Which side of the fence are you on?
When it comes to comics it seems like people are either on one side of the fence or the other.
Either you'll be willing to pick up a new title that's outside the realm of capes and cowls or you won't.
And the way I figure it is if you're one of those people who are willing to try this type of comic then you probably already have it in hand, and if you're not there's nothing I can say to make you try it.
I can't really blame anyone for not trying a new comic. Over 100 comics came out this week and each of them are over three bones... Readers really need to extend themselves if they want to try something different.
Anyway... I digress...
This comic was worth extending myself for. I enjoy crime stories, I like Greg Rucka, I like female leads with dark hair, and the price was right for how many pages there were.
I felt validated with the decision I made almost immediately.
Right off the bat the art is killer. Matthew Southworth's style is somewhere between Sean Phillips and Duncan Fregredos. His inks have a dark, dirty, murky feeling to them which jives well with the story. Some of this shading looks like it's done with a brillo pad instead of a brush but he uses it in a way that enchances the characters he draws which he renders in a very expressive and realistic fashion. I got the feeling that a lot of this art was photo-referenced but it's hardly noticeable.
The writing and the story are familiar set-ups but both are executed in a fairly fresh and fun way.
The location, Portland, Oregon, provides a unique stage for this story to unfold. I would never figure a town like Portland to have a seedy underbelly but it's obvious that the writer is drawing from experience when he describes MS-13 clicks in the city.
This book is worth extending yourself for if you're a fan of crime comics. It's definitely comparable to anything Brubaker does. If you're not there's nothing here that will win you over.