Newburn vol. 1

Easton Newburn is a private investigator in New York who investigates the crimes that the police can’t or won’t solve.  That’s not exactly hyperbole as his clientele almost exclusively consists of members from the major crime families of the city.  So what do they do when an ex-member of the Italian Mafia steals ten kilos of coke from his family?  They call Newburn.  A member of the Flying Dragons Triad is burned alive in a warehouse?  Call Newburn.  A serial killer starts going to work on the rank-and-file members of the mob?  Call Newburn.  It’s a lot of work for just one man, which is why he’s about to get some help with it.  Help that may or may not come with their own set of skeletons in the closet.

“Newburn” comes to us from writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Jacob Phillips and it’s as predictable and satisfying as an episode of a random CBS procedural.  That may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but I grew up on those things and so understand their appeal.  Which lies in seeing Newburn’s no-nonsense approach to investigation while leveraging his smartest-man-in-the-room persona against those who oppose him in a way that doesn’t get him killed.  This is all depicted in a solid, no-frills style from Phillips whose clean visual storytelling complements the way the stories are being told.

At least, until we get to the final story and things get more interesting.  It’s a three-part-arc that digs into the history of Newburn’s new partner and their aforementioned “skeletons.”  While the personal connection does give the character a greater motivation to solve this case, the stakes are heightened when he realizes that he has to do it in a way that won’t send them up the river.  The results are of dubious morality in a way that’s quite satisfying while also remaining consistent with the title character’s established code.  This means that while I wouldn’t consider “Newburn” to be a breakout effort in terms of detective procedurals, it’s still entertaining enough for me to keep an eye out for vol. 2 (after new issues of the series are solicited, of course).