Harker, #1 -- Roger Gibson & Vince Danks

Like so many British police procedurals, Harker opens with a murder. And it's a particularly vicious and visceral one—even though the artwork is black and white, and even though most of the violence occurs offscreen, there's just something especially nasty about it. Not just because of the violence, but because of the killer's voice. Yikes.

Then, like so many BPPs, the focus shifts to the cops at the crime scene, and we're introduced to our heroes: DS Critchley and DCI Harker. (Usually, I'd list the DCI first, but Critchley does a whole lot more of the talking here, so I feel like I have a better grasp of his character.)

And, you know... they start their investigation.

With a break for a packed lunch of cheese and pickles.

Artwork? I like it quite a lot—especially the buildings and the close-up shots of the faces. All of the opening shots of the empty streets made for a moodybroody atmosphere, which is promptly switched up the moment that smarmypants, hit-on-anything-that-moves DS Critchley appears.

Speaking of the buildings, the shots of the British Museum were AWESOME.

And Harker has a GREAT car.

Storyline? I feel like I don't know much about anything or anybody yet (except that Critchley likes to act a bit jackassy—I say 'act' because I don't think he actually is jackassy—and that Harker seems like he might fall into the quirky genius category), but that isn't problematic, because procedurals generally have that pace: you get to know the detectives as the investigation goes on.

I'm curious, already, about the whys and whos of the murder(s). Are they random? The murderer seemed so ANGRY. So, yeah. I'm totally intrigued.

Keep going? What with the storyline and the genre, I'd have said yes regardless, but this bit clinched it for me:

Twin Peaks joke = I'm yours.