Stonehaven has one foot firmly in the hard-boiled pulp detective genre, but as you read further into the book, you see that the other foot lands solidly in the fantasy genre. The result is a pretty interesting setting for a story, and Tinsley and Singer make great use of the potential in this setting to tell the inaugural Stonehaven tale. A somewhat morally compromised private detective, a very morally compromised Tong enforcer and a simultaneously naive and rugged cop from outside the city cross paths numerous times as they try to track down the cop's daughter before something happens to her. And it all has something to do with a rogue werewolf who's been murdering people. Like Festering Season, Tinsley's previous graphic novel, Stonehaven is an intricate and very dense story, but it's also an easy read, and Singer's artwork is attractive and detailed, working very well with the unusual two color process used to bring Stonehaven to life.
It's easy when you're doing genre blend stuff to let the setting take over. The modern day fantasy angle isn't totally unknown, although it's not as common in comics as it is in novels, TV and role-playing games. Still, it would have been easy for Tinsley to focus on the unusual aspects of this setting, becoming lost in a variety of fantasy cliches from dragons to dungeons and forgetting that the core of the book is about a strong plot and interesting characters. Fortunately, he doesn't fall into that trap, and instead Stonehaven has a very intriguing and twisting plot and several great, memorable characters.
The plot of this one centers around a missing girl, and you don't get much more non-fantasy than that. Tinsley's plot does stick to some cliches of the detective genre, notably the driven father looking for his kid in a city of corruption, but the moral compromise that is a central theme in the story keeps me riveted even when I can predict where the story is going. And I really enjoyed the moral ambiguity that all of the characters engage in, forcing the reader to engage in it as well. There are times when you're rooting for a vicous Tong enforcer, or seeing the sympathetic side of a psychopathic gang of werewolves, and it's an interesting experience.
Tinsley actually is pretty sparing with the fantasy elements, playing a lot of the book as a straight detective story. At first, I thought maybe he was a little too chincy with the fantasy elements, and that they might be little more than a window dressing gimmick, but then we start to learn more about the central villain and the existence of a magic college and we see that the fantasy elements are integral to the story. I still think Stonehaven could have been done pretty easily without the fantasy elements, but there can be no doubt that it would have altered the story and probably weakened the climax of it.
Stonehaven really rises and falls on its characters, though. The lead character of this one is a Ranger (read: county sheriff) from a small town who has to come into the big city to find his daughter. His disgust with the city, even as he himself has to learn to play by its rules, makes for an interesting journey for the character, and I loved seeing how his disdain for certain characters slowly morphed into a mutual respect. Nowhere is this more notable than with Victor Jardine, the private investigator who seems like the likely continuing protagonist for future Stonehaven tales. Jardine is a cynical, slightly sleazy private eye in the classic vein, but he's got a likably roguish side to him as well, and as the story goes on we see that there's a bit of white knight in this guy who originally seems driven purely by money.
By far my favorite character in the book, however, is the villainous Meili Mau, sultry enforcer for the Tongs. Too often, the smooth, corrupting influence of organized crime is overlooked in favor of brutish extortion or unbelievable charm, but Mau comes across as calculating and charming, obviously dangerous and yet irresistable to someone who might need her help. It's not hard to see why she holds such influence in the Tong, or why Ranger Dan Parsons would give in and accept her help. And her role at the end of the book as someone who helps take the real villain down shows her to be quite the physical presence as well.
Tinsley is joined on this book by artist Phil Singer, who does a terrific job. His character designs are crucial to my appreciation of many of these characters, and I love that he gives all of them such distinctive looks. Singer's background detail is not always deeply intricate, but he does go all-out on some important panels to really give a sense of the city or a particular setting, and his storytelling is terrific. I was particularly impressed when a reasonably quiet investigative story turned into a tense action sequence at the end, and Singer acquitted himself quite well.
