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Stumptown, Vol. 1: The Case of the Girl Who Took her Shampoo
(Stumptown #1)
by
Dex is the proprietor of Stumptown Investigations, and a fairly talented P.I. Unfortunately, she's less adept at throwing dice than solving cases. Her recent streak has left her beyond broke—she's into the Confederated Tribes of the Wind Coast for 18 large. But maybe Dex's luck is about to change.
Sue-Lynne, head of the Wind Coast's casino operation, will clear Dex' debt if ...more
Sue-Lynne, head of the Wind Coast's casino operation, will clear Dex' debt if ...more
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Paperback, 160 pages
Published
October 24th 2017
by Oni Press
(first published March 1st 2011)
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Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Stumptown, Vol. 1: The Case of the Girl Who Took her Shampoo (But Left her Mini)
Rucka knows how to write crime fiction and strong women, so a story featuring a tough P.I. named Dex is a no brainer. Dex is a down on her luck P.I. with a gambling problem and a special needs brother at home. She gets involved with a missing persons case and is almost murdered before she can even look into it. The story is engaging, Dex is witty and tough as nails.
The only criticism I have is with the art. It reminds me some of Michael Gaydos. It's sparse and gritty which fits the tone of the ...more
The only criticism I have is with the art. It reminds me some of Michael Gaydos. It's sparse and gritty which fits the tone of the ...more
Stumptown is coming to your living room squawk box very very soon, but if you can't wait, then open up Rucka's terrific dark, moody, noir-filled graphic novel. Featuring a tough as nails, down-on-her-luck lady private eye stumping down the back alleys of Portland. I'm not big on most graphic novels, but this one's got it and got it good. If this is volume one, when can I Get my greedy hands on volume two.
...more
Greg Rucka crafts a really commendable hard-boiled mystery that checks off all of the right boxes. It's got twists, turns, reveals, fist-fights, a missing girl, good dialogue, and most importantly, a memorable protagonist. That detective here is Dexedrine "Dex" Parios, a private dick with a gambling problem, who agrees to find the missing daughter of the local casino owner in order to get out of mounting craps debt. Thus begins "The Case of the Girl who Took Her Shampoo But Left Her Mini."
Rucka ...more
Rucka ...more
Bullet Review:
Greg Rucka is DA MAN! WOWEE. He knows how to write the best female characters, without resorting them to simpering wimps that need to hold onto a boy's hands to walk them across a street.
Bonus points for this set in Portland, though it was also a bad thing because I kept trying to tell where everything was. LOL. ...more
Greg Rucka is DA MAN! WOWEE. He knows how to write the best female characters, without resorting them to simpering wimps that need to hold onto a boy's hands to walk them across a street.
Bonus points for this set in Portland, though it was also a bad thing because I kept trying to tell where everything was. LOL. ...more
I read this because I liked Gotham Central by Rucka. I liked Renee Montoya, the strong central woman in it, and I like this dialogue. The ending was surprising. Tough writing. I like this too with again a strong woman character, a P.I. named Dex(edrine) who is not making much money in her trade, is a gambler with thousands of dollars of debt and supports a brother with Down Syndrome. No love life, so far, so that is different in comics, especially women-focused ones written by men…. but this is
...more
dnf
this isn't one where it was bad... it just didn't hold my interest even after renewing it at the library. i might have to agree with the other reviewers that this is a less fun/exciting Jessica Jones. ...more
this isn't one where it was bad... it just didn't hold my interest even after renewing it at the library. i might have to agree with the other reviewers that this is a less fun/exciting Jessica Jones. ...more
You can't help but root for the underdog, right? Dex Parios is a (bisexual gal) private investigator who's perpetually low on cash. Her relationship with local police is slightly strained. Her younger brother and roommate Ansel, who has Down's Syndrome, is way more popular than she is... probably because unlike his big sister, he doesn't have an attitude and a chip on his shoulder. In this first volume, Dex runs up a debt she can't pay at a casino and the owner gives her a job: find a missing gr
...more
Juicy. Dense, tense writing. Tight dialogue. Who is this stingy with words and can still keep us completely engaged?
I admire the hell out of Rucka. I imagine he has to shift some pretty heavy gears, moving from prose novels to comics. Or maybe his comic scripts are just as heavily wordy, but just leaves all that environmental illustration for the artist to absorb and interpret, and leaves only the best 5% of words out in the open for the readers to spy on.
This is a great book. Want more. (There ...more
I admire the hell out of Rucka. I imagine he has to shift some pretty heavy gears, moving from prose novels to comics. Or maybe his comic scripts are just as heavily wordy, but just leaves all that environmental illustration for the artist to absorb and interpret, and leaves only the best 5% of words out in the open for the readers to spy on.
This is a great book. Want more. (There ...more
This was really enjoyable!
Another series similar to things like Jessica Jones, where we follow the life of Dex. She's just a regular girl trying to live a P.I. life. However, this new case she's on has gotten pretty bad. A missing girl, the drug lord is now involved, and poor Dex seems to be in the middle of it. A mystery with a lot of humor and surprisingly a lot of art.
Overall, enjoyed it a lot. It's not mindblowing or any crazy twist, but the pacing words well, the art is good, the dialogue ...more
Another series similar to things like Jessica Jones, where we follow the life of Dex. She's just a regular girl trying to live a P.I. life. However, this new case she's on has gotten pretty bad. A missing girl, the drug lord is now involved, and poor Dex seems to be in the middle of it. A mystery with a lot of humor and surprisingly a lot of art.
Overall, enjoyed it a lot. It's not mindblowing or any crazy twist, but the pacing words well, the art is good, the dialogue ...more
Aug 03, 2014
Toby
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novels,
black-as-night
The Case of the Girl Who Took her Shampoo (But Left her Mini)
Greg Rucka's noir graphic novel series starts with a bang as his female PI, Dex Parios, is dragged in to a missing person case that, as you'd expect, is more than it seems on the surface.
Dex is a compelling and complex character, with a back story that is skilfully hinted at but never really discussed and a penchant for putting her face in harm's way, she's a woman seemingly hell bent on punishing herself for an unnamed sin in her past ...more
Greg Rucka's noir graphic novel series starts with a bang as his female PI, Dex Parios, is dragged in to a missing person case that, as you'd expect, is more than it seems on the surface.
Dex is a compelling and complex character, with a back story that is skilfully hinted at but never really discussed and a penchant for putting her face in harm's way, she's a woman seemingly hell bent on punishing herself for an unnamed sin in her past ...more
A straight forward PI story with some enjoyable characters. There's not a lot of depth here but I enjoyed it and will continue the series.
...more
This is a solid PI/Noir-light book. I've enjoyed Rucka's stuff mostly over the years, and while it isn't Ed Brubaker, it's still very good. Elevated tremendously by Matthew Southworth's artwork and muted palette of colours. It's a similar book to Brubaker and Phillips stuff, and I mean that as a compliment, not as an accusation of being derivative. I really enjoy Dex, a woman who embodies "if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all".
Matt Fraction writes the foreword/intro and comp ...more
Matt Fraction writes the foreword/intro and comp ...more
May 06, 2016
Emily
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-thriller,
graphic-novel
Chapter 1
(view spoiler)
Chapter 2
Emily: I am Oscar. A PI would come to interrogate me and I'd just be pumping iron while she asked me questions.
Matt: That's a Bowflex. You clearly haven't watched enough late-night sports infomerci ...more
(view spoiler)
Chapter 2
Emily: I am Oscar. A PI would come to interrogate me and I'd just be pumping iron while she asked me questions.
Matt: That's a Bowflex. You clearly haven't watched enough late-night sports infomerci ...more
Strong female detective story with a solid foundation at its core. My only problem is when I compare it Bendis' Jessica Jones take its nowhere near the mark. Might have been a different story if I hadnt read that previously.
...more
This is the first graphic novel I have ever read. It was a fast read with good illustrations. There was lots of action and I enjoyed it.
This is rather like Jessica Jones, but set in Portland instead of New York, and without any superpowers, and well, she is a detective, there is that.
Same sort of grittiness, and difficult to solve cases. Same sort of moxie, and down on her luck.
I like strong women, I do, but why are all detective stories so gritty and dark, full of the dregs of society.
Well, at least I get to look at Portland while I read it.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this available for an honest review.
Same sort of grittiness, and difficult to solve cases. Same sort of moxie, and down on her luck.
I like strong women, I do, but why are all detective stories so gritty and dark, full of the dregs of society.
Well, at least I get to look at Portland while I read it.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this available for an honest review.
May 13, 2011
Michael
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novels,
review
Greg Rucka's love for the down at heel P.I. story is the spark that got this labour of love comic book series up and running. Dex Parios is the P.I. in question, working out of Portland, Oregon. She's a breezy operator with a bad line in bad luck and too many bad habits, which is three bads too many in anyone's book, never mind somebody in her line of work. She doesn't have time for boyfriends, though she'll flirt the hell out of the medics at the local ER. She must know those guys well as she g
...more
This wasn’t anything to reallyyyyy write home about.
I mean, I always appreciate a comic with a really solid vibe throughout (check), a flawed female character who’s not just focused on her love life (check) and a mystery (somewhat check...?)
Everything in this story was just a little bit bland for me. I thought the mystery would be more complex but it really wasn’t. In a strange way, I kind of hoped there’d be more corruption and scarier figures, but there really weren’t any. I thought, with all ...more
I mean, I always appreciate a comic with a really solid vibe throughout (check), a flawed female character who’s not just focused on her love life (check) and a mystery (somewhat check...?)
Everything in this story was just a little bit bland for me. I thought the mystery would be more complex but it really wasn’t. In a strange way, I kind of hoped there’d be more corruption and scarier figures, but there really weren’t any. I thought, with all ...more
This series initially caught my attention because of the TV adaptation, but I’m pleased to have at least gotten started on the graphic novels before the premiere date.
The premise for Stumptown isn’t a terribly unique one, but it’s a reliable gamut for a graphic novel and the first installment hits the right notes for this breed of comic without getting too tropey.
The plot is a touch on the flat side and I was hoping for more humor, but I expect the series may become more dynamic as it progresse ...more
The premise for Stumptown isn’t a terribly unique one, but it’s a reliable gamut for a graphic novel and the first installment hits the right notes for this breed of comic without getting too tropey.
The plot is a touch on the flat side and I was hoping for more humor, but I expect the series may become more dynamic as it progresse ...more
Oh man, this comic is a beer swillin’, pistol whippin’, double-crossin’ good time! Like the bastard offspring of “Alias’” boozy Jessica Jones and any of the cold, calculating killers in David Lapham’s “Stray Bullets” series, “Stumptown” is a gritty little bit of hard-boiled modern day noir. What sets “Stumptown” apart from the pack, however, is that unlike most other flashy crime comics, this one has an ace up its sleeve: writer/creator Greg Rucka, whose long history of writing complicated but s
...more
Meh. This was just all right. I picked it up because the TV show looked interesting, and I wanted to read the comic first. I like the set up here, and I'll definitely watch the show, but I wasn't blown away by the comic. I liked the first issue, told in reverse (okay I guess I'm a sucker for that), and I like Dex's classic (1965?) Mustang. But the overall mystery is pretty trite: find missing girl who is involved with a drug cartel and an abusive ex. Dex finds her, but a lot of her technique is:
...more
The story nor the characters are original. But it still managed to be fun. Fun because a wise-cracking, doesn't-know-when-to-shut-up character really never gets old.
I dislike the trend of having GIRL in titles when the story is centered around a woman. She's a grown ass person, not a child. That always annoys me, even with stories I like. It's a trend that needs to go.
I liked this story and its characters. Though bisexuality used to tantalize rather than genuinely propel the plot was a bit muc ...more
I dislike the trend of having GIRL in titles when the story is centered around a woman. She's a grown ass person, not a child. That always annoys me, even with stories I like. It's a trend that needs to go.
I liked this story and its characters. Though bisexuality used to tantalize rather than genuinely propel the plot was a bit muc ...more
With comics such as Queen & Country and Whiteout, Rucka established a much deserved reputation for producing superior crime stories featuring female protagonists. In Stumptown Volume 1: The Case of the Girl Who Took her Shampoo (But Left her Mini), Rucka returns to this familiar territory. In order to pay back a massive gambling debt, Stumptown Investigations proprietor Dex Parios searches for the missing granddaughter of Sue-Lynne, head of the Confederate Tribes of the Wind Coast's casino opera
...more
Jun 03, 2012
***Dave Hill
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
illustrated,
favorites
Take a "Rockford Files"-style penny-ante detective with a stubborn streak and a heart of gold (along with sore knuckles and sore skull). Mix in a typical Greg Rucka strong heroine. Mix well and set in down-and-out Portland. There you have Stumptown, and it is just damned glorious.
Matthew Southworth's art is a perfect compliment to Rucka's writing -- realistic, gritty, a bit ugly, but engaging.
I would recommend this book to anyone who entertains the idea that comic books don't have to be about s ...more
Matthew Southworth's art is a perfect compliment to Rucka's writing -- realistic, gritty, a bit ugly, but engaging.
I would recommend this book to anyone who entertains the idea that comic books don't have to be about s ...more
Aug 02, 2014
Lauren Salisbury
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
gn-comic-books
I forgot that I read this 6 years ago. After rereading it I see why.
I recently binged the new TV series and loved it! I was so surprised I hadn't read the series and then came to Goodreads to see that I had in fact read the first book a long time ago...and not liked it.
I was surprised but also know that my tastes change all the time. I could have read it in a funk or had something else impact my reading.
Turns out I just don't like the comic but love the show. My inner book snob feels great shame ...more
I recently binged the new TV series and loved it! I was so surprised I hadn't read the series and then came to Goodreads to see that I had in fact read the first book a long time ago...and not liked it.
I was surprised but also know that my tastes change all the time. I could have read it in a funk or had something else impact my reading.
Turns out I just don't like the comic but love the show. My inner book snob feels great shame ...more
Jessica Jones minus the powers but with all the sass and brass. Read this in anticipation for the live-action series starring Cobie Smulders and I was not disappointed! Time to hit volume 2!
Stumptown by Greg Rucka is another perfect example that should open reader's eyes the fact that comic books are not just about super powered costume heroes.
Dex Parios is a private detective in Portland, Oregon with a bad gambling problem. She is a pretty good investigator but the gambling and the drinking and the guilt keep her down. Her current losing streak has her in heavy debt to the Confederate Tribes of the Wind Coast for $18,000. But now, maybe Dex has an opportunity to get out from unde ...more
Dex Parios is a private detective in Portland, Oregon with a bad gambling problem. She is a pretty good investigator but the gambling and the drinking and the guilt keep her down. Her current losing streak has her in heavy debt to the Confederate Tribes of the Wind Coast for $18,000. But now, maybe Dex has an opportunity to get out from unde ...more
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 protagon ...more
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 protagon ...more
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
2.5 stars
Stumptown is a series I hadn't heard about until I saw the trailer for the TV Show adaptation staring Cobie Smulders. Since I will watch absolutely anything Cobie Smulders is in, I started the show without knowing much, but I am obsessed with the episodes that have been released so far.
However, this comic series is a bit different to the show and I didn't really enjoy it. Stumptown fo ...more
2.5 stars
Stumptown is a series I hadn't heard about until I saw the trailer for the TV Show adaptation staring Cobie Smulders. Since I will watch absolutely anything Cobie Smulders is in, I started the show without knowing much, but I am obsessed with the episodes that have been released so far.
However, this comic series is a bit different to the show and I didn't really enjoy it. Stumptown fo ...more
So the trailer on the new tv show looked interesting. Though to be fair some of that is being set in Portland. So I was curious to check out the source material before it comes out. Crime. Darkness. Portland. It's okay. The intro was printed black on blue and was nearly unreadable which was kind of a choice that set the tone. It also has an old Mustang. I'll read the sequel, mostly for the location.
...more
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