After The Lights Go Out

John Vercher

Pushkin Vertigo £14.99

Anyone getting a little tired of the cosy crime boom can rest assured that there’s nothing remotely heart-warming about this brilliant, bleak slice of American noir. Xavier Wallace – aka the Scarecrow – is an ageing, broken-down, mixed-race martial-arts fighter who’s asked to throw one last fight by the mob. The greater battle, though, is with his own inner demons – especially when it comes to his troubled relationship with his dying, white father. Moving, enlightening and memorable.