Opinion

Ruse

Writer: Mark Waid
Artists: Butch Guice and Mike Perkins
Colours: Laura DePuy Published by CrossGen

On the planet Arcadia, a world similar in some respects to Earth in the late 1800s, works the detective Simon Archard, similar in some respects to Sherlock Holmes. Unquestionably a genius, unquestionably somewhat pompous and irritating, Archard has a lot on his plate, from handling the mysterious reappearance of his former partner, to solving crimes, to dealing with the emotional and physical whirlwind that is is his new partner (or possibly assistant, depending on who you ask), Emma Bishop.

This is one of those comics where what's going on behind the scenes is almost as interesting (and certainly as intriguing) as what's on the page. Some background: CrossGen ('CrossGeneration Comics) is a bit of an anomaly in the US comic market,in that they operate a studio set-up. Which means to say that, in principle, anyone who works on CrossGen comics works at CrossGen Comics. This has a number of advantages for creative talent working together, and also has allowed the company to set several records for getting their titles consistently produced on time (made easier because everyone can see if you haven't finished your latest pages, I suppose.) Also, most of the creators working on their titles are under exclusive contract to the company. Ruse is a relatively late addition to the CrossGen range, but one that has rapidly (and deservedly) gained a reputation as one of their best. Indeed, as the most recent issue (#8) proudly proclaims, it's been nominated for 5 of the prestigious Eisner awards. Which is interesting, because awards are some of the intrigue comes in, as writer Mark Waid actually turned down his nomination as Best Writer in the Harvey awards for reasons that are still not entirely clear. At around the same time, it was announced that he was no longer going to be tied to an exclusive contract with CrossGen (picking up authorship of Marvel's Fantastic Four in a couple of months' time) and then just this last week, it was announced that he'll actually be leaving the title after issue 12, kicking off much speculation in the online fan community about what was going on behind the scenes.

For all practical purposes, this means the essence of this review is quite straightforward - read as much of Ruse as you can before Waid leaves, because while incoming writer Scott Beatty and the remaining creative team will no doubt create an ongoing run of good stuff, I'm willing to bet that it won't be quite like it is now. Gorgeous as the visuals undoubtedly are, Waid has done such wonders with the characters and plots that I doubt anyone could make a seamless transition.

Speaking as one who has read a *lot* of writing in the Holmsian tradition, and all of the original material, I can safely say that even though set on another planet, Ruse is one of the finest evocations of Holmes' world I've ever come across. From the language to the background history, to the character moments, (and even though the most recent storyline involves a village of invisible people....), there's something that just makes the long-term Sherlockian in me feel warm inside when I read Ruse. Yet at the same time, it's unquestionably its own creation, with its own strengths, and some of the best 'mystery' writing I've seen in comics in a long time.

Not to slight the visuals though, because they really are gorgeous. I've been a longstanding fan of Guice's work, and while Perkins is new to me, he works extremely well here. Laura DePuy has a much-deserved reputation as being one of the finest colourists around, and the colours she brings to Ruse are particularly effective, adding much to the overall feel of the world on show. (She's also one of the co-founders of comics e-zine Sequential Tart, which is highly recommended.)

Ruse has a unique feel, great characters, and an outstanding creative team delivering some of their best-ever work. It's a series quite unlike anything else out there, and one I hope will continue at a similar level once the creative team changes - it certainly should, given how firmly all concerned have described it as a team effort from the first. If it doesn't though, we'll always have issues 1-12.

A trade paperback collection of the first story arc is due out in August/September.