 Described by Stephen Becker as "modern and almost too intellectual", the strip eschewed many of the pulp fictional detective tropes (e.g. alcoholism, two-fisted assistants, and an assortment of interchangeable femmes fatale). Instead, "[Rip] did more cogitating than fisticuffing, and smoked a leisurely pipe while he did it;" "had a frail, balding assistant ... instead of a two-fisted sidekick;" "had a steady girlfriend ... [and] [i] f that wasn 't enough, he even wore glasses! Rip" lived and worked in a recognizable, glamorous, modern New York City on cases involving very human frailties and vice ", and" grew older as the strip progressed ", a continuity advancement little seen in the strips of the time (although pioneered in" Gasoline Alley "and Mary Worth). Raymond noted the change in subject matter, commenting that" I wanted to do something different and more down to earth. "
