It's been a few months since the first arc wrapped, but happily CRIMINAL returned this week to kick off a new one with issue #6.
I don't read a ton of comics -- I don't usually dabble too far outside a steady diet of Y, FABLES, EX MACHINA, HELLBOY, B.P.R.D. & CONAN -- but I absolutely adore this modern crime book. You could say it's set in the real world (no superpowers on display here), but I prefer to think of it as set in the world of noir cinema. Lee Marvin's Walker from POINT BLANK, M Emmet's Walsh P.I. from BLOOD SIMPLE and even Mark Wahlberg's Dignam from THE DEPARTED would all feel quite at home in this universe.
Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips are just a perfect team for this book. I really enjoyed both "seasons" of their SLEEPER, but the CRIMINAL is a significant step up from their work on that title. Brubaker's writing is spot on, delivering both characterful dialog and pulpy narration, and the plot & pacing are tightly managed over the first 5-issue arc. Phillips is a natural with action bits, but really shows his talent in the many scenes that would be dull "talking heads" conversations in other artists' hands. He frames these panels so thoughtfully with regard to character POV that you slow yourself down enough as a reader to really soak in the art and writing.
It's also one of the best single-issue experiences going in terms of design. You get a cool title page (behind the 2-page spread cover that wraps across front & back), the pages are uninterrupted by ads -- and then on top of all that comes the gravy of an essay about noir films/books by Brubaker or various other contributors (Patton Oswalt had an especially good piece recently) illustrated by Phillips.
I know, I know, I'm gushing. But this just seems like a perfect title for many CHUD readers: a hard-hitting crime comic book by (and for) guys who loved BRICK and KISS KISS BANG BANG.
Pick up an issue and give it a try. I'd love to see this book hang around for a long, long time.
I don't read a ton of comics -- I don't usually dabble too far outside a steady diet of Y, FABLES, EX MACHINA, HELLBOY, B.P.R.D. & CONAN -- but I absolutely adore this modern crime book. You could say it's set in the real world (no superpowers on display here), but I prefer to think of it as set in the world of noir cinema. Lee Marvin's Walker from POINT BLANK, M Emmet's Walsh P.I. from BLOOD SIMPLE and even Mark Wahlberg's Dignam from THE DEPARTED would all feel quite at home in this universe.
Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips are just a perfect team for this book. I really enjoyed both "seasons" of their SLEEPER, but the CRIMINAL is a significant step up from their work on that title. Brubaker's writing is spot on, delivering both characterful dialog and pulpy narration, and the plot & pacing are tightly managed over the first 5-issue arc. Phillips is a natural with action bits, but really shows his talent in the many scenes that would be dull "talking heads" conversations in other artists' hands. He frames these panels so thoughtfully with regard to character POV that you slow yourself down enough as a reader to really soak in the art and writing.
It's also one of the best single-issue experiences going in terms of design. You get a cool title page (behind the 2-page spread cover that wraps across front & back), the pages are uninterrupted by ads -- and then on top of all that comes the gravy of an essay about noir films/books by Brubaker or various other contributors (Patton Oswalt had an especially good piece recently) illustrated by Phillips.
I know, I know, I'm gushing. But this just seems like a perfect title for many CHUD readers: a hard-hitting crime comic book by (and for) guys who loved BRICK and KISS KISS BANG BANG.
Pick up an issue and give it a try. I'd love to see this book hang around for a long, long time.
Only $10.
