Stumptown Vol. 2 #2

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

Reading the first issue of the new volume of Stumptown last month, I did kind of wonder how finding a missing guitar could be a meaty enough case to keep bumbling private investigator Dex Parios busy for an entire mini-series.  Of course, there is a lot more going on than Dex realized when she took on the job.

In a very short time, it became apparent that this case was going to be a lot more complicated than Dex originally thought.  In short order, she's had to deal with skinheads, the DEA, and now a somewhat reluctant client.

Much of this issue is given over to a conversation between Dex and Click, the drummer in the band that Dex's client plays guitar for.  There is some clear chemistry between Dex and Click, who artist Matthew Southworth must be basing on a real person, because he has such a distinctive face.

Rucka excels at these types of stories, where the main character is stuck in the middle of events she has no clear understanding of.  Dex's natural defensiveness and ingenuity plays out nicely against her occasional physical awkwardness.  I love the scene where she ends up literally falling into her client's basement.