by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief

Much like the plots of film noirs, the future of print media is bleak. Each week another publication bites the dust and the few that remain already have one foot in the grave. Fortunately, there are people like Erik J. Kreffel that understand the importance of physical media, particularly of print publications. His magazine, Noir Crazy is very much a lighthouse amongst the fog-ridden, dreary times we find ourselves in of struggling to acquire meaningful published works. When I stumbled upon his zine on instagram, I was intrigued to find someone as enthusiastic (and quite possibly irrational) to dabble in creating a piece of printed matter. For those unaware, the price to print a physical copy these days is not cheap, which is why it is more important than ever to support the publications that you love. (Did you know that MovieJawn has a patreon?) Here at MovieJawn, we pride ourselves for not only sharing our love of the cinema via the world wide web, but in a printed format as well since 2015. And well… printing (particularly self-publishing) ain’t easy, which made me that more in awe of what Eric was producing.

*Portrait of Robert Mitchum by Erik J. Kreffel*

Upon reaching out to the old chap, it was agreed that we would partake in an old fashioned zine exchange. I sent him a few MovieJawns and what I received in return was treasure. Erik’s print publication, Noir Crazy is a masterful tribute to one of my favorite eras of film: noir. Film noir was an era of Hollywood filmmaking in the 1940s and 50s that is known for stylized tales of hardboiled crime, stark lighting, and cynical characters. As I flipped through the magazine, I could not help but feel bewitched by the characters staring back at me. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the artwork and Erik’s passion for the genre is felt on each and every single page. Noir Crazy is truly something to behold and I knew that I had to partner with Erik in some way.

Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Erik about his process, love of noir, what initially led him down the dark alleyways to these shadowy figures, and why he feels it is important to keep this genre of cinema alive. Since 2023, Erik has managed to create two exquisite issues of Noir Crazy that are now available for purchase in his shop here. In celebration of Noirvember, each week we will feature a different theme within the genre that will showcase some of Erik’s work that he created specifically for MovieJawn. Stay tuned tomorrow when we kick things off with Blonde Baddies. Hope to see you lurking in the shadows old sport!

Rosalie Kicks (RK): Tell us a bit about your zine… why did you start publishing it?

Erik J. Kreffel (EK): I had the idea of doing a zine for a while, and it was just a decision on what I wanted to do. I’ve always loved books and magazines; in fact, for a number of years I was a newsstand lead bookseller at Barnes & Noble. After self-publishing several books since 2007, the next print frontier was a zine. I also used to make my own drawn and stapled comics as a kid. So, 40 years later, I’m back at it in zine form, just a bit more sophisticated. In some ways the urge to continue print publications is my reaction to the decline of print, made more acute by seeing the book and newsstand sectors decimated first hand since the late ’00s. I’ve also lived by the creative adage that if nobody else is going to do it, might as well be me.

RK: Why the subject of noir?

EK: I kicked around a few subjects I’ve always been interested in: Sci-fi, paranormal, space, illustration, etc. With film noir, it seemed to be a niche enough category that, to be honest, is pretty static after so many decades (the classic era has been dead for almost 65 years, as well as most people involved). So nothing is being superseded by new actors, new films, etc—what’s out there is it. There’s a certain uniqueness about that in our current era of movies where we have reboots and prequels. Classic film noir was an age of glamour and sophistication that also revealed the gritty reality of postwar America, done with brilliant filmmaking on micro, small, and large budget films that all cohabitated in a short ~15 year period. In a way, film noir is the ultimate B-side to Hollywood’s classic A-side (musicals, Technicolor epics, soapy dramas, Westerns) that was shoveled down our throats so much that a collective amnesia sort of happened. I never heard of film noir as a kid, and sure didn’t see any of these on Saturday afternoons. Plus I’ve always been a deep cut kind of guy. Another impetus is there’s a devoted fanbase that’s helped bring noir awareness to whole new audiences, hence the explosion in film noir festivals and of course the wild success of Noir Alley, a huge credit to Eddie Muller and his Film Noir Foundation.

RK: What got you interested in noir film?

EK: The immediate “first hit is free” was Noir Alley (a program on Turner Classic Movies originating in 2017). It just clicked with me. I think Detour was the first one I caught way back in early 2017, and I’ve thought a lot about this question since then. As a kid in the 70s/80s I was into Marvel Comics, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc, so I didn’t venture into it knowing much about noir at all. Noir seems to intersect a lot of my later adult interests—military history, psychological profiling/true crime, mid-century illustration, and I think, strangely enough, Mad Men. I ate that up and plowed through the early DVDs to catch up to watch the last three seasons as they were broadcast. Despite the 1960s setting, Don Draper is a quintessential film noir protagonist. He’s charming, loves women and alcohol (too much), attractive, and exudes a confidence that belies a shell of a man who makes wrong decisions and puts himself, his family, and his coworkers in terrible predicaments. He cheats, lies, steals another man’s identity, and has built a small empire out of a deck of cards, a complete homme fatal. That’s totally film noir.

RK: Tell us about your process. I read that you specialize in “chiaroscuro images and portraiture” - what does this entail?

EK: Fancy terms basically to say I’ve worked extensively in black and white portraits. My process usually consists of finding a few reference images (often stock photos or screen captures from movies) and creating a mockup at the size and dimensions I’m working in. I do quick trace overs from the references (not everybody does this, but I fast track to the render stage) and this becomes the framework for the actual painting in Photoshop with a stylus on a Huion tablet. I’m 100% digital.

*Artwork compliments of Erik J. Kreffel*

RK: If you were on a deserted island and could only choose three noir flicks to take with you, which would they be?

EK: Detour, Act of Violence, Gun Crazy

RK: Do you have a favorite noir character?

EK: I don’t have a favorite character per se, but I really enjoy the noir protagonist archetype that I call the “Everyman,” ie the everyday character that gets embroiled in noir drama whether by circumstance, fate, bad decision, etc.

RK: If there was a noir character you could have a chat with, who would it be?

EK: Probably Carol “Kansas” Richman (Ella Raines) from Phantom Lady just because I love Ella so much

RK: Do you participate in Noirvember? If so, what are some of the flicks on your watchlist?

EK: I occasionally participate, but as I always joke, “Every month is Noirvember for me.” I watch Noir Alley every week and I am also in a Twitter film noir club where I catch many new-to-me noirs. Of particular interest to me are lesser known B noirs and the growing availability of Argentine noirs—because they were created without American censorship. Argentine noirs were often as dark or more so than their contemporary US counterparts. Plus many were filmed incredibly beautifully, on par with big US studio cinematography.

Copies of Erik’s publication Noir Crazy are available for purchase here as well as other noir themed items. Follow Erik on Instagram, Substack, Twitter, and contact him here for commissions.