Kate Warne was America’s first female detective, working for the Pinkerton’s in the time before the Secret Service had been created. That last bit is important, because Kate Warne help thwart a plot to kill Abraham Lincoln. Her story is getting told in comic book form at BOOM! Studios from Jeff Jensen, and George Schall.
In 1861, America is at a crossroads. Abraham Lincoln, the man tasked with healing the nation, and his family are the targets of a conspiracy to assassinate them. Their safety – and the future of the American experiment – hinges on the success of a new kind of lawman, known by a word still novel in the culture: detective.
But there was only one detective whose extraordinary cleverness, versatility and mystery made them a singular individual who could save the Lincolns. Her name was Kate Warne. This is the true story of America’s first woman detective, who saved the life of her country’s greatest president and changed the course of history forever.
“When I first stumbled upon the story of America’s first female professional detective and her greatest claim to fame, I wanted to know the answer to a burning question: how did a woman from a small town in upstate New York in the mid-1800s grow up and get THAT job?” said Jensen in a press release from BOOM! Studios. “BETTER ANGELS is an answer to that question in the form of a historical fiction adventure that challenges some of this country’s self-serving myths that all too often pass for history.”
Personally, I’m very interested in seeing how Jeff Jensen brings the story to life, as I’ve previously written about Kate in an article posted to our Patreon page. She is quite the character, to be sure.
Better Angels is scheduled to arrive in October 2021.
