Suvudu Universe

Resident Alien Volume 2:
The Suicide Blonde

I’ve been enjoying the Resident Alien series written by Peter Hogan and drawn by Steve Parkhouse. It’s published by Dark Horse, and it’s the story of an alien trapped on Earth. He takes the form of a crotchety old retired doctor, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, in a small town in the Pacific Northwest, but he finds himself drawn into solving a murder mystery in the first volume, Resident Alien: Welcome to Earth!

The story continues in the second volume, The Suicide Blonde, where we get to know more about the doctor’s assistant, the Native American Asta. The two investigate a student’s death in Seattle in this one. I like the series because it features two Brits’ idea of an American small town and focuses on characterization. Plus, while thrillers are common in comics, mysteries that aren’t dripping with violence are much rarer, and I prefer that type.

Dark Horse has announced a third volume, The Sam Hain Mystery. In it, “Harry tackles another [mystery] after the contents of an old briefcase hint that a murderer could be hiding in town in plain sight—using an alias.” This interview with Hogan has more detail.

Like the others, it will be published in four parts, issues 0 through 3, with issue #0 available April 29, 2015. I’m guessing the zero issue will contain reprints of the stories currently running in Dark Horse Presents (issues #1-3 of the current series) in which the doctor moves into a new home while the feds tracking him get a new lead on finding him. Resident Alien — it’s good stuff.