When it comes to crime noir fiction, the private eye or the rogue detective usually gets the spotlight. As most of these stories starts with a crime and follows from there, most of the time there are twists. One of my favorite twists is when the same person who is investigating a crime gets framed for the same crime. These twists are what makes this genre so delicious to most readers, as they are usually situations that most people would try to avoid.

Sometimes in these stories, the protagonist usually has someone who helps them, sometimes a secretary, a friend, or a news reporter.   This is even more prevalent in when crime noir gets done in comics. The most memorable one being Ben Urich from Daredevil.  In Ryan K Lindsay and Sami Kivela’s seedy Deer Editor, we find one such protagonist.

We meet Bucky, a hard-nosed investigative journalist, who just so happens to be an anthropomorphic deer who gets called to the morgue about the body of a John Doe, one with some serious implications. The clues lead him to another dead body, this one with even more and with Buck finding out who the assailants are. As he gets closer to the truth, he uses his vast network of contacts to find out the main question “why?” By issue’s end, Bucky gets played as a major plot involving the mayor of the city is at the center.

Overall, a story as hardboiled as any of Patricia Cornwell’s books. The story by Lindsay, is dark, gritty and leaves readers spinning. The art by Kivela, is visceral and true to life. Altogether, a comic which will have readers looking for their copy of Brick, this comic is just as good.

Story: Ryan K Lindsay Art: Sami Kivela
Story: 10 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy