Published: January 25th, 2017
Written by: Greg Rucka
Art by: Justin Greenwood, Ryan Hill
Oni Press, 143 Pages
Review:
This fourth and final volume of Stumptown was definitely a step up from the fairly mundane third chapter. Granted, I still wasn’t as engaged by this story as I was the first two.
The plot here is more interesting than the previous book but there doesn’t feel like there’s any real danger here for the characters, as the heavies in this are inexperienced hipsters from the coffee scene and not legitimate, dangerous criminals and brutes that have actually gotten blood on their hands.
In fact, this felt more like a comedy than a neo-noir crime drama.
Maybe Greg Rucka wanted to go out on a lighter note with this one but it lacks the gravity of the earlier stories and certainly pales in comparison to the darker, grittier and more realistic neo-noir comic book tales by Ed Brubaker.
I didn’t think this was a waste but it didn’t hit the mark and just didn’t pull me in and hold onto me like the first two volumes did.
There’s really not much else to say. This is just about a bunch of rich eccentrics and hipsters trying to acquire some magic coffee beans.
The end.
Rating: 6/10
Pairs well with: the other Stumptown volumes, as well as Gotham Central, Kill Or Be Killed, The Fade Out and Sin City.
Talking Pulp 