Rip Kirby #1
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Tango
Colorist: Kike "K.J." Diaz
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
In post-war New York, if you have a case that the police can’t handle alone, you call Rip Kirby.
Art Connoisseurs
A daring art heist. A high-speed chase. In the end, the art is destroyed in a fire.
Still the questions remain: who were the thieves? Why did they steal those pieces in particular? Will they strike again?
Time to call Rip Kirby.
Man of Many Talents
If you’re not familiar with Rip Kirby, he was created in 1946 by Alex Raymond and Ward Greene and appeared in newspaper strips until 1999. Rip is a star athlete, a war hero, a brilliant scientist, and a savvy private investigator. A jack of all trades, if you will. Together with his lady love Honey Dorian, as well as criminal-turned-valet Desmond, Rip works to solve the tough cases that no one else can.
The first thing that struck me about this issue was how dense it was. This was not a five-minute-or-less read. I’m not one to harp about “the value for the price” of comics very often—if I read it and enjoy it, then it has value. But still, I have to admit that in this age of “writing for the trade paperback,” sometimes an issue reads way too fast.
This is definitely not one of those times. There is a ton going on here.
The first thing I noticed is the sheer number of panels in this issue: there's only one splash page, with a few exceptions–most pages have between seven and nine panels each (yes, I counted). So there's a lot of story packed in there.
At the same time, the mystery is relatively simple so far. A museum is robbed, and art is destroyed in the ensuing chase. Art aficionado Honey tries to convince Rip to take the case, and the next thing you know, the museum owner is calling him to ask the same.
Rip goes through the usual detective routine—have Desmond scope out the security at the museum and see how he would pull a job (okay, maybe that part's not "usual"), interview the security guards, get the cold shoulder from the curator, leave and realize he's being followed...
Yeah, this is going to be one of those "more here than meets the eye" kind of cases, or else it won't be much of a series.
Anyways, things continue snowballing from there, and soon Rip finds he might be in a bit over his head. As you do in these types of stories.
Is there anything truly new under the sun here? No, not at all. But is it all very well-done, with interesting and rounded characters and a pace that keeps things moving from one scene to another without seeming rushed or boring? Yes, it is.
I came into this knowing nothing about Rip Kirby himself, while enjoying the Dick Tracy-style gumshoe character, which is certainly the mold that Rip fits into—albeit with much less colorful villains, at least so far. I just wanted to have a good time with an old-school pulp investigator kind of book, and that's exactly what I got here.
Case the Joint
Christopher Sebela definitely isn't subscribing to the "decompression" school of comic writing here, as this issue has plenty going on. In its twenty-three pages of story, we get introduced to Rip and his companions, meet multiple suspects, and see the investigation take several turns. Yet everything fits, makes sense, and never feels rushed. Rip himself could easily come across as a Gary Stu (a male version of a Mary Sue, or a character who gets all the cool powers, scenes, lines, etc.—think Alice in the original Resident Evil movie series), but he's so likable and earnest that you just accept how good he is at basically everything.
Artist Tango may only get one pinup-ready splash page here, but there are no shortage of other panels for him to sink his teeth into. As I said earlier, many pages have up to nine panels, but it's never your standard nine-panel grid. Instead, it's always a mixture of shapes and sizes, which keeps things fresh by showing you something new on every page turn. His actual art style is very cartoony, with Rip having the overly square jaw often associated with the hero of the story. As you'd expect from this sort of style, he's able to convey a wide range of emotion just from characters' facial expressions.
Kike "K.J." Diaz handles the colors for this issue, and they add to the period feel by using a bright and colorful palette—but not the overly glossy kind that many modern books have. Most of the story takes place during the day, so there are minimal shadows, but Rip finds himself being followed and confronting his stalkers at night. That scene carries a much darker tone than the rest of the story, which adds to the sense of danger even as the two men are no match for Rip.
Break the Case Wide Open
Rip Kirby #1 is a fun debut that gives new life to a lesser-known pulp detective in the Dick Tracy style. With his faithful friends by his side, Rip throws himself into the case of an art theft that went wrong and soon finds that there's something much larger at play. In an age where you might not always feel like you're getting enough comics bang for your buck, this issue is just packed with content—and yet you can tell that the story is just getting started.