Hard Bargain

In this dark supernatural thriller, a detective races to solve a deadly mystery in the heart of Los Angeles before a horrific fate descends upon everyone it touches.

HARD BARGAIN, an original graphic novel from acclaimed Daredevil and Spartacus filmmaker Steven S. DeKnight with artist Leno Carvalho, colorist Bruno Hang, and letterer Troy Peteri.

This is a book crafted in the Humanoids tradition, created and written by a scribe at the top of his game, with art by an incredible artist with influences from both US comics and European bande dessin?e.

1940. The city is named Los Angeles, but you'd be hard pressed to find any angels there. Demons, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen, and if you have the bad luck to get mixed up with one, there's only one private detective to call: Frank Harding.

Demons, monsters, and various and sundry mystical ne'er-do-wells are Frank's bread and butter. With the help of his gal Friday, Nahla, and his hookup to magical munitions, Rumi, there's not much he can't handle.

But "not much" ain't "nothing." A mysterious woman is using dark magics to push old friends of Frank's to perform nightmarish self-mutilations, and all signs point to Frank being next.

With time running out, Frank follows every lead he has to keep one step ahead of annihilation, including his old arch-nemesis Doctor Wraith and even Death herself.

Frank's investigation unearths tough truths, old sins, and new terrors that threaten everything he holds dear, and if he wants even the slightest chance to make it out alive he's going to have to put everything on the table for one last HARD BARGAIN.

Author: Steven Deknight
Publisher: Humano Non-Returnable
Published: 03/25/2025
Pages: 184
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.23lbs
ISBN: 9798893576894

About the Author
Steven S. DeKnight attended the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts and went on to earn an M.F.A. in playwriting from UCLA. He got his start in the entertainment industry as a staff writer on the groundbreaking television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He then wrote, directed, and produced on the series Angel, Smallville, and Dollhouse before creating and running Spartacus for the premium cable channel Starz. From there he executive produced and showran season one of the acclaimed Marvel/Netflix series Daredevil. He made his feature directorial debut with Pacific Rim: Uprising, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro's international hit. He is currently in production on the Spartacus spinoff series House of Ashur for Lionsgate and Starz.

Leno Carvalho is a Brazilian comic artist and illustrator best known for his realistic and detailed style. Throughout his career, Carvalho has worked with many publishers on series such as Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special at DC Comics, Dean Koontz's Nevermore and Bionic Woman at Dynamite Comics, The Rift at Red 5 Comics and Crusaders at Soleil, as well as The Source at Scout Comics. When he is not at his desk drawing, he can be found in the kitchen eating or making cakes.

Bruno Hang is a former DC and Marvel colorist responsible for painting titles like Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Girl, Nova and House of M.

Troy Peteri started lettering in the late 1900s and forgot to stop. Since that time he's lettered approximately half a squillion pages of comics, many of which include Batman, Spider-Man, Witchblade and now the Metabaron, John Difool, and Kill Wolfhead from Humanoids' Incal universe.