Tectiv Vol 1: Noirtopia by Richard Ashley Hamilton & Marco Matrone

with Dave Sharpe on letters.

What a clever post-apocalyptic spin on the noir genre! Bingo Finder is a scavenger in the utopian farm village of Ellay, venturing into the ruins of urban neighborhoods to find anything that might be worth bartering. On one trip with her best friend Fenn, she finds what, to her, is a veritable jackpot: a treasure trove of books hidden away for decades or more. One with a crumbling cover that says “Tectiv” especially appeals to her, even tho no one else really cares.

This is likely because no one else in Ellay reads. Instead, they live peaceful lives of subsistence and trade, guided by a benevolent mayor and his many sons. Mayor, as a matter of fact, keeps trying to set up Fenn with Eldest, his unimaginatively named first child. Fenn has little interest. Instead, she surprises Bingo with a kiss one evening but doesn’t want to talk about it afterwards, claiming that Bingo is the kind of person who just won’t let it go if she does.

Bingo is, understandably, affronted. But she’s even more shocked when she’s awoken from a sound sleep later to find Fenn on her rooftop, with an attacker in pursuit. Fenn plummets from the roof and Bingo is knocked out. Yet when Bingo wakes up again, she finds no trace of Fenn.

After hearing her story, everyone else assumes that Fenn was eaten by the giant coyotes that stalk the countryside. But that doesn’t explain the cloaked attacker, or the mystifying things Fenn was saying to Bingo before she fell. Inspired by the books she’s been reading — and driven to figure out what happened to her best friend — Bingo takes on the role of Tectiv, crossing the length and breadth of Ellay to uncover the truth. In the grand tradition of all noir gumshoes, she’ll discover that very little of what she ever believed was true, forever changing not only her existence but Ellay’s as well.

Gosh, this was such a clever riff on noir tropes, with puns and wordplay that made me laugh out loud in appreciation. Bingo is a terrific heroine, plucky, resilient and resourceful, and I hurt for her every time she, well, got hurt (which was appallingly often, in line with the tropes of noir fiction.) The post-apocalyptic setting was also really well done, beautifully melding the two different genres while working to the strengths of both.

Marco Matrone’s art is expressive and fluid, with vibrant colors that suit this mashup perfectly, whether exploring the village utopia, delving into gritty dock areas or navigating a surreal headspace. I’m honestly so impressed by how much territory he and Richard Ashley Hamilton cover over the course of this story, and look forward to seeing where they go next in Volume 2.

Tectiv Vol 1: Noirtopia by Richard Ashley Hamilton & Marco Matrone was published December 10 2024 by Maverick and is available from all good booksellers, including