of Stark’s original novel but never its edge.

Visually inspired by Darwyn Cooke’s hit graphic novel adaptations published by IDW, the book stands well on its own with writer/translator Doug Headline and artist Kieran at the helm. Once Cooke had established the visual language of what many would still consider the quintessential portrayal of Parker’s violent world, the real task of any follow-up is that of constructing its own identity. To that end, La Proie succeeds where others might have failed. Kieran’s use of texture – the fingerprints smudged all over in Parker’s wake – is innovative and downright thrilling, his stylized line art an homage to Cooke but never an imitation.

"In my family, everyone was a fan of Westlake": An Exclusive Interview with the Creative Team Behind Parker 1969 - La Proie

03/03/2025

With the first of a whole new series of Parker graphic novel adaptations just around the corner, Tough Business had the distinct pleasure of conducting an exclusive interview with Doug Headline, Kieran, and Olivier Jalabert – the passionate and talented creative team behind Parker 1969 - La Proie.

You'll find below an extensive look at the hard work going on behind the scenes of the upcoming book, its origins and a surprising connection to Donald Westlake himself.

From Hunter to Prey: Richard Stark's Parker Returns to Comics

01/24/2025

Richard Stark's anti-hero returns to comic books in the pages of a new French-language adaptation of The Sour Lemon Score. Announced early this month ahead of its March 2025 release, Parker: La Proie is a 112-page graphic novel adapted and illustrated by Kieran and translated by Doug Headline with editor Olivier Jalabert at the helm.

La Proie will be published by Dupuis under their new Aire Noire label, seemingly the first of many other crime fiction titles to come -- including a second yet-to-be-announced Parker adaptation. Translated from French, the summary from the publisher's website reads: