The Cavalier Mr. Thompson by Rich Tommaso Review

Ross Thompson is a grifter from Chicago on the run after ripping off the mob of thousands of bucks. His escape lands him at The Cavalier Hotel in the small town of Big Spring in West Texas run by a former oil tycoon and his teenage son, Sam Hill. Sam’s busy, if mundane, life is about to become much more dramatic…

Despite the premise of a felon on the lam, Rich Tommaso’s The Cavalier Mr Thompson isn’t the most exciting of reads but it’s also not boring. Tommaso seems to have envisioned a series of books as this one has the subtitle “A Sam Hill Novel. Sam’s Early Days: 1924” but, unfortunately, there don’t appear to be any other books available - this one was published over 10 years ago and there hasn’t been a follow-up.

Which is a shame because this book is a fine opening chapter for Sam Hill. We get the story of his exciting birth and then jump ahead to when he’s about to finish up high school, while juggling working as caretaker at his father’s hotel. The book might’ve been better if there was more focus on Thompson the crook’s storyline, and the narrative really picks up when it’s about him. As it is, a lot of the book follows Sam’s duties around the hotel, the hotel’s employees and its guests.

Not to say that any of that is especially dull but it’s also not as fun to read. Most of it feels quite forgettable and the scenes slow the pacing down considerably. Sam’s romance with Willa was obvious and predictable and the scenes that do spice up these parts of the book - his conflict with his dad, the occasional guest causing trouble - are few and far between.

Maybe it’s the art style - strong inks, monocolor - and the early 20th century setting, but this book reminded me a lot of Seth’s Wimbledon Green. Both books are beautifully drawn and have quaint stories, though Tommaso’s book is more grounded in reality. Still, if you like Seth’s art and storytelling style, it might be worth tracking down a copy of this one.

There’s a nice balance between wordless pages, where the visuals tell the story, and more dialogue-heavy pages, so the comic has a pleasant flow to it too. I’ve read a few of Tommaso’s comics and, regardless of what I think of the content of them, he has an undeniably strong grasp of sequential storytelling.

The title is a pun on both the character of Thompson and also the name of the hotel, though it could also have benefitted from an ampersand between the two: “The Cavalier & Mr Thompson”, as the book is about the hotel as much as the crook.

The Cavalier Mr Thompson is not the most impressive of first volumes, and maybe that’s why the series ends here, but I would’ve liked to have read more Sam Hill books as this one introduces and lays the groundwork for the character well. Regardless, I’d say it’s still a pretty enjoyable comic to read, if you can find it, particularly if you like early-to-mid 20th century American small town crime books by the likes of Jim Thompson and James M. Cain.