The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest opinion.

This is a deliciously dark PI crime novel that is a perfect combination of strong but damaged heroine and PI cases. Rucka delivers a story that has all the right parts to make it interesting: Great dialog, a heroine that you cheer on, a “not everything is what you think it is” crime to solve and effective graphics. In the first installment of the Stumptown series, PI protagonist Dexedrine “Dex” Parios has a drinking and gambling problem. The owner of a local Native casino asks her to find her missing granddaughter in exchange for clearing her debt. What is Dex to do but say yes? What follows has her digging up the lives of multiple crime lords, getting shot at, beat up, stealing cars and more. It is exciting and I wholeheartedly recommend this series.

This is a solid book of crime fiction with a multifaceted, interesting female lead, which is not something I've run into much in fiction, much less in comic book form. The art is appropriately pulpy, and the coloring in particular lends itself wonderfully to the tone of the book.

Can't wait to read more Stumptown books...

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Small confession: while I'd heard of this comic, I wasn't in any rush to read it. But then I saw the trailer for the ABC adaptation and pretty much had to. Glad I did, I have to say.

Dex Parios is a P.I. in Portland, OR; apparently is the guardian for her developmentally delayed (I'm not sure, just guessing) brother; and a very poor gambler. The latter lands her in a great deal of debt to the Confederated Tribes of the Wind Coast. Thankfully(?) the woman who runs her favorite casino is willing to exchange her debt for some P.I. work – her granddaughter is missing. Dex is a sloppy gambler, but isn't stupid.

But this is no ordinary missing teen/young adult. As soon as Dex starts looking for her, she's threatened away from the case, had the biggest gangster in the state (and probably then some) try to hire her as well (not instead of Grandma, just call him first), locked in her own trunk, shot (thankfully hitting the vest she had on under her clothes), and harassed (and lied to) by said gangster's young adult kids. The danger and the second job offer convince Dex that she need to find the girl– and fast.

It's a great story, a pretty murky beginning gets worse due to complications and narrative time jumps. The more you learn , the more you want to understand. The solution is quickly arrived at, but it takes a long time to get things in order. Things are tricky and Dex's trying to keep everyone involved alive and maybe even (relatively speaking) honest.

I really liked it, but it felt...slim? As this collection is primarily about introducing the characters and world as well as telling the story, I'm not that annoyed by it. But I hope the next collection is more substantial (not much, but some).

Southworth's art was fitting. It's not the most gorgeous book ever, but it shouldn't be. The word “noir” is the best one I can come up with – dark colors, lots of shadows, hard lines – it fits. It's noir. It's also very dynamic, there's a good sense of motion to it. I can't imagine better art for Rucka's story.

Great characters, a good story, art that's a perfect complement to both. This collection nails it. I'm coming back for more Dex and Stumptown.