This unusual little book represents a new direction for both graphic novels and mystery novels. Pocket Books is bringing out several titles which were conceived as graphic crime stories from the beginning, with writer and illustrator working to produce tradeback-sized books that will stand on their own. It's a good idea, and it works. A History Of Violence is a good, tight story of a man who believes he's escaped his criminal past until it catches up with him and his new family. Drawn in moody, spare black and white, the art is carefully laid out with the limitations of smaller-than-usual page size in mind, and the panels are always clean and readable. The end product is striking: The story may be an old crime-fiction standard, but it's well told, and the art goes a long way toward helping it achieve the desired noir effect. Whether this project will be commercially successful remains to be seen—it certainly has ample competition from both crime fiction and "real" comics—but it's a noble experiment, and as far as quality goes, it's more than just a novelty.