Dexter 01

Title: Dexter 01

Series: Miniseries

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Publication Date: 2013

Creative Team:
            Writer: Jeff Lindsay

Artist: Dalibor Talajic

Cover: Mike Del Mundo

Genre: Suspence, Drama

Adapting a work to a different medium is like creating a parallel universe.  No adaptation really gets everything 100% the same.  How could it?  Every medium has strengths and weakness.  Before Michael C. Hall was Dexter there was only one universe; the universe of Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter.  However, Showtime’s Dexter has taken on a life of it’s on and established a parallel universe far more well know than the original.  So the question on a lot of minds about Marvel’s new Dexter miniseries: Which Dexter is this?  For the answer, you need look no further than the series’ writer Jeff Lindsay.  Jeff Lindsay is Dexter’s creator and is personally adapting him for comics.  This may not be the Dexter most people are familiar with but at his heart he’s still just a serial killer of serial killers.

Both Dexters 'Dream Darkly' but only one was married to Jennifer Carpenter.

I’ve watched all of Showtime’s Dexter at least twice but to date the closest I’ve come to reading the books is my dusty copy of Darkly Dreaming Dexter sitting patiently on my To-Read pile. (I’m getting to it!  Back off!)  So my only real experience with the Dexter books is what a quick glance at Wikipedia could tell me.  I was a little worried that the comic would present some jarring changes.  I was aware that in the books Dexter’s Dark Passenger may be a real entity of some sort rather than just a poetic name for his need.  So far in the comic the Dark Passenger is represented as an exaggerated shadow that follows Dexter like a murderous grownup Peter Pan.  The other big change so far is to see Rita as she’s no longer in the Showtime series.  Otherwise, Dexter is much the same.  There are knives and blood slides.  I felt more at home in this parallel universe than I thought I would.

Rita finds Dexter's invitation to the Serial Killer Con and begins to get suspicious

The setup for Dexter’s first comic story isn’t too dissimilar from an episode of the TV show.  Dexter gets an invite to his High School reunion where a former classmate may be a target.  That is where the similarities end.  Dexter wants to avoid his reunion but his wife Rita decides they need to go.  (I have to say I like Rita on the TV show much better.  The book/comic Rita feels like more of a vacuous accessory than a person.  Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program).  While there Rita begins to see that maybe Dexter didn’t really have any friends when he was younger.  Before this can sink in, Dexter’s old classmate Steve Gonzalez enters.  Steve used to bully Dexter.  Dexter retaliated in his own unique way and Steve never bothered him again.  However, Steve Gonzalez might have an idea of Dexter’s secret but it appears he might have a secret or two of his own.

Harry teaches conflict resolution through human physiology labs.

Jeff Lindsay keeps the comic form of Dexter infused with the same tension, macabre tone, and occasional dark humor that I’ve come to expect with the character.  It’s not always easy for a writer to transition to a different medium but Lindsay seems to have a solid grasp of the form.  One of the pitfalls of writers new to comics is the tendency to overdo it on dialogue and narration.  Lindsay realizes the strength of allowing art to tell a story and uses quite a few silent panels to set scenes and build tension.  This gives Dexter room to breathe and allows the audience the opportunity to guess at subtext.  It’s clear that Dexter and Mister Gonzalez are going to clash and there’s enough built into the story to make it worth coming back to see how that plays out.  I think my only real complaint writing wise is that occasionally there’s a little too much exposition in the dialogue but as this is the first chapter of the story I can let it slide.  Beyond that I also noticed while the exposition helped serve the plot, it didn’t really explain the overall concept.  This comic was definitely written with current fans rather than new fans in mind.  If you didn’t know anything about Dexter you could figure some of it out but you might be a little lost.

Dexter takes his wrath out on an unsuspecting Cutco salesmen.

There are several times in Dexter where I’m not really sure what I’m looking at.  As I mentioned before in the book series I had understood that Dexter’s Dark Passenger may be some kind of demon that shares Dexter’s physical form.  In the comic, this is represented as Dexter’s shadow.  However, sometimes other people are shown as this same shadowy form.  I’m not sure if this is how Dexter occasionally sees people or if this is a visual flourish to help emphasize what’s important in a scene.  I’m curious to see if this gets fleshed out any more as the series continues.  In either case, Dalibor Talajic does a great job of keeping things interesting.  It would be hard to visually re-define a group of characters that are already so well defined for a lot of people.  Talajic takes this challenge and draws consistent characters that feel right without making reference to their parallel universe TV counter parts.  (Even though I’ll admit I was still hearing Michael C. Hall’s voice in my head whenever I read Dexter’s lines).

Um....Yeah....I got nothing...

In recent years I’ve gravitated toward less superhero fare and more independent work so I haven’t spent as much time looking at Marvel Comics’ catalogue.  Since Marvel realizes there are people like me out there, over the last 10 years they’ve carved out a spot in their publishing line for literary adaptations.  They’ve published classical adaptations like Pride and Prejudice and their critically acclaimed The Wizard of OZ series.  They’ve also released more modern work like Ender’s Game: Battle Room and the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series.  So as odd as it might initially seem Dexter is in good company at Marvel.

The line up for Marvel's new series, Literary Avengers!  Excelsior!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Dexter comic based on the book but I was happy with what I got.  There was a different sort of flavor than what I was used to but I like seeing different variations of characters I’m use to.  It helps to keep things fresh.  I’m excited to see what Lindsay has in store for Dexter at Marvel.  Perhaps if all goes well there could be more.

Miami Metro Homicide investigates more Cutco murders!

Grade: A