Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business by Arvind Ethan David, Ilias Kyriazis & Cris Peter

Quick aside before we get to the meat of the book itself: being one of the few Malaysian American book critics in the industry sometimes makes it extra hilarious when I read claims like Arvind Ethan David’s in his opening dedication, where he says that elc International School is Malaysia’s “preeminent private school”. Insert me and my Malaysian-private-school-educated siblings all going “who?” a la Korath the Pursuer from the Guardians Of The Galaxy movie. That said, elc certainly managed to instill the loyalty part of their name in at least one alumnus, so good for them!

School joshing aside, this graphic novel is a remarkable adaptation of the classic noir tale. Full disclosure: I hadn’t read the original, and genuinely couldn’t remember if I’d ever read any Chandler, prior to this graphic novel. As such, I’ve had to do a little digging around on the Internet to see exactly how closely the creative team hewed to the original story and how much was extrapolated in the creation of this comic.

The answer, as far as I can tell, is quite a bit. Some would argue that this dilutes the effect of Chandler’s style, but given how disparaging that same style could be of people he disdained for purely cosmetic reasons, I think the changes only improve on the original. Tho speaking of, I cannot be the only person convinced that Anna and Gladys are lesbian lovers. Alas that Gladys has been omitted altogether from this adaptation. Fortunately, there’s plenty of other representation to be had here, as Chandler’s most iconic hero — the tough, alcoholic gumshoe Philip Marlowe — is hired for a dirty job.

The client, Jeeter, is a very wealthy man, and his stepson Gerald will be too, when Gerald comes into the trust left to him by his mother on his twenty-eighth birthday. Unfortunately, Gerald has recently become enamored of a young woman named Harriet Huntress. The beautiful redhead works as a shill for casino owner Marty Estes, which was how she and Gerald presumably met. Old Man Jeeter wants Marlowe to get Harriet to drop Gerald, whether by threatening her with old dirt or with new consequences.

It’s unsavory work but Marlowe needs the money. And if he gets beaten up a couple of times, well, there’s nothing a hit of good scotch won’t heal. When the bodies start piling up, however, is when Marlowe realizes he’s in something a lot more complicated than a simple case of extortion. Will he be able to figure out the mastermind behind all the murders before he becomes the next target?

Mr David takes the brisk pace and tight turns of Chandler’s novella and adapts them beautifully for this graphic novel, working closely with both artist Ilias Kyriazis and colorist Cris Peter to create a striking, stylish product all their own. You can tell that a lot of thought has been put into this book, with much of the dialog kept pristine while the art narrates both the source story and Mr David’s unspoken enhancements. Personally, I think this adaptation improves on the original by cutting out unnecessary slurs and giving depth to several of the characters. YMMV, ofc, but had I gone into this book ignorant of the fact that it makes quite a few changes to the source material, I would have just assumed that this was all more proof of Chandler’s genius.

Ben H Winters’ foreword tipped me off, however, and I’m still not certain how I feel about that. Having gone into reading this mostly blind, I was surprised by how preemptively defensive his essay was. Having done a lot more research since, I can see why he wrote it that way. I am, in general, not a fan of forewords as they often give away too much for no reason. Mr Winters, at least, had very good reason here.

Purists may hate this adaptation but if you, like me, enjoy it when derivative media is done well, then you’ll really enjoy this graphic novel as well.

Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business by Arvind Ethan David, Ilias Kyriazis & Cris Peter was published May 20 2025 by Pantheon and is available from all good booksellers, including