The Web Haunt of Ryan K Lindsay

Greg Rucka and Matthew Southwroth’s Stumptown is a pretty damn good comic. It wasn’t average, it wasn’t okay, it was pretty damn good. It wasn’t great, but it is a first act, it should save the great and the awesome for later. What it should do is make me want more and it most certainly has done that.

The set up is perfect noir; P.I., missing girl, casino boss pulling the strings, dumb thugs doing dumb things, rich guys having hired goons bring you silently to him, hot promiscuous girl coming out of the pool. It’s only the first issue, but you get a snatch of all of these things (except for that of the hot girl, she had a slim line g-bikini on). There have been many comparisons to The Big Lebowski and Raymond Chandler, which is funny because Lebowski is the Coen Brothers doing Chandler, and this is Rucka fitting into this genre as well. He’s no carbon copy, he is hitting the standard tropes but I can’t help but think he’ll also turn a few on their ears. There is room to breathe, and I like that the intro comic which apparently has 40 pages, I don’t want to go back and check, but it uses them wisely. All the players are on the field, and off it, and now I get to see how the teams will shape up as the weather changes.

The main character, Dex, carries the story well on her lithe shoulders. It seems strange but I have to say I was shocked that this tough bird has a massive shoulder tat on one arm, and also more surprised that I really liked that tattoo and it got me thinking about her back story. It made me fill in a few holes and wonder about the others left gaping wide. Strange to focus on such a little things, but that was something that I liked.

Matthew Southworth does a pretty damn good job drawing each page. I found myself slowing down on all of the dialogue empty panels because they all seemed to say something not just be filler. He crafts a page well and I’ll be happy to see his work over the coming months.

I liked the final scene in the comic, I could imagine it freeze framing as she says her name, it was the right time to get out. I want to know what comes next, and I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough. The main reason I want to review Stumptown is because I know I was on the fence as to whether to get it or not. I lashed out, why not, and gave it a go and am really glad I did. This comic is a great companion piece to Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillip’s Criminal. I am a huge Criminal fan and I hate that it does average numbers each month. I mean, for what it is, it’s hugely successful, but I think it should still be more successful, and Stumptown is gearing up to fit that crime comic niche slowly but surely developing. It’s got the great writing, interesting characters in crazy situations, and nice and grainy art. I suggest you do yourself a favour and sample the treats.

I must also say that the one page essay at the back by artist Matthew Southworth is pretty cool. I was hoping for some form of back matter and I was surprised to see the new guy get it. He writes just as well as he draws and I hope to see more information from the creators, and others. So go on, buy this first issue, see what you think. I think if you are a fan of noir, and a fan of crime comics, then you will support this to see it carry on. I think two major things swayed me, the Rockford Files love that Rucka put out with it, and the ad below. That’s commitment.

Posted on November 9th, 2009 by ryan
Filed under: comics