Scene of the Crime by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark was first published in 1999. — **Scene of the Crime** by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark was first published in 1999.

By Taylor Pechter — “Maggie wanted something simple, just a little piece of goodnight she had never gotten as a child.”

Ed Brubaker is one of the most acclaimed writers of crime comics in the entire industry, with a long line of lucrative and award-winning books to his name. But today, I want to look back at one of his earlier works — Scene of the Crime, which saw Brubaker collaborating with artist Michael Lark, inker Sean Phillips (who would go on to become Brubaker’s most-frequent collaborator), colorist James Sinclair, and letterer John Costanza. Scene of the Crime — publisher by Vertigo back in the summer of 1999 — is the story of Maggie Jordan and the private investigator examining the circumstances of her mysterious death, Jack Herriman.

As the mystery of the book unravels, Brubaker uses both Herriman and Maggie’s family as well as their histories to examine themes of loyalty, volatility, and the effects fathers have on children. It is one of Brubaker’s first major works of crime comics, setting him on his path to the career he has today. Today, however, it’s time to jump back to that old story, set within the dark side of San Francisco.

Brubaker and Lark’s SCENE OF THE CRIME - A Summary

Jack Herriman is a private investigator. He is the son of decorated police detective Kurt Herriman and nephew of famous crime scene photographer, Knut Herriman. One faithful morning a woman walks into his office with a case. This woman is Alexandra Jordan. She is worried that her sister Maggie has gone missing and hasn’t been heard from for the last month. Jack takes the case, but he is suspicious since Sergeant Paul Raymonds, his father’s former partner, might have set up the case for him. The search for Maggie commences with Jack searching for last known locations. He comes upon the Lunarhouse, a commune run by the mysterious Mitchell Luna. After getting his info there, he then drops by a motel where he assumes might be Maggie’s last known location. After staking out the place for a day, he strikes gold. Maggie is in the motel. She espouses her story over a late-night coffee and they return motel. After some slight flirting, Maggie exits Jack’s car and goes into to het room. The next morning, tragedy strikes.

Three bullets to the back. Maggie lies dead on the floor in a pool of her blood. Jack’s gun and business card were among her possessions. Who knew where Maggie was? What is the Lunarhouse connection? What is Maggie’s secretive past? Why is there a briefcase of ten thousand dollars in her closet? Why would Raymonds send him this case? It is with these questions that Brubaker starts unraveling the themes of the series, mainly those of loyalty and volatility.

Family History

One theme that runs throughout Scene of the Crime is the idea of family history, and how it comes to effect our lives. As Maggie’s past starts to become clearer, we start to see just how volatile not only she was, but her family as well. In 1983, the Jordan family was part of cult called the Earthlings. Their compound was set ablaze and Maggie lost her father Geoff in the fire. After the fire, Maggie started growing distant from her family and got into drugs. Not only is this story tragic, it also somewhat mirrors Jack’s life.

See, Jack’s father was a hero cop that died via a car bomb, planted on his partner’s car, of which he drove Jack to school one day when he was young. The explosion kills his father and the shrapnel caused Jack to lose on of his eyes. After his father’s death, he also retreated into drinking and smoking. These tragedies connect both Maggie and Jack as it shows how people deal with the death of loved ones. However, there is a something much darker to be discovered that will change this investigation.

Remember that briefcase of ten thousand dollars mentioned earlier? Well, this is where it comes back into play. The clues are starting to come together and Jack is stuck on the Earthlings fire. What was its connection to Maggie what connections does it have to Mitchell Luna and the Lunarhouse? It’s complicated. Back when the Jordans were Earthlings members, the father, Geoff, started forcing incestual relations with his daughters. This caused a rift between the family as it made Alex detest her father, while Maggie grew closer to him. It is here that Brubaker explores the theme of loyalty between the sisters. This split eventually leads to Maggie’s’ downfall and led to a ten-thousand-dollar hush money payment be sent to Maggie., yet the Luna connection has still yet to be fully exposed. Once it is, Jack might have to make a choice that he might regret.

The Conclusion

As the story draws to a close, everything comes together as Brubaker brings the action to a thematic peak. As we catch up with Luna, it is revealed that he is actually Geoff Jordan and hadn’t died in the fire all those years back. It was because of this secret that family became divided. Maggie succumbed to her vices, while Alex’s hatred of Maggie and their father grew. This eventually led to the last argument they had in Maggie’s hotel room, where Alex shot Maggie three times with Jack’s gun. This brings the theme of both the loyalty that Maggie has with her father, and the volatility of Maggie and the family as a whole to a peak. Not only that but Luna is then gunned down by Jack in self-defense. Jack doesn’t celebrate this, he laments it, postulating, “I’d been living on hate for this guy for years, and here he was dying in my arms – no hardened killer, just another sad fuck-up like me… begging me to forgive him for his last breaths.” The story ends with Jack, in his office, where this all began. Where Alex gave him this case, as he reviews it. As the narration fades out, Jack ponders what has wrought. It with this the book concludes with the line I used to start this analysis, “Maggie wanted something simple, just a little piece of goodnight she had never gotten as a child. It wasn’t a unique tragedy by any means, but still a tragedy”.

Joining Brubaker on art duties are future collaborators Michael Lark on pencils and inks, for the first issue, and Sean Phillips adding additional inks for the other three. Lark’s gritty, but expressive pencils are complemented beautifully by both his and Phillips’ deep inks. Everything in this book is drenched in deep shadows that realize the hardboiled feel of the book. Lark’s cramped layouts also add a layer of claustrophobia to each page. James Sinclair’s sparse color palate adds an extra layer of grit. The book is drenched in deep blues that add a melancholic layer with a combination of drab browns and tans. Not to mention the perpetual rainfall, that deepens the sorrow of Maggie’s troubled life and death.

In conclusion, Scene of the Crime is one of the best works of hardboiled crime fiction in all of comics. Brubaker crafts a perfectly-paced story full of twists and turns with flawed yet relatable characters. This combines excellently with the fantastically gritty art provided by Lark, Phillips, and Sinclair. From this, Brubaker would go on to publish the most lauded series in crime comics, ranging from Criminal to Kill or Be Killed, injecting some of those aspects into his mainstream superhero work too, with books like Gotham Central and Daredevil.

To see his humble beginnings, you must journey back to the scene of the crime.

Scene of the Crime
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Michael Lark
Inkers: Michael Lark & Sean Phillips
Colorist: James Sinclair
Letterer: John Costanza
Publisher: DC Comics - Vertigo
Original Publication: May - August 1999

Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.