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@ Pop Syndicate-- Stumptown #1

"In Dex, Rucka gets to explore the screw up character again, like he used to be able to do with Atticus.  Most of Rucka’s characters have their own personal issues but Dex doesn’t seem as skilled,super or as rigidly strong as Kate Kane, Tara Chase are or as Atticus has become.  Dex is almost the most normally screwed up of Rucka’s characters.  Knowing how he writes, I’m sure that there’s some dark secret to her past but for now she’s just a down-on-her-luck PI, taking extra care of her brother, trying to figure out where her next dollar is coming from.  When she’s made an offer she can’t refuse, she does the right thing and doesn’t refuse it.  She may not like working for Sue Lynne and may think there’s more here than just a missing person case but she can’t afford to say “no” to this job.  She may be screwed up but she understands that she has just enough responsibility that she can’t turn this job down."

You can read the full review here.

After all of the crime and noir stories out this year, it's nice to see the beginning of a good detective story.  In the review, I called this the spiritual cousin of Criminal and then went on to talk more about the art but even Rucka's story is a nice mirror of Brubaker's writing.  Remember when the two of them were trading off arcs on Gotham Central, when one had the day shift and the other had the night shift?  I almost get the same vibe off of this book, compared to Criminal.  I hope Stumptown gets to last a while and that Rucka and Southworth are able to make this some kind of lasting series.