Stumptown Vol. 2 #5

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

With this issue, The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case comes to a close.  After last issue's terrific car chase, PI Dex Parios has finished her case, reuniting Mim, the guitar player for the band Tailhook, with her beloved Baby, her guitar.  The skinheads who stole it (the second time) are in custody, and Dex is wondering just what is going to end up happening to her.

As it turns out, Dex is not getting charged, and is instead told rather firmly by the band's lawyers that her involvement with the group is at an end.  Of course, Dex doesn't often listen to people, and the fact that she doesn't know who took the guitar, or why, is bothering her. She convinces Mim and Click, the band's drummer, and I suspect a future love interest for Dex, to help her try to figure out the drug-smuggling angle that was responsible for Baby's original disappearance.

This has been a very enjoyable series.  Dex has been less combative than she was in the first volume, but she does remain her prickly self.  Greg Rucka excels at writing strong female characters, and Dex is just that; complex someone you want to keep reading about.

I'm not sure how I feel about Matthew Southworth's continued experimentation into the colouring (with Rico Renzi) and texturing of the art; his use of markers sometimes leaves the pages feeling a little stiff.  Still, this is a terrific comic, and I hope we don't have to wait too long before we get to read Volume Three.

Stumptown Vol. 2 #4

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

As much as I have come to love Stumptown and its rather difficult private investigator main character Dex Parios, I didn't expect the newest issue to be so exciting.

This story arc, "The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case" has had Dex chasing down a rock star's guitar that was stolen, and may be involved in some sort of drug smuggling.  The guitar has mysteriously shown up at Dex's house, and she stashes it at her office before going to collect Mim, the guitarist.  When they get to the office, they find the pair of rednecks that have also been searching for the instrument, holding a gun to Mim's drummer.

What follows is an excellent chase scene as the rednecks take off, with Dex giving chase.  At this point, Matthew Southworth turns the art sideways, so as to best utilize the wide-screen format that a landscaped page allows.  When the cars stop, the pages return to portrait orientation, but as soon as the chase is back on, the art goes sideways again.  It's a very effective technique, and I have to say that the bridge-jumping scene is executed perfectly.  Rarely does a comic book sequence create such excitement in me.

I am very excited to see what happens in the next issue of Stumptown, although I'm also saddened, because I imagine that will be the last we see of Dex for a while.

Stumptown Vol. 2 #3

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

If a PI solves a case, even if its under the most suspicious of circumstances, should she walk away?  That is the question that Greg Rucka is posing in this new Stumptown series, as Dex Pairios finds 'baby', the guitar belonging to a local rock goddess.

At the end of the last issue, the guitar turns up at Dex's house, and her brother, who has Down's Syndrome, cannot reliably describe how it got there.  Dex, being Dex, sees this as a reason to step up her investigation.

This leads to her having an altercation with the DEA, and later, seeing the skinheads from the first issue.  Greg Rucka has landed her in the middle of a strange situation, and it's entertaining to watch how she is figuring things out.

What makes Stumptown work so well is the strength of the character-driven writing.  Dex is a great character, but so are the others who populate this book.  Personally, I like to imagine that DEA Agent Chase is in fact Cameron Chase, the DC comics character, being handled properly.

This issue, Matthew Southworth tries something new with the inking or shading of characters' faces.  Southworth shares the colouring credit with Rico Renzi, so I'm going to assume it's him that is trying something new, to give some depth to the characters' expressions.  I'm not sure how well it works, but I always encourage people trying something new.

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.

Stumptown Volume 2 #1

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

What a nice treat it is that Greg Rucka has decided to gift us with a second Stumptown mini-series, this one titled 'The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case'.  Stumptown is a private detective series set in Portland Oregon, starring Dex Pairos, a typically plucky female PI.  The first volume introduced her and her world, and it stood out for its excellent character writing and sense of place.

With this new mini-series, Rucka opens with Dex turning down one client (because of who his boss is), and gaining another.  A famous guitar player comes to see her because her Baby - her favourite guitar - has gone missing after the last night of a long tour.  The guitarist is friends with Dex's contact on the police force, and there is some sort of hinted-at problem there.

When Dex goes to visit the guitar tech who last saw 'Baby', she finds skinheads in the middle of a home invasion, and it is clear to everyone that there is a lot happening with this case.  As Dex is the type of PI who gets roughed up a lot, this is surely going to be an exciting mini-series.

Greg Rucka is one of the best writers in comics.  I permanently associate his style with Ed Brubaker's, and it's great to see him working on a creator-owned book again.  It's been made clear that his divorce from DC is looking permanent, and aside from Punisher, he's not doing much work with Marvel.  So far as I'm concerned, that's a great thing, as writers like him always do better on their own stuff.  Here's hoping the rumours of more Queen & Country are accurate.  Matthew Southworth is an accomplished artist, and it's nice to see his work on this book again.

Stumptown #4

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

I had hoped that Greg Rucka's leaving DC would lead to a lot more of his independent comics, and most of those hopes were based on seeing the end of Stumptown come sooner than it has.  Of course, reading this comic, it's apparent that it was well worth the wait.

Stumptown has been a particularly good entry in the standard female PI genre (which I think exists more in comics than the male PI story).  Dex Parios is a tough investigator who, despite her almost constant stream of bad luck, demonstrates in this issue that she is a solid planner and good judge of character.

The story in Stumptown has worked really well.  Dex is trying to find a young woman who has run afoul of a West Coast mob family, and has had to try to figure out who to deal with between the traditional mob father, the wannabe thug son, or the manipulative and ambitious daughter.  All three want something from Charlotte, the young lady in question, and all three have very different methods of approaching their problems.

The series ends in a terrific scene set on the coast at night, and lit only by flashlights.  It's a very powerful way of drawing this series to a close - both Dex and the reader have been kept in the dark for much of the series anyway - and demonstrates Southworth's ability to innovate.

At the end of the book, Southworth states that another Stumptown story is coming, which is very good news.

Stumptown #2

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

I'm really enjoying this title. On the surface, this is a pretty simple book - girl private eye who seems to engender equal amounts of respect and disdain, suffering from financial troubles and life's other complications. It's Alias, without the super-powers.

However, Rucka has invested Dexedrine Parios with so much character that she practically breathes on the page. He is dribbling out information about Dex (what's all that between her and the police commander?) while weaving a very compelling mystery story. What really makes Dex work for me is her relationship with her brother; it grounds her and makes her much more interesting.

Southworth's art is quite strong, and I appreciate the amount of time and research he has put into depicting Portland. The colours, by Lee Loughridge, are quite washed out and a little bland, but that seems to be in the service of creating a mood.

This is a great comic that anyone who enjoyed Alias, Queen & Country or Local should enjoy.

Stumptown #1

Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Southworth

I'm very happy to see Greg Rucka returning to a creator-owned title, and while Stumptown doesn't quite feel up to the level of Queen & Country yet, it's off to a very strong start.

Dex Pairos is a mostly typical Private Eye. She's in debt, and has a hard time finding jobs. The owner of the casino she owes to offers to erase her debt if she can find her missing granddaughter. From the start, this case attracts a lot of attention from menacing thugs, and from one of the richest men in Oregon. The usual private eye stuff ensues.

What makes the title interesting is the attention to Oreganian detail. The artist, Matthew Southworth, writes in the back about his efforts for authenticity, and while I can't speak to his success (having never been to Portland), the book carries a strong sense of place, like an issue of Local.

At this point, Dex feels a lot like a Jessica Jones character (helped by the fact that the art reminds me a little of Michael Gaydos), although one who cares for a mentally-challenged younger brother. More will be needed to distinguish her from the legions of private eye characters out there, but like I said, the book is off to a good start.