Andrew Vachss is a New York attorney who specializes in defending children in sexual abuse cases. He finances his practice (which obviously doesn't pay very well) by writing the critically acclaimed Burke novels, a story cycle centered around a hard-boiled semi-criminal who makes a shady day-to-day living but still goes to the mat to defend exploited kids. In addition to the Burke novels, Vachss has also written for DC's Batman and done graphic scripts for Dark Horse. But less well known are his short stories, which are often extremely short—five pages or less—and full of more concentrated evils than those found in the Burke series. The subjects in which they deal are still dark, centering around sociopathic killers, child molesters and shady operators. Hard Looks is a collection of Vachss' stories, illustrated in black and white by Dark Horse artists, and it brings his tales into their own. If they were too brief for many readers in their original form, they're the perfect length for graphic storytelling, where stark monochromatic art forces the reader to slow down and let the images seep in. The fact that these writings weren't originally comic scripts doesn't hurt them at all, and the respect and thoughtfulness the artists display with regard to his words is admirable. In Hard Looks, the addition of art allows each little drama to be magnified in its brutality, its horror and, ultimately, its power. Magnificent.