Cosmic Detective Review (Jeff Lemire, David Rubin)

A god is dead and a detective is given a week to find the killer. Whodunit and why? The answer is in the cosmos…

Cosmic Detective is your typical comic in that the art is high quality but the writing is very poor. The generic plot - in terms of broadly how detective stories are structured - only seems different because of the weird details here and there. Otherwise, it’s like most detective fiction, only much less competently written and barely comprehensible after a certain point.

Like in their previous collabs on various Black Hammer books, Jeff Lemire/Matt Kindt/David Rubin include a number of references to superhero comics here from the murder victim looking like Doctor Manhattan to the all night diner called Nighthawks. Although why that is is another matter because this isn’t part of the Black Hammer universe.

And that’s just one indication among many of how poorly thought-out this book was, narratively speaking. Why do the cops initially speak in code when there’s no-one else around and they could conceivably talk freely? Why are certain characters’ names blanked out? Why does the main character not have a name?

Even the basic story is muddled. The detective is on the trail of someone for reasons but, despite a lot of moving around, doesn’t seem to get anywhere. It’s not even that clear how or why a god was killed or what the consequences are (there don’t seem to be any). Then it’s almost like Lemire/Kindt gave up entirely on trying to tell any kind of story because the last fifty or so pages are complete gibberish!

I loved David Rubin’s art - it’s literally the only saving grace of this otherwise forgettable comic. The detective goes from one place to another through the most unexpected routes - like climbing into his car boot, smoking a cigarette or simply being near a fire hydrant - and the actual world-building is so imaginatively created. As incomprehensible as the last fifty pages are, they at least look great. Rubin’s art in this book is Jim Woodring by way of Jack Kirby - and, assuming those names mean anything to you, that’s a pretty amazing combo!

Cosmic Detective is a sloppily-written comic, which makes for an instantly-forgettable story, but if you’re gonna read this one, at least the visuals will keep you entertained, because the words sure won’t.