My thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for an advance copy of this graphic novel set in a post-apocalyptic world full of mutated humans, talking coyotes, bad people and mysteries that need solving.

"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero; he is everything." Raymond Chandler wrote this about his character Philip Marlowe, a private detective who took money to help people, but while rented could never be brought. The private detective is the one thing people can rely on. Institutions can fall, people can be corrupted, but a person looking for the truth, will go the ends where the truth lies, or their own end. This was as true as it was in the 1930's the heyday of detective stories, as it is in the ruins of civilization. The fedora, the trench coat, the attitude, will still be fighting for people. Even if the spelling of their profession has changed. Tectiv Vol. 1: Noirtopia is written by Richard Ashley Hamilton, illustrated by Marco Matrone, with lettering by Dave Sharpe and tells of a young woman looking for her missing friend, with only the books from the past to show her the way.

Bingo Finder is a very good scavenger, finding places that still have goods that can be used, guns that can be turned in and books that Bingo can read. And Bingo might be the last person able to. The world has collapsed for reasons that are varied, some blame mutants, some blame robots, maybe something else. There is little crime, but the mayor who controls everything is always wanting more growing, and more control of things. Bingo has a friend Fenn, who has started to act funny. One night Bingo finds Fenn standing at the edge of her house, just as Fenn jumps Bingo is attacked by a robot armed assailant. When Bingo looks for Fenn she is gone, but no one could have survived that fall. And robots have been wiped out. Bingo turns to her books the Tectiv stories she enjoys most and begins to look around the devastated area of Los Angeles looking for Fenn. As Bingo searches she finds that there is lot that is going on in the shadows, filled with allies and enemies. The deeper Bingo goes the more Bingo wonders if she ever knew her friend at all. Even worse, does she even understand the world she is living in.

A really good mix of noir detective, with the tech-noir of the future. The writing is really very good, along with the world the characters live in. One can see a lot of stories happening here, with the writer dropping different hints here and there. Bingo is great, tough, sad, and best of all smart. Maybe a touch naïve, but honestly what detective isn't. I love the titles for each chapter, showing the fact that literacy is not a thing anymore. The little things the author does really gives the book that extra feeling and again, makes one want to know more. The world is well worth exploring, with talking coyotes, giant snakes, robot cults, and the location being Los Angeles totally makes sense. The art is very good also. One can look at panels without dialogue and just by the art know what the characters are thinking, and feeling. The blown out world has an interesting mix of Road Warrior, Bedrock from the Flintstones and of course Blade Runner. The characters are well rendered, and the backgrounds are fun to examine.

Fans of noir will like this, and fans of strong female characters will also. I look forward to more adventures of Bingo.

I loved this post apocalyptic book set in a utopian world. The plot twists were perfect. The art was so well done.

Tectiv is a post-apocalyptic post-crime crime graphic novel lol Set hundreds of years after the fall of civilization, the citizens of Ellay (L.A.) live a life of communal trading, in peace with the mutants and talking animals in the wildlands around Ellay. We don't get much background on just WHAT happened or how, but the talking animals and existence of mutants hints at something nuclear. I wish Hamilton gave us a bit more background because I kept finding myself wondering how these people and their culture came to be where they are. There's also commentary on technology and robots, in that there is some conflict between humans and mutants and robots or people robotic parts? Again, I wish Hamilton gave us a bit more on this, especially as the bias does play a part. There's much that could have been said particularly with one of the bad guy's reveals that just... doesn't explain anything. Frustrating.

But of course just because someone says they're post-crime, post-everything, living in peace, doesn't necessarily make it true. Luckily for Ellay, Bingo loves scavenging for old books, especially Tective (detective) novels of the noir variety. Hamilton has some fun bring noir detective tropes in a post-apocalyptic world where most people don't know or understand the tropes, but it does feel a bit goofy at times. The mystery isn't overly complicated or twisty either and I wound up being spot on with the bad guy, though there's the hint of a larger scheme at play that Hamilton may address in future issues.

The art by Marco Matrone is perfectly fine. I think my copy had an issue because it was all a little blurry? Unless that was deliberate? Hard to tell but if so, it feels like a mistake. But nothing really stood out aside from a few panels of the overgrown LA. The coloring was fun though, especially with the mutants and exteriors.

Overall an interesting story and setting, with some promise for future installments. Tectiv is an interesting and unique take on the detective noir genre.