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The Rinse
A grounded, gritty look at the world of money laundering in the vein of Elmore Leonard (Jackie Brown, Get Shorty), set against a classic, Chandler-esque detective yarn (The Big Sleep).
Supremely talented and oozing charm, Jeff Sinclair is the premiere laundryman in San Francisco... and we’re not talkin’ wrinkled jeans and dirty gym socks. But when he is unwillingly pulled into a dangerous gig laundering $25 million in stolen casino skim money, Jeff is forced to truly consider his line of work and the evil he facilitates, searching (in vain?) for a way to not only clean the cash, but to clean himself as well.
Supremely talented and oozing charm, Jeff Sinclair is the premiere laundryman in San Francisco... and we’re not talkin’ wrinkled jeans and dirty gym socks. But when he is unwillingly pulled into a dangerous gig laundering $25 million in stolen casino skim money, Jeff is forced to truly consider his line of work and the evil he facilitates, searching (in vain?) for a way to not only clean the cash, but to clean himself as well.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
4 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Gary Phillips
200 books232 followersGARY PHILLIPS has been a community activist, labor organizer and delivered dog cages. He’s published various novels, comics, short stories and edited several anthologies including South Central Noir and the Anthony award-winning The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Violent Spring, first published in 1994 was named in 2020 one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer/co-producer on FX’s Snowfall (streaming on Hulu), about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central where he grew up. Recent novels include One-Shot Harry and Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem. He lives with his family in the wilds of Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 20, 2019
When you start making comparisons on the cover to Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips AND Elmore Leonard, the book better have the creative cajones to back it up. Yet, sadly, I knew this was a lost cause when a character started quoting Ayn Rand on page 3.
The book is about money laundering and as criminal enterprises go, it ranks just above rolling through a stop sign in terms of being comic book worthy.
Jeff Sinclair, like Wolverine, is the best at what he does, and what he does is “rinse” criminals money. Jeff is also a swell guy, who has a plan for every eventuality and tries to look out for those who don’t have his lucrative skill set. The perfect guy!
So, he’s approached by a dude who has absconded with 25 million smackers in mob connected casino money.
So, I guess the dude just googled “money launderers”.
Because Jeff is a one-in-25-million fellow, he helps him out.
Let’s add to the mix:
1 casino owner who has a cleanliness fetish
2 generic thugs sent out by above mentioned casino owner to “get tough”
1 female IRS agent who tags after hero. Think of Jennifer Lopez in the film “Out of Sight”, but with zero sexual chemistry with the lead. But that’s okay just add:
1 T and A panel, that although unnecessary to the plot, keeps the fan boys attention long enough to slog through this four issue volume
1 less than compelling generic plot that couldn’t get lunch as a potential film in Hollywood and comes off worse than the crappiest criminal procedure show.
To punctuate the inert storyline, let’s have a fight and shoot somebody.
Using baseball metaphors (“It’s bottom of the ninth and bases are loaded”) as a way to juice up the drama went out with that Meatloaf song.
I can also suggest where to stick that signed Harmon Killebrew Louisville slugger…
Bottom line : The smart comic book reader will, unlike me, wash their hands of this nonsense. Take Brubaker/Phillips or Elmore Leonard and totally suck out tension, drama and originality and this is what you are left with.
The book is about money laundering and as criminal enterprises go, it ranks just above rolling through a stop sign in terms of being comic book worthy.
Jeff Sinclair, like Wolverine, is the best at what he does, and what he does is “rinse” criminals money. Jeff is also a swell guy, who has a plan for every eventuality and tries to look out for those who don’t have his lucrative skill set. The perfect guy!
So, he’s approached by a dude who has absconded with 25 million smackers in mob connected casino money.
So, I guess the dude just googled “money launderers”.
Because Jeff is a one-in-25-million fellow, he helps him out.
Let’s add to the mix:
1 casino owner who has a cleanliness fetish
2 generic thugs sent out by above mentioned casino owner to “get tough”
1 female IRS agent who tags after hero. Think of Jennifer Lopez in the film “Out of Sight”, but with zero sexual chemistry with the lead. But that’s okay just add:
1 T and A panel, that although unnecessary to the plot, keeps the fan boys attention long enough to slog through this four issue volume
1 less than compelling generic plot that couldn’t get lunch as a potential film in Hollywood and comes off worse than the crappiest criminal procedure show.
To punctuate the inert storyline, let’s have a fight and shoot somebody.
Using baseball metaphors (“It’s bottom of the ninth and bases are loaded”) as a way to juice up the drama went out with that Meatloaf song.
I can also suggest where to stick that signed Harmon Killebrew Louisville slugger…
Bottom line : The smart comic book reader will, unlike me, wash their hands of this nonsense. Take Brubaker/Phillips or Elmore Leonard and totally suck out tension, drama and originality and this is what you are left with.
April 28, 2020
"I was curious about Sinclair. He didn't say word one when he went down. He's a principled man in an unprincipled profession. Who knows what he's capable of?" -- federal agent Della Dash
Serviceable crime-drama graphic novel about Jeff Sinclair, a shrewd money launderer headquartered in San Francisco. Routinely called upon to 'rinse' ill-gotten gains from various folks (it goes without saying that they have their collective fingers in criminal pies), he gets mixed up in a situation that has him dodging two hit-men and an angry, cleanliness-obsessed crime boss all over Northern California. Oh, and there's the wonderfully-named Della Dash, of the oft-forgotten criminal investigation arm of the Internal Revenue Service, determinedly on his trail as well. Although the rear cover blurbs seem to oddly suggest that The Rinse is the next The Maltese Falcon or something, I think it was more in the attempt of an Elmore Leonard-esque short story. So while The Rinse had a certain amount of hard-boiled style it could've used a little more action and/or the fleshing out of certain details.
Serviceable crime-drama graphic novel about Jeff Sinclair, a shrewd money launderer headquartered in San Francisco. Routinely called upon to 'rinse' ill-gotten gains from various folks (it goes without saying that they have their collective fingers in criminal pies), he gets mixed up in a situation that has him dodging two hit-men and an angry, cleanliness-obsessed crime boss all over Northern California. Oh, and there's the wonderfully-named Della Dash, of the oft-forgotten criminal investigation arm of the Internal Revenue Service, determinedly on his trail as well. Although the rear cover blurbs seem to oddly suggest that The Rinse is the next The Maltese Falcon or something, I think it was more in the attempt of an Elmore Leonard-esque short story. So while The Rinse had a certain amount of hard-boiled style it could've used a little more action and/or the fleshing out of certain details.
April 10, 2012
The ad for this series claimed that it would appeal to fans of the many collaborations by author Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips. That was exactly right. This tense, fast-paced story about a modern day money launderer fits perfectly on the shelf between Criminal, Vol. 1: Coward and Incognito, Volume 1. I loved that this story wrapped up in 4 issues, not wasting even a single panel with less important details. It was not uncommon for 2 different scenes to be depicted on the same page. My only complaint is that the rapid pace doesn't allow for some characters to receive a proper introduction, leaving the reader a bit bewildered as to who they are when they make a dramatic entrance or perform a significant action. The artwork is spectacular; just detailed enough to be believable. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed it and anxiously look forward to this teams next endeavor.
June 12, 2012
Excellent crime story by Gary Phillips. I've liked everything he's ever written, but I'm more impressed that Publisher Boom! studios served him well by teaming him up with an artist, Marc Laming, whom I've never heard of but would like to see more books drawn by him.
February 23, 2020
Likeable main character. Enjoyed it.
June 17, 2018
Good story. Nice artwork. Choppy delivery. The story didn’t flow. The action moved around too much and expected the reader to keep up. Reads like a first draft of a screenplay.
March 6, 2021
A little far fetch and at times it seems like it was hastily written. I guess I've been spoiled watching Ozarks, it's nowhere near that.
May 20, 2015
I would probably make this a 3.5.
This story started out slow. I didn't think i would like it. I like my good guys and this was a story about one bad guy screwing over other bad guys.
The art was good. Nothing spectacular, but it was good.
The characters were interesting. They did a good job of of developing all sides of the story. Even the throw away characters had reasons for what they did.
The writing was good.
The plot was surprising at the end. It turned everything around on me and showed that this guy was using the devil's money to do God's work (thats a phrase, not a saying it is a religious story).
I was surprised to like this as much as i did. I was satisfied that they gave me a good guy at the end.
This story started out slow. I didn't think i would like it. I like my good guys and this was a story about one bad guy screwing over other bad guys.
The art was good. Nothing spectacular, but it was good.
The characters were interesting. They did a good job of of developing all sides of the story. Even the throw away characters had reasons for what they did.
The writing was good.
The plot was surprising at the end. It turned everything around on me and showed that this guy was using the devil's money to do God's work (thats a phrase, not a saying it is a religious story).
I was surprised to like this as much as i did. I was satisfied that they gave me a good guy at the end.
September 19, 2015
I hadn't read anything by Gary Phillips before, but I picked up a bunch of trade paperbacks by Boom! (the publisher) in a sale. This was a great, fast-moving crime fiction story. Things happen quickly, the plot barrels forward, and we never lose sight of the main storyline. I've seen artist Marc Laming's name before, though I don't recall exactly where. The art here is great - all the characters are distinct and it's always clear exactly what's happening. It's not flashy, it's solid storytelling. The story in The Rinse involves money laundering, something I've never quite understood. This didn't really help foster my understanding of the process, but that never stood in the way of my enjoying the story.
November 22, 2015
predictable noir wannabe that has interesting characters but conventional plot points and cliches at every point. I love noir and to see such haphazard attempts is very frustrating, I liked the characters and certain storylines but it's way too easy for the lead character. I understand that he is suppose to be the smartest person in the room but by making this choice it limits all threats and grit from the story. the happy ending craps all over the genre
August 4, 2012
Not my style, but it was okay.
October 13, 2013
Great crime caper. The affable main character reminded me of some of the other good "bad" guys from fiction, TV and movies.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews