Stumptown is the only of Greg Rucka’s comics I’ve really liked.
Stumptown ran for 19 issues. The first two volumes, with art by Matthew Southworth, are the stronger ones, but the later ongoing series with art by Justin Greenwood is fun too.
In a lot of ways, Dex is a typical Rucka heroine — she’s kind of a mess but she’s also smart and empathetic. She lives with her brother, Ansel, who has Down syndrome, and maintains a close friendship with her neighbor, Grey. She’s also a veteran dealing with PTSD. She can be reckless but she’s always brave. So of course, she’s a perfect candidate to be a private investigator.
Most of Dex’s cases seem initially low-stakes but always lead to bigger and larger conspiracies. She’s a really fun character and it’s entertaining watching her get into — and then out of — various predicaments. I like that she’s good at being a PI despite her flaws. She’s complicated in a way that feels real and that makes her likable.
I do want to be clear that I really like the comic before I say this: the Stumptown TV series is better.
Adapted for TV by Jason Richman, Stumptown ran for 18 episodes between 2019-2020. It was supposed to get a second season, but COVID ruined those plans (much to my disappointment).
Cobie Smulders is perfect as Dex — she’s haunted and witty and as much as she acts tough, there’s a genuine kindness under the surface. She becomes a private investigator because she wants to help people. Her wardrobe of rock t-shirts and torn jeans is nicely lived-in. This show would not nearly be as good with someone else in the role.
I also appreciate that the show expands on both Grey’s and Ansel’s characters. Rather than a musician, Grey, played by Jake Johnson, is an ex-con who owns a bar. The show also never makes a big deal of Ansel’s (Cole Sibus) Down syndrome and he’s a character with his own life and interests. Dex is also given a love interest in Detective Miles Hoffman (Michael Ealy) and another friend in taco truck owner, Tookie (Adrian Martinez). This makes Dex feel less isolated than she does in the comic.
Some of the plots of the episodes are vaguely taken from issues of the comics, but they are true adaptations. They’re not just recreating the exact things that happen in the comics but expanding on them or changing them for TV. Dex’s PTSD is explored a bit more deeply and affects the story more than it does in the comic.
I love Jake Johnson as Grey and he has excellent chemistry with Smulders. The two characters briefly dated (although it’s hard to really qualify it as a relationship) and have an easy, deep intimacy with each other. Grey’s ex-con past doesn’t always quite work but it also allows him to relate to Dex and her traumas.
The longer plots were balanced nicely with the case-of-the-week stuff. Not everything quite comes together and clearly some plot threads were left dangling for follow-up in season 2.
Still, this is a great 18 episodes of TV. I enjoyed it as it was airing and I enjoyed watching it again.
