Fun enough, I guess (I usually like Lemire and Kindt, so no surprise). It feels underdeveloped to me, though. There's a mystery that's hard to care about, a missing person that's hard to care about and some stray story bits that just don't seem to matter. There are some nicely strange visuals and some good twists, but it feels like this one could either have been a very short story (little of it is actually surprising or tense, so boil it down) or actually something more like a maxi-series, where we'd have time to see the characters develop or at least grow attached to them. As it is, it feels like an idea that's only halfway fleshed out, cool in its twistedness (the mix of noir and New Gods sorts of concepts, the harsh psychedelics), but not really a weighty work.

First off: much love to Image Comics and Netgalley for the ARC of this title to read and review!

This one was a MEH for me. The artwork was great and the colors really helped set the noir/dark future vibe the title was trying to portray. The story just fell flat for me. The idea of investigating the murder of a god in the seedy underbelly of the city was absolutely something that sounded interesting, but the execution just wasn't there. Too many blank panels with nothing to add to the story. The story also felt really rushed and it just seemed like the reader was left to fill in much of the story themselves. I could have done with some more meat to the story to fill it out a bit more.

It was a little more graphic at times than I was expecting but it was good. The plot was unique and kept me guessing and the characters were different and interesting.

The Cosmic Detective is about a nameless detective who is sent out to investigate the death of a space god. I don't want to give anything away, so check out the synopsis from the publisher.

First off, the artwork is phenomenal. The artwork really brings out the noiratmosphere and has a psychedelic energy to it. The story held my interest and the pacing is good. I would recommend this to those who like science fiction and noir.

My thanks to Image Comics, Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and David Rubin, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

If you want a colourful, pop-art style, you will not be disappointed with “Cosmic Detective.” The visual world building leaves you wanting to dive further into this alternative universe. I love that the main detective has a family, which seems like a strange thing to point out, but it’s something I don’t come across in many detective graphic novels. However, the plot leaves a lot to be desired. There were some scenes that didn’t add anything to the story and other scenes that were repetitive. The biggest example is when the detective is ‘transported’ somewhere, which takes up multiple pages. We really only need to see the act once to get the idea and then save the other pages for developing that plot. I was admittedly quite confused when the name of the ‘beings’ the detectives organization is investigating is blacked out in the dialogue. Naturally, blacking out the name can add a sense of mystery, but at about the halfway point I thought we were given the name, yet the blank spaces remained until the end. It ends up becoming less effective and creates a disconnect with the reader. Overall, there’s a ton of promise in the visuals, but the plot needs to be fleshed out more.

This was an interesting graphic novel, but it's not something I'm normally into. Not sure if it was the writing style or how it seemed like the main character was jumping all over the place it made me confused and really uninterested after a while.

Drawing inspiration from the work of Jack Kirby (New Gods), Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Essex County) and Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT, Dept H) join with artist David Rubin to create their own twist on a Dark City like science fiction noir. A god like being is found murdered. An unnamed detective is tasked to solve it, but will his investigation cost him his sanity, his family or everything?

The art, by David Rubin alone is a treat, with many full page spreads and effort given to embed sound queues into the narrative (for example he eats an apple on the first page and we're provide chewing and biting noises). Rubin's style reminds me strongly of Paul Pope's (Battling Boy) This is a world where barriers are fluid, our detective is able to transport by smoking a magical cigarette, to enter portals embedded in his car. He carries a phone that can serve to stun the uncooperative or function as a smart phone communicating or sending information to others in his organization. Scenes bounce from hotels, bars, cafes in town, to secluded rural safe houses, the organization's resources like a secret filled archive, forensic lab or meeting space and a well-known American landmark.

Plot wise, it's a combination of Kindt's muse of getting to the deeper conspiracy behind the murder or disappearance with the hidden otherworldly nature of reality that is a common theme in Lemire's work. That said, it is also a little more straightforward to some of Kindt's work where the reader doesn't have to puzzle out as much for themselves. For Lemire it is not as directly spooky and twisted, but is cosmically troubling, like a Galactus. More Underwater Welder, less Gideon Falls.

It is a standalone volume, at least at present, and like any series by these creators, rewards rereading with attention paid to smaller details.

Definitely a slow enjoyable read for me. I was trying to connect the pieces. This read in some parts like a What-If debate. The artwork is crisp. The two pages definitely work the vibe of the energy and story.
This story is basically future things where the main character is trying to investigate a weird and interesting murder. Which happily then sets you in the motion of webs of questions.
I just reviewed Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt & David Rubín. #CosmicDetective #NetGalley

Review of Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and David Rubin

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In a filthy and unnamed city, a rough and equally unnamed Detective investigates a murder. Along the way he finds out more than he bargained for and it changes his entire life.

This was a very interesting graphic novel. Interesting in that it kept me interested and mostly engaged the whole time, but was very, very weird. Again, not in a bad way, just not my typical go-to story.

The artwork was absolutely beautiful, I love the bright colors and the consistency throughout. It's not a pretty city, but the artist make it look like it is in their own style. I love the unique way many of the panels were laid out to convey movement.

The story was a bit confusing with the blocked out words, but I got the just of it through context. I still feel like I don't know much about the characters, but this is presumably just the beginning of the story.

Overall a good read, but not my favorite genre. If you like Watchmen, you would probably enjoy this too

ARC provided by NetGalley

The art in this graphic novel is just phenomenal. It's honestly worth the read for the art alone. The story itself is also interesting, but that art is out of this world.

The excellent art by David Rubin blessed this good cosmic detective type story with a sense of magic and wonder. Dark, gritty, but also brightly coloured and saturated in an almost disturbing manner, Rubin brings his surreal best to the script.

I enjoyed the flow of the story, the way the mystery unravels, and the 'into the rabbit hole' type experience the protagonist is put through, as he tries to understand the unfathomable.

A well told, well made comic that deserver your attention!

eARC provided by Image Comics

Cosmic Detective is a sci-fi mystery graphic novel. The art is a creative neon explosion that had my eyes soaking in each page. The illustrations along with the story pulled me all the way through to the end. Never being able to guess what was going to happen next was part of the fun. Some vibes:

• Blade Runner
• Detective Noir
• Cyberpunk
• Fifth Element

Cosmic Detective is a science fiction Noir police procedural from the imaginations of comic powerhouses Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt. The result is something akin to a cross between Ray Chandler and Ray Bradberry. The story begins as a detective investigates a death that shouldn’t be possible. He is part of a shadow organization that investigates and cleans up after beings that are so powerful that they remain nameless through most of the story, their name literally redacted from the text with black boxes instead of print. The art is psychedelic, the mood swinging from Noir to cyberpunk. The plot may be a bit trite, but the execution is perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early read. Jeff Lemire's story is very creative and new. Not to mention, Matt Kindt's art is spot on for this story.

Original graphic novel, an epic science fiction mystery that asks: when a God is murdered, who solves the crime?

Gorgeously draw to feel like an alien landscape. Did not expect the ending but it was a fitting conclusion to a mind-bender of a story.

The Cosmic Detective is an adventure of the typical detective on a journey to solve what we originally believe is a missing person. What in fact we’re looking for are missing answers to existential questions. Do we really matter? The detective comes off as likeable, a family man, maybe not the brightest bulb in the pack, but still able enough to follow a clue with a level of technology that uses car trunks for doorways into other places. It’s imaginative to say the least but anticlimactic in its ending with a switch of who is the detective in the end and pushing the original old style “gumshoe” back onto family values to save his sanity and his family. You can’t hold it against him, but then again for the sake of art and the story you can hold it against him. I was a bit perturbed by the blacked-out reference to the enemy. In this and age you don’t know if it’s some word that might offend one group or another or it’s a word/language/alphabet that’s practically untranslatable or it’s so holy to speak it might shatter the universe itself or it’s just old-fashioned censorship. I’m nosey and nosey minds want to know. Honestly, it’s a good read and the art is good as well. I’d recommend it if you need a good old dose of existentialism in these days of existentialism. It’s not hopeless, but it’s not hopeful either. Go read it.

Science Fiction meets noir in the Cosmic Detective as the often-bloodied detective hunts down clues to find out the who, why, and how when a god is murdered.

The combined talents of Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and David Rubin make this a riot of color and action and a great start to a new series.

Although this story was interesting to look at and always a quality tale from Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt, I coudn't get into it.

I did not enjoy the violence, and the style of art only made the gruesome moreso. The family/humanizing side of the story took me so much by suprise I had to re-read, and it didn't gel for me.

The art is really cool but I feel like there wasn’t quite enough plot. So much happened, one thing after another, and I felt like it wasn’t always a logical next step. Definitely an interesting story for what it was.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars