2 out of 5

Seeing Greg’s name pop up on an Oni book a couple of years back was a wonderful surprise after sifting through his years at Marvel and DC and being underwhelmed by his contributions.  I loved learning of Greg through Gotham Central and then working my way back through Queen & Country; as happens to a lot of writers, when he became more involved with the big leagues, he undoubtedly became skilled at working with their editorial needs, then leading to books that had his particular flair but felt lacking.  So to flip through the first issue of the original Stumptown, reading about Dex, a rough-and-tumble low budget female P.I., it really felt like Greg was using this as a vehicle to reconnect with his crime roots, knocking off all bells and whistles of his Big Two writing.  Pairing the writing with the wonderfully rough and dirty art of Matthew Southworth just added to that old-school, no frills feel, and deciding to firmly root the book in (I believe) Rucka’s hometown of Portland felt like the firm fuck-off to the big cities in which our big superheros often appear.  Wonderful stuff.

We’re three series deep with ‘King of Clubs,’ and we have a new artist and inker, Justin Greenwood and Ryan Hill.  Unfortunately, it’s not the best change.  Everything in ‘Clubs’ feels like an aside, or they type of story that’s whittled from too small of an idea.  A friend of Dex’s is beaten outside of a soccer game.  Dex suspects ‘hooliganism,’ which, maybe if I paid attention to the news would seem like a bigger deal, but honestly felt like a slightly dated stab at World Cup Fever.  She and a fellow P.I. spend five issues getting told by the cops to stay out of it.  And guess what? – spoilers – they’re pretty much right.  Rucka tries to add a final detail to justify Dex’s involvement with the case, but it’s really not enough.  A personalized setting should not alienate the reader; it should make you feel like home without you having any experience of having been there.  But ‘King of Clubs’ makes me feel like I just don’t get what the big deal is because I don’t live in Portland and understand some crazy soccer rivalry they must have there.  There are some worthwhile moments of character development in the series, and besides Rucka’s penchant for falling back on dialogue cliche now and then (and then calling people out on it a panel later…), the writing features the author’s characteristic ear for flow and brevity.  I never get talking heads in Rucka books, but I always feel informed.  But these developmental moments do not justify the five issue shoulder-shrug story.

Art-wise, though I hate saying this, Greenwood’s art is just ugly.  None of the characters look good.  There’s nothing compelling about the paneling, and character interactions just don’t breathe.  It’s not a great book to look at.

Dex is promised to continue.  Ideally, Southworth will be back, and King of Clubs will just be a down moment; a five-issue book of whimsy to keep us mindful of Stumptown while a better mystery is being prepared on the backburner.  If you know Greg, excepting when he gets mad cheesy (Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra, let’s say), his books are generally worth a read.  Clubs is consistent and believable in tone, it’s just not much of a story.