He sits around, drinks beer, and waits for something to happen. But this time, what happened was the colonel. He could have brought Tex the case, but instead he brought a warning for Tex to keep his nose out of it. Problem is, Tex has never been very good at keeping his nose out of things.

    Andrew Vachss might have scissored his characters from today's headlines: a stalker prowling around an anonymous high-rise; a serial killer whose transgressions reflect a childhood of hideous abuse; an inner-city gunman who is willing to take out a blockful of victims in order to win a moment of acceptance.Tautly written and endowed with murderous ironic spin, Born Bad plunges us into the hell that lies just outside our bedroom windows.

    This brand new book contains fifteen of Vachss' most compelling, life-at-ground zero stories, brought to life by an outstanding line- up of comics' most talented writers and artists.

    In his big swivel chair under the bare bulb beside the beat-up gray file cabinet, he awaits the call of his clientele: the disappointed, the paranoid, the embittered, the rejected—and the hilarious.