Stumptown No. 1
Published by Oni Press. Written by Greg Rucka. Art by Matthew Southworth.
The Deal: Writer Greg Rucka continues his near-trademarked line of strong, yet flawed, female heroines (as seen in Queen & Country, White Out, Detective Comics, The Question, and Wonder Woman, among others) with the private eye Dex, star of his latest comic series Stumptown.
The Good: Well, Rucka's done it again. I'm not the biggest fan of his superhero stuff (with the exception of The Question) but he is a master when it comes to mystery and espionage. I particularly dig the elegant way he pens Stumptown -- sans a ton of needless exposition, minimal dialogue and an economical approach to developing characters. And, yes, the art is amazing as well; like the writing, it manages to be detailed without a lot of unnecessary line work. Even the final text page is revealing and entertaining.
The Bad: Well, if you really don't dig -- or have grown tired of -- Rucka's brand of strong, yet flawed, female heroines, you probably won't like this book. Although, if that's the case, someone may think you're a sexist bastard -- and that's not cool, now is it?
The Verdict: Both the artist and writer have built an intriguing and engrossing world here. Wonderful comic. Buy it.
Reviewed materials provided by Heroes Aren't Hard to Find: www.heroesonline.com.