Our latest list is a Best Comics on ComiXology Unlimited, built specifically for folks stuck at home in quarantine but viable to anyone who wants to read some great graphic sequential storytelling digitally.
Read MoreBy Taylor Pechter — Hollywood is one of the touchstones not just of cinema, but of all of American Culture. And while we might know more than we ever have about what happens there today thanks to constant coverage in the lead-up to big blockbusters, that was not the case during the Golden Age of Cinema. The 12-issue Image Comics series The Fade Out chronicles a search for truth in Hollywood after a young starlet is found dead in a screenwriter’s apartment following a wild night.
Read MoreThis is a bit of an unusual release, due to Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillip’s interesting exercise in the collected release of the Bad Weekend arc from the current Criminal monthly series. The Bad Weekend hardcover collects issues #2 and #3 of the series, and tells the story of aging cartoonist Hal Crane and his criminal misadventures when attending a comic book convention. Joining him is Jacob Kurtz, a recurring character in the world of Criminal.
Read MoreBy Harry Kassen — Welcome to another iteration of Get Hype, where we talk about the books we’re excited to read and why we’re excited to read them. Those of you familiar with this feature might think my pick is a little bit of a cheat, given that I’ve already read it, but my excitement for the Criminal: Bad Weekend hardcover edition is through the roof, and there’s no way I’m not going to write about it.
Read MoreBy Zack Quaintance — One of the things I’ve pushed against since creating this site is recency bias. All of us—fans and critics—have a shared tendency to praise and promote new #1 comics above mid-run installments or even finales. While there is a certain and acute level of brilliance required to create a strong debut, I think we as an industry tend to lose site of just how impressive and also difficult it is to sustain an interesting graphic sequential story for five, 10, or—as is the case with one of our...
Read MoreCriminal #3 is out 3/20/2019.
By Zack Quaintance — This new run of Criminal is, without question, a comics fan’s comic. The book’s writer, Ed Brubaker, was recently on John Siuntres Word Balloon podcast discussing how part of his goal with it is to create a series that begs to be read monthly. Through three issues, Brubaker and long-time collaborator artist Sean Phillips have certainly done that. Criminal #1 was a tour de force in graphic serial storytelling, with an extended length that enabled the team to tell a rewarding and complete story, while at the same time seeding ideas for subsequent issues to follow up.
Criminal #2 subsequently saw an abrupt shift to a different time and a different set of characters than the first issue (though the protagonist should be well familiar to readers of previous volumes of this anthology comic). Criminal #3 is now the second part of an arc started in the preceding issue. This structure for the trio of opening issues firmly bucks the recent trend throughout comics of writing distinct four-five-six-issue arcs that are perfectly suited to be compiled in a trade paperback. Bucking that trend does exactly what Brubaker discussed on that podcast: it gives comics buyers a pressing reason to pick up the book each month. I know I have been.
The second reason that Criminal #3 firmly entrenches this book as a comics fan’s comic is that it occupies the same thematic ground as Criminal #2. In this two-part arc, a surly and deeply unpleasant veteran/semi-legendary comicbook artist is bent on recovering some artwork he tells his apprentice has wrongly been taken from him. There are twists, to be sure, and I won’t go into them here, but I will say that there are a plentiful number of nods to industry insiders, long-time fans, and comicbook historians. It all adds up to an immersive and quisi meta reading experience.
This issue is also a bold one. Brubaker and Phillips have an all-time great writer-artist alchemy, and they’ve had it for years. They don’t rock that boat here by trying anything structurally experimental or thematically edgy. What they do, however, is take a read of the current comics landscape and come back with somewhat of a defiant statement within the context of an expertly-told and very organic story. What I mean is that like all of us who way way waaaay into the world of comics, they’ve been hearing the gloom and doom of mercurial sales numbers and voices predicting the end of everything from paper comics to the direct market to superhero stories that span eight continuous decades.
They’ve clearly heard it all, and rather than writing an opinion column or going on a podcast—things we’ve seen and heard veteran creators, retailers and industry watchers do ad nauseum—they have an actual story stand as a refutation. Hell, at one point the curmudgeonly artist who’s seen it all even comes out and says Comics have been dying since 1954, kid...don’t let that stop you...
Hearing that reassurance related to the medium I love in the context of a story that shows what it’s capable of had a different and much more poignant impact on me. It seemed to be encouraging, not only for me as a review/aspiring creator, but for the continuing existence of stories of any type in the face of a changing economic reality. It seemed to say that the security in exchange for stories has never been a given, has never been an easy thing to achieve, and yet art has been made anway. If you want to do this, do it. The rest will figure itself out, for better or worse.
Overall: Criminal #3, like the rest of Brubaker and Phillips’ latest series, is a real comics fan’s comic, filled with insider touches and meta commentary, all encased within the duo’s all-time great creative chemistry. This book is a must-read, every damn month. 9.6/10
Criminal #3
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Get a refresher on the other volumes of Criminal!
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase.
By Zack Quaintance — Holy cow, the debate over the final selections for the Best Comics of February 2019 got pretty heated within the committee (of one), raging for what felt like days. Some of our usual superhero favorites—Action Comics/Superman, Immortal Hulk, etc.—have maybe hit places in their runs where we take them just a tiny bit for granted. By the same token though, some of our other favorite long-form superhero narratives are hitting some pretty resonant emotional crescendos (see The Wild Storm, see Thor). But more on that below.
Let me just use this second paragraph of an intro most people scroll right past to address an ongoing narrative that comics are bad now and the industry is dying: stop it. I could go into the business (which is something that myself and roughly 99.9 percent of readers as well as most creators know absolutely squat about), but that’s been done ad nauseam. So instead I’ll point out how little we as fans of stories know about the economics that make them feasible, and wonder (not for the first time) why we waste mental energy on something we don’t understand.
Why did I waste such a long paragraph on it? Who knows! Onto the comics...
The level of melancholic beauty Die #3 achieves is absurd. It’s just a beautifully-told graphic sequential story that uses the comic’s fantasy setting to tell a tale about WWI that speaks on a deeper level to the creation of the genre by J.R.R. Tolkien. It juuuuust missed this month’s top 5.
I’ll say this about Teen Titans #27: I can’t believe this, but I’ve found myself increasingly interested in the current run on this book by Adam Glass and Bernard Chang. Both creators are wildly exceeding my expectations at the moment.
Also surprising was The Terrifics #13. I’d left this book for dead somewhere around The Terrifics #7. The artists were inconsistent, and the initiative it led—the New Age of DC Heroes—died out of the gate. Yet, the creators have quietly put together one of DC’s best comics, ricocheting around the multiverse and hitting big emotional beats through Plastic Man and his son,. Read this!
One more superhero surprise, and we’ll continue! Uncanny X-Men #11 caught me off guard. I didn’t like the bloated (and frankly lazy) X-Men: Disassembled that re-launched Uncanny X-Men. This comic, however, was the opposite of that: compressed and consequential, it now feels like a new era for the X-Men has started. I’m (cautiously) in.
I still maintain, however, that the best X-Men comic on the market is Livewire #3. Free of the bonds of corporate comics, it can up the stakes for its title character the ways the Big 2 can’t, and the creative team on this book is doing so monthly in such brilliant ways. Read this!
Another book I love for its mix of commentary with a sense of anything can happen is Vault Comics’ Wasted Space. We fortunately got both Wasted Space #6 and Wasted Space #7 this month, and I’m happy to say this comic remains amazing.Staying on the Vault Comics train, These Savage Shores #3 really stood out to me this month, so much so that I almost considered adding a sixth slot to our top 5 (but then, is it really a top 5 still?). Gorgeous and literary, These Savage Shores is a must-read.
This next comic on our list is here because it’s become underrated, which is maybe an odd thing to say about something written by Robert Kirkman of The Walking Dead. Oblivion Song #12, however, was a very good comic with an ending cliffhanger that seems likely to extend our story for years to come. I’m in on it.
Ice Cream Man #10 returned the best horror story in comics to its core concept a bit this month while pushing the background (foreground now?) narrative to new places. This is a must-read creator-owned book if ever there was one.
I really struggled with the last of our customary 10 shoutouts, so let me just note that this final spot could have gone to any of the following: Action Comics #1008, The Green Lantern #4, Guardians of the Galaxy #2, Hot Lunch Special #5, Naomi #2, the entire Batman/Flash crossover, Magic Order #6, or Tony Stark: Iron Man #8.
5. Mars Attacks #5
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Chris Schweizer
Colorist: Liz Trice Schweizer
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
There’s just something about a perfectly-told five-issue miniseries that makes it in many ways the idea way to do a comicbook story. If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say that, I’d highly recommend checking out Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer’s Mars Attacks. This could be the most emotionally-honest and overall satisfying contained comicbook story I’ve read in years.
It’s also wickedly funny, combining as it does a heartrending father-son survival story with the trademark mostly-irreverent humor that has made Starks such a fun creator to follow through past works such as Sex Castle or Rock Candy Mountain. I didn’t really know anything about the Mars Attacks franchise coming into this and mostly still don’t care, but this book is well worth reading.
4. Archie 1941 #5
Writers: Brian Augustyn & Mark Waid
Artist: Peter Krause (read our interview!)
Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Publisher: Archie Comics
As friend of the site the great Will Nevin pointed out on Twitter as I was praising the bejeezus out of this book, the world could use more period comics in general, please. If those comics are anywhere near as good as this one, I’m all for it. In recent years, Archie Comics has experimented quite a bit with its classic characters, doing so in alternate reality scenarios and genres such as horror.
In the context of that experimentation, Archie 1945 comes across as a prestige title, a more dramatic and emotionally-taut story with the same sensibilities and dynamics that have helped the Riverdale gang endure for years. Our committee (of one) has picked Archie 1945 for a spot on this month’s list as a merit award for the entire series as a whole. It’s incredibly deserving, and I sincerely recommend picking it all up now in trade. I’m planning to for my bookshelf.
3. Criminal #2
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Our committee (of one) doesn’t often like to put comics this close to the debut of a run in our list, but Criminal #2 is more of a fresh vignette in a long-running story than it is an entirely new comic. This is, of course, now Criminal Vol. 8, and as good as the debut issue of this one was, the follow-up was even better.
This was, simply put, an incredibly well-done comic for people who love to read comics. It’s essentially set at San Diego Comic Con, following as it does an older celebrated artist who has turned to less savory ways of making money (see the title, please) and his former protege who gets swept up into whatever it is the aforementioned artist is tangled up in now. It’s a tense and well-told story (it’s Brubaker and Phillips, would you expect any less), and it works well both as a stand-alone issue and as a continuation of events in Criminal #1. Highly recommended.
2. The Wild Storm #20
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt
Colorist: Steve Buccelatto
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: DC Comics
The Wild Storm #20 is, in a word, @%$#-ing epic. Okay, that was two words, or, rather, one word and that weird set of characters people use to denote cussing (like you don’t know what I was trying to say). Anyway, our committee (of one) has loved The Wild Storm since it began, featuring as it does such a deliberate and smart narrative. This issue has a bit of that for the first two pages, and then it moves into all action.
What it also does is return one of the best couples in all of comics to our monthly pages: Midnighter and Apollo, appearing here in their most recent depictions. It’s incredibly satisfying, and it makes you realize just how great of a veteran writer Warren Ellis is and has been for a while (if you hadn’t already). He gives us big, fan-service moments within the context of a really smart long-form narrative. I think the biggest compliment I can pay this book is that issues like this one are what make me continue to love superhero comics.
1. Thor #10 (read our full review)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Mike del Mundo
Colorists: Mike del Mundo & Marco D'Alfonso
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel
Speaking of long-form, there is no better (nor longer) story in superhero comics right now than Jason Aaron’s Thor, which has been literally happening for something wild like six years (probably longer). He’s done compact story arcs, big events, and largely contained stories. Thor #10 is maybe all of those things, or a little bit of each, anyway.
It definitely fits into the larger story arc right now, of everyone in the Thor world preparing for the upcoming War of the Realms, which is as big an event as Marvel has had in recent years (which is really saying something). Meanwhile, it’s also a largely self-contained story about a father (Odin) and a son (Thor), kept from being emotionally honest because of toxic masculinity...and the world is all the worse for it. I have a strong suspicion this comic will also end up on my Best Individual Issues of 2019 list. So stay tuned for that in 10 months, ahem.
Check out our monthly lists, plus all of our Best of 2018 coverage, here.
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase.
By Zack Quaintance — Regular readers will know this is the column wherein we look at the best new comics from January 2019, specifically one-shots and new #1 issues. They may also notice that I’ve cheated this month, selecting six comics for my usual top 5. First of all, I set the rule so I’m kind of like, oh well. Second, I expanded that section this month so that it wouldn’t be pretty much all Big 2 superhero comics, and I don’t think that’s ever a bad thing.
The good problem that I had this month was that both Marvel and DC launched a pair of super high-quality comics that I couldn’t leave out of my top five, with Guardians of the Galaxy and Invaders coming from Marvel, and Naomi and Young Justice from the Distinguished Competition. So yes, it was a great start to the year for fans of superhero storytelling. In fact, I may write a full piece about this sometime soon, but I think we’re in one of those rare periods where both of those publishers are putting out generally stellar work. But that’s a topic for another time.
Today, let’s get on with our look at the best new comics of January 2019!
As d. emerson eddy noted in his Comic of the Week feature, Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 is accessible and entertaining even to readers who may not have seen the old show...a group that embarrassingly includes me. That said, I thought this book was fantastic.
Another TV-based book I thought was fantastic? Adventure Time: Marcy and Simon #1 by Olivia Olson and Slimm Fabert. I’m a huge Adventure Time fan, and thought this book—which is set after the TV show ends—more than did the source material justice.
Let’s keep the transitions rolling and note that another book that more than did its source material justice was the new Conan the Barbarian #1, from Marvel, which was also a Comic of the Week pick this month.
A little less exciting (at least for me) was Marvel Comics Presents #1. I still like this format—prestige creators telling short, one-off stories about the Marvel Universe—but other than the fantastic Namor story, this first installment was pretty average.
There were a couple nominative #1 issues this month with the Uncanny X-Men and Justice League annuals. The former was a character-driven story that minimized the weirdness of Cyclops coming back, and the latter a grandiose space opera epic that clarified some points about what’s happening in Justice League and why.
Another great Big 2 #1 was Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which got even better with its second issue. Full review of the debut here.
Another comic I wrote a full review of was Oliver #1 by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson. It’s a post-apocalyptic story with only a loose connection to Oliver Twist. I recommend it.
And one more review comic, Wyrd #1! You can read my full thoughts via the link, but this is a book that has all the hallmarks of the start of a special run.
Finally, I liked Barbarella / Dejah Thoris #1 well enough, but I overall recommend paying attention because the series’ writer, Leah Williams, is on the rise and it’ll be interesting to see how earlier work like this compares to later stuff.
Criminal #1
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Read our full review of Criminal #1!
Ho man, what have we as contemporary comics fan done to deserve a team as talented as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (joined here with colors by his son Jacob Phillips)? Seriously, the comics these guys make are almost too good. I read Criminal #1, which was an over-sized issue, with such an intense focus that I don’t think I liked up once until I was entirely through out. It’s that immersive.
Contributing writer Bo Stewart really summed up why it works so well in his review, but I’ll just reiterate again in brief: these are two masters of the craft working in tandem with a level of alchemy that is perhaps unprecedented. Do yourself a favor and read this comic.
Guardians of the Galaxy #1
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Geoff Shaw
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Read our full review of Guardians of the Galaxy #1!
As regular readers of the site may be aware, Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw’s Thanos Wins was one of our top comics of 2018, and now it’s essentially being continued in Guardians of the Galaxy. Of all the writers at Marvel—even the long-tenured vets—Cates arguably writes the best new #1 issues, and this one is no exception. It establishes a killer premise, gleefully speeds through it in grandiose fashion, and leaves the reader fondly looking for the release date of the second issue.
As with Criminal, we also ran a full review that elaborates in greater depth on this comic, so I will again keep it brief and just note that I’m not even all that big a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy, and yet the continuation of this series just became one of my most-highly anticipated comics of 2019. So, yeah.
Invaders #1
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Carlos Magno with Butch Guice
Colorist: Alex Guimaraes
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
I’ve always liked Invaders more as a concept—the team of Golden Age Marvel characters that fought for the allies in WWII—more than I have in modern execution. Their stories have always felt like nostalgic throwbacks, inherently dated. This new comic, however, essentially flies in the face of that, with a first issue that seems to promise an exploration of the old times that will take us to modern places that are new.
How, you may wonder, does it do that? Well, if you’re so curious you really ought to read the actual comic, which, believe me, is very good. Chip Zdarsky is Marvel’s most nuanced writer. He may not write the flashiest stories (ahem, Donny Cates) or the best long-form narratives (Jason Aaron), but he’s the most likely writer in the Marvel stable to surprise and to land big emotional moments. This issue, which ends with a cliffhanger rooted in the past, gives every indication Invaders will be well worth readers’ time.
Naomi #1
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis & David F. Walker
Artist: Jamal Campbell
Letterer: Josh Reed
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
We don’t play favorites in this section, but, truth be told, Naomi #1 just might be our favorite new comic of the month. It takes a new approach to DC Comics most iconic heroes in a few ways. It takes us to a new town we’ve never seen (a hip, semi-rural enclave in Oregon), it gives us a young girl we don’t know (yet), and it dives deep into her point of view, how she sees Superman and what as an adoptee herself she sees to relate to, as well as why.
There’s a mystery that seems destined to end with Naomi growing into a superhero, maybe even a Kryptonian or Superman analog herself, but moreover, there’s just a really solid human story here. Whereas Marvel has basically an entire universe of everymen and everwomen, that has never been DC’s strength. Naomi is looking to fix that, and I for one am hella excited to see where this comic is headed. Oh, and Jamal Campbell’s artwork is absolutely stunning.
Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #1
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Casper Wijngaard
Colorist: Mary Safro
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Dynamie
Price: $3.99
Read our full review of Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #1!
Wowzer, did this comic catch me by surprise! I—embarrassingly—had no familiarity with Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt as a property. I did not realize he was one of the original characters from Charleston Comics that the Watchmen characters were later based on, and I certainly didn’t know the rights had gone up for grabs and become property of Dynamite. That said, I love what Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard seemed to be engaged in after this first issue.
You know the drill—more thoughts in our review—but this has a last page that all Watchmen fans will be interested to read. It could ultimately end up being a very nice counterpoint to Doomsday Clock.
Young Justice #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez
Letterer: DC Lettering
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
The Brian Michael Bendis-curated Wonder Comics imprint has arrived, and it is...well, wonderful. Young Justice #1 was the inaugural issue for the new imprint, and if this is the tone these books are looking to strike, well done. It’s fast, funny, and bent on being very tongue-and-cheek with DC continuity. It’s exactly the sort of in-universe lighter imprint DC needs, what with the other parts of the line seeming to perpetually bend back toward dark and gritty.
The most interesting thing about this individual story though, is the way it plays with continuity. It seems to know that readers have questions about the current status quos of characters like Impulse, Connor Kent, and Cassie Sandsmark, which by extension plays to more questions about what from the New 52 counted and what is wiped away. This is the central mystery the comic is built around, and it’s a really intriguing one, to be sure.
Check out more of our many monthly lists here.
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase.
By Taylor Pechter — A common adage in pop culture is everyone is the hero of their own story, no matter if the person is inherently good, bad, or somewhere between. From 2006 to 2016, writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips redefined the landscape of crime comics with a multi-volume anthology series simply titled, Criminal. The stories within followed the exploits of criminals, from bank robbers to a boxer turned mob enforcer, asking readers to sympathize with horrible people before showing them that even bad guys are human.
It’s this humanity that is the key to the entire series. This week, Brubaker and Phillips returned with their latest volume of Criminal, which marks the eighth overall (read a review of this week’s Criminal #1). The new comic has, unsurprisingly, been met with a wave of critical acclaim, so much so I think it’s already appropriate to call it a success. With so many fans enjoying the series’ latest story, I’d like to take a look today at past volumes, their plots, and some thematic throughlines that appear.
Leo Patterson is a crook trying to turn things around. After a botched heist, he tries to quit the business. With his dad behind bars, his mom dead, and his drug-addled uncle living with him, Leo’s life is not in the best place.
As he says, “I am scared of ending up like my father. Scared of dying where I most likely belong... in prison. But the way I see it… if you aren’t afraid in our line of work then you aren’t thinking. And I won’t work with people who don’t use their brains before bullets… as a rule at least.”
This lesson about rules is what drives Leo’s story as he is lured back to heists by a former associate of his father. The job is to rob an armored car carrying a briefcase of blood diamonds. The heist eventually hits a snag. A firefight ensues, and Leo’s partner, Greta, is shot. To make things worse, the take wasn’t diamonds—it was a briefcase of uncut heroin. As the story winds down, Leo’s uncle dies from overdose after finding the heroin despite Leo hiding it. Greta also dies from her wounds, and Leo confronts a corrupt cop that was involved in the heist, which eventually leads to his death.
Overall, Leo’s story is one of guilt, regret, and failure to live up to expectations. It’s guilt that ultimately leads to his end.
Tracy Lawless is a man out to find the truth. After spending 18 months in prison for desertion, he escapes and seeks the story behind his brother Ricky’s death. To obtain this info he joins Ricky’s crew and grows close to Ricky’s former flame, Mallory. As they grow closer, however, he only grows more dedicated to his mission. This eventually drives them apart, and Mallory joins a coven.
Throughout the story, Ricky has flashbacks about his brother along and his relationship with his father, Teegar “Teeg” Lawless (who appears in this week’s new Criminal #1). These flashbacks show how both Tracy and Ricky grew to be different and ultimately the same. When Mallory spills the truth during the ending, it hits it home. Ricky’s story is a somber one: A boy hardened by his mobster father surviving on the streets, joining a heist crew, falling in love, and getting in over his head. He gets the score and tries to leave town only to be gunned down by the person he loves. However, instead of vengeance, Tracy instead practices atonement—he lets Mallory go and accepts her actions.
Overall, Tracy’s story is one of coming to terms with and ultimately accepting the truth. It is also a tale of no matter how much you try, you can’t escape family, even when there is no one left but you.
Unlike the previous two volumes, Vol. 3 includes three intertwined stories.
The first focuses on prize boxer Jake “Gnarly” Brown and his rise through the ranks of the Hyde criminal empire. This story follows his exploits along with his employer, Sebastian Hyde, son of influential mob boss Walter Hyde. As time goes on, Gnarly and Sebastian grow apart after they both fall in love with the same woman, Danica. To make matters worse, Sebastian impregnates Danica, increasing that rift. As Gnarly lays in a hospital bed at the end of the story after an ambush by Walter Hyde’s men, he gives Sebastian his final words, sending him on his way as he languishes in the hospital.
Overall, Gnarly’s story is one of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal. After Sebastian impregnates Danica, he feels betrayed, not only by his employer but by one of his closest friends. His life as a boxer is also over, giving him nothing to return to.
The second story follows Teeg Lawless as he returns from Vietnam and re-enters life underground, soon learning he owes a debt to a casino owner. Teeg has to collect two thousand dollars in two weeks or else face consequences. As the story continues, Teeg struggles in fast jobs such as knocking over gas stations. Nearing the end, he contemplates what his life would be like if his kids ended up like him.
Overall, Teeg’s story is one of a father’s dedication. Most of his inner thoughts are about his wife and kids, and how they would react to his life as a criminal. Much like his child Tracy’s story in the previous volume, the thread of family is key to this one as well.
The third and final story centers on Danica, a dancer, who was a girl growing up Christian house. She eventually fell into drugs, got kicked out, and became a dancer. As she grows older, she learns how to use her sexuality. This helps her gain the attention of Sebastian Hyde. From there, her story intertwines with that of Gnarly Brown.
Overall, Danica’s story is one of outgrowing the naivety of youth and becoming an adult. Not only that, it is one of love and its effect on people.
This story focuses on a struggling comic strip artist who is haunted by his own creation. In it, he is suddenly thrown into a complicated situation after a mob handoff goes wrong. Jacob Kurtz is an insomniac and former counterfeiter whose wife was killed when she lost control and drove off a ravine.
One night at a diner, he sees a woman and her boyfriend fighting. This woman is named Iris and her boyfriend Danny. Danny is abrasive, a trait that is a main lynchpin of the story. As Jacob confronts him, he is egged on by Frank Kafta, Private Eye, who is actually his comic strip creation, basically a perverse Jiminy Cricket. As time goes on, Danny and Iris plan on using Jacob’s counterfeit techniques to forge an FBI ID so Danny can hand off the money to the Triad.
Things go south, however, and Iris not only shoots Jacob but also shoots and kills Danny. She is rattled and decides to leave Jacob. However, she also has a deeper secret. As the story ends, Jacob finds that Iris was in fact working for the police undercover. As they drive off, Jacob loses control and drives off a cliff, killing Iris and severely injuring himself. As he lies in his bed, all wrapped up, not only is his life as an artist over, but his creation Frank Kafta also leaves the room.
Overall, Jacob’s story is one of accepting loss and overcoming demons. His wife’s death and his subsequent blame for it shook him to his core. This trauma leads him to create the Frank Kafta character, a specter throughout the story. As the story ends, Kafta leaves his room, leaving Jacob to finally learn to move on.
This volume sees the return of Tracy Lawless. As notable crime figures, including Sebastian Hyde, drop like flies, Lawless is sent to find the killers. To make matters more complicated, a CID agent is hunting Tracy for his military desertion charge. Not only that, Tracy is also having an affair with Hyde’s wife. As the search unfolds, his main lead is a priest named Father Mike. As Tracy gets close to answers, everything catches up to him. Not only does the CID agent find him, Hyde also gains more suspicious of his actions. Eventually, the truth of Father Mike is revealed.
Overall, Tracy’s story continues to be one of family and the effect a father has on sons. It is also one of truth and accepting your place in the world. Throughout the story, Tracy continuously feels shame over becoming more like his father. He fears that his father’s self-destruction will eventually lead to his own discovery of the fate of his brother.
The past is often remembered as a time of innocence. You mess around with friends, hook up with crushes, and maybe try things you shouldn’t. In reality, the past catches up to you, pretty much always, and the past can be harsh.
That is the tale of Riley Richards in Criminal Vol. 6. Riley was one of the most popular kids in the city of Brookview. Along with friends Liz, Felix, and Freakout, he formed a close group. Things become difficult when Riley starts getting wind of a possible affair between his now-wife Felix, and Teddy, his childhood rival. He plans to kill his wife. The story of Riley is told expertly not only in the modern day, but also through Archie-esque flashbacks that show a more whimsical side to Riley’s memories. This is a credit to Sean Phillips, who creates a great disconnect between that time and the present day. Not only that, bur Dave Stewart also provides colors that contrast perfectly with the dark palate that Val Staples puts forward in the present day. After Felix is murdered, Riley grows closer to Liz and Teddy sits behind bars, convicted of the act.
Overall, Riley’s story is one of nostalgia and its effect on the mind. The past is always looked upon as happy-go-lucky. As he remembers these moments, he soon realizes that his memories are wrong, and most of the time, life deals you hands you can’t win.
It’s easier to be a fictional character. How sad is that?
This goes through the mind of young Tracy Lawless as he flees with his gang after throwing a rock through an attic window. This question also drives the narrative of this seventh volume of Criminal—Wrong Time, Wrong Place. There are two stories collected in this volume, one of Teeg Lawless’s time in jail prior to his release, and the second of a sort of road trip which includes his teenage son, Tracy.
While both stories are simple, Brubaker weaves in a unique storytelling device: the comics both of them read. Teeg reads a Conan-esque character named Zanger while Tracy reads a Kung-Fu and Teen Wolf hybrid named Fang, the Kung Fu Werewolf. Both comics inform who the men are, directly reflecting their personalities and development. Teeg is a criminal through and through. He doesn’t take anything from anyone and you better not get in his way. On the other hand, Tracy is a teenager with a criminal dad he hates and doesn’t want to become. Sadly, as this story closes, we as readers know from other volumes that Tracy’s life is destined to be just like his father’s.
Overall, this final story hits home with a father-son dichotomy that has appeared often in previous volumes. The story of the Lawlesses is a tragic one, driving much of one of modern comics’ all-time great series.
In conclusion, Criminal is the premier crime comic series by the premier noir creative team. Ed Brubaker crafts tragic stories with relatable characters inhabiting a dark world. This dark world is illustrated perfectly by artist Sean Phillips, aided along the way by colorists Val Staples, Dave Stewart, and Elizabeth Breitweiser. Phillips not only adds grittiness but also experiments with style, adding new aspects to his art in each volume. All in all, Criminal stands out as not just a masterwork of noir, but a masterwork of comic book storytelling in general. We’re lucky to have it.
Read more of Taylor’s writing on our comics analysis page.
Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.
Criminal #1 is out 1/8/2019.
By Bo Stewart — Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips tell the best crime stories in comics. Period, and it’s not even close. This creative team has forged a partnership over many years and dozens of volumes of comics (their recently concluded series Kill or be Killed made our top comics of 2018). They understand each other perfectly, and it’s a joy to see how this deep creative understanding ultimately deepens the words they create. It’s on full display here for their latest book, Criminal #1. Simply put, missing this comic would be criminal (please forgive me).
There’s something distinctly satisfying about Brubaker/Phillips comics, in that they somehow manage to provide the exact right amount of content. I never feel short changed, but the comic also never overstays its welcome or ends up feeling bloated. In the single-issue format, that kind of satisfying consistency is quite the accomplishment. These guys are so good that, in my opinion, comic readers take them for granted. This issue serves as a reminder that this creative duo tells the stories with the best pacing in comics.
Criminal is long-form storytelling at its finest. Instead of focusing on a single character or narrative, the creators lean into the world they have created for inspiration. Previous volumes of this book have each focused on a single character or event set within the Criminal sandbox, a sprawling epic that covers decades of crime and generations of criminals affected by it. The world of Criminal is well established, fully deserving of the old the world is a character axiom. It’s a sandbox that the creators clearly enjoy playing in, and, if this issue is any indication, the world of Criminal won’t run out of worthwhile stories any time soon.
Full disclosure, I have not read the entirety of the original Criminal run. The four (of seven) volumes I have read were all amazing, though. I was a little hesitant about starting this new run without having first finished the others, but, rest assured, newcomers to the series will have no trouble keeping up. Each volume has been its own standalone story and it appears as though the new run will follow suit. These stories inform one another, but they are in no way dependent on one another.
This latest Criminal #1 focuses on Teeg Lawless. Previous fans will immediately gravitate towards the protagonist because Teeg is a figure that has loomed large over the series (his sons Tracy and Ricky Lawless are main characters of previous volumes). This is a story interested in the cyclical nature of crime and how strong it’s grasp can be. Crime doesn’t just affect the individual criminal, it infects entire families. The gangster’s son becoming a gangster is a tale as old as time, but one that will always be ripe for exploration.
Phillips continues to improve (if such a thing is even possible), and his line work has never been more detailed. Teaming up with colorist Jacob Phillips (who is his son) brings a different dimension to the art. Heavy use of blacks and neons (you know, noir stuff) really lends itself to the storytelling. It reminds me of Mat Hollingsworth’s colors on Wytches but without the paint splotches. I have no reservations just coming out and saying it: this is Phillips’ prettiest book yet.
Overall: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal #1 is a perfect continuation of a crime series that ranks as a modern classic. If you enjoy crime fiction, in any format, this one is an absolute must read. 9.5/10
Criminal #1
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Bo grinds for the Man by day so he can create comics by night. He is the lesser half of the Stewart Brothers writing team and can be found on Twitter and Instagram @stewart_bros
By Taylor Pechter — When it comes to crime comics, two names are basically synonymous with modern works in the genre: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Throughout the last decade of their fruitful collaboration, the duo has made some of the most acclaimed series in all of comics, from the down and dirty family drama of Criminal, to the Lovecraftian horror history lesson that is Fatale, to their most recent monthly series Kill or Be Killed, a nuanced dive into mental illness.
Brubaker and Phillips’ latest creation is the original graphic novel My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, wherein they create a story that involves romance, the meaning of life, and a thorough shattering of the status quo. This is the first time the pair has produced a complete work in the original graphic novel format, and so I think it’s helpful to break it down into individual qualities, starting with the writing and the plot.
Warning Spoilers: The story in My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies follows a woman named Ellie who is sent to a rehab facility by her uncle...or so she believes. In the early pages, readers get Ellie’s view of the world, as well as her thoughts on being a titular junkie. During a therapy session Ellie exclaims, Why do we automatically think getting clean is a great thing? What if drugs help you find the thing that makes you special?
Here in lies Ellie’s arc, during which she recalls past experiences with her mother, who was herself a junkie. Not only that, but Ellie’s story also touches thematically on some of the most famous singers—Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin—all of whom were junkies and eventually succumbed to their addictions. However, in Ellie’s mind they are the heroes of her story. Through them she learned that junkie carries a negative connotation, even though she believes it should really carry a positive one. Her logic goes: these famous musicians made memorable music while also high on something, be it heroin, cocaine, or speed. Essentially, Ellie sees being a junkie as breaking the status quo of normal life. Doctor Patti, however, obviously thinks the opposite. She thinks that her patient Ellie has convinced herself of this in order to feel special, making her just like any other person in the facility.
Eventually, readers are also introduced to Skip, another patient at the hospital. As time goes on, he grows closer to Ellie and they form a sort of partnership. It starts with sneaking out to take a puff at night and evolves into eventually planning escape. It is during this escape that Skip and Ellie grow closer. They move from house to house, forging a bond, and so romance blossoms. With romance, their dependence on drugs also grows. It is then Ellie monologues, I mean, what young lovers don’t secretly want this? To be bandits on some lost highway… Running until it all burns down?
It is not just through her dependence on drugs, but also her love of Skip, that the memories of her mother and the thrill of the chase bring Ellie’s life full circle. As the story draws to a close, Ellie is walking on a beach, much like we saw her at the beginning of the story. There, she reminisces about the events that have transpired. It is through her ending monologue that she exclaims that life is supposed to be like a clouded memory, and that the things you really remember are the things that are most important. It is in fact the love that others give you that makes life worth living.
In terms of the artwork, along with Brubaker’s detailed script comes, as always, Sean Phillips artwork. Phillips is a master of emotion, an artist who is able to capture the happiness, sadness, excitement, and boredom of each of the characters he renders into life. Not only that, Phillips use of body language also adds an extra layer of realism. This, however, has basically become standard within Brubaker/Phillips works. So much so, that we’re probably all taking how great these comics look for granted. Phillips work really has been that good for that long.
What is new with this most recent Brubaker/Phillips work is the colorist. Joining Phillips on coloring duties is his own son, Jacob. Jacob replaces Elizabeth Breitweiser, whose colors have often paired with Brubakers drawing of late. Jacob Phillips splotchy color palette of bright oranges, pinks, and blues really fits this particular story well, adding a psychedelic feel to the proceedings. The story also features many flashbacks throughout, detailing Ellie’s childhood, and Jacob Phillips lends them all a beautiful monochromatic style evocative of times gone by. Breitweiser is a great colorist, as is another past Phillips collaborator Val Staples, but Jacob Phillips work compliments his father’s in a way that has me hopeful they’ll continue to collaborate in the future.
Overall: With My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips craft a beautiful story of a woman trying to find her place in the world. This original graphic novel format adds extra weight to their story, too. With a detailed script and luscious artwork, this work is likely to rank up there with some of the duo’s best stories. It’s a solid offering from today’s masters of the crime comic, one to tide their fans over until the return of Criminal in January. 8.5/10
My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $16.99
Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.
By Zack Quaintance — One thing that sets comic book storytelling apart from other mediums is how many of the works, especially in the direct market, are collaborative creations. Unlike prose writing there is a team of contributors in place bringing visions to life, but unlike television or film, teams generally remain small and intimate, leaving voices and motifs intact.
That’s certainly the case with one of the best creator duos in comics: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, whose forthcoming graphic novel My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies is our Pick of the Week. There’s a special look and perspective that comes through in their work, sort of a modern noir, gritty yet somehow not oppressively dark or pessimistic (usually).
We’re fans, and so with that in mind let’s start our weekly previews feature by taking a look at their next project!
*Preview of the Week*
My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies OGN
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
More Info: $16.99 / 72 pages / On Sale 10/16/2018
Teenage Ellie has always had romantic ideas about drug addicts, those tragic artistic souls drawn to needles and pills have been an obsession since the death of her junkie mother ten years ago. But when Ellie lands in an upscale rehab clinic where nothing is what it appears to be... she'll find another more dangerous romance, and find out how easily drugs and murder go hand-in-hand.
Our Take: This is the first original graphic novel from the team that brought us incredible books like Criminal, Fatale, Kill or Be Killed, and, my personal favorite, The Fade Out. Brubaker and Phillips are accomplished monthly comic book creators, and it’ll be interesting to see how they do in a format that requires tighter storytelling. We have high hopes.
Archies Superteens vs. Crusaders #2
Writers: Ian Flynn, David Williams, & Gary Martin
Art: Kelsey Shannon, David Williams, Gary Martin, & Jack Morelli
Publisher: Archie Comics
More Info: $3.99 / 32 pages / On Sale 7/25/2018
Archie Comics’ two superhero teams THE SUPERTEENS and THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS face off against the evil Dr. Zardox in the conclusion to this epic two-issue crossover event!
Our Take: Make this as big and cheesy as possible please, and we’re there. I mean, the first issue was a goofy good time and a two-part series is super manageable, anyway.
By Night #2
Writer: John Allison
Artist: Christine Larsen
Colorist: Sarah Stern
Publisher: Boom! Studios
More Info: $3.99 / 32 pages / On Sale 7/18/2018
After meeting a friendly new face in the alternate dimension they've stumbled upon, Heather (eagerly) and Jane (reluctantly) agree to venture further in. With their trusty camcorder to record what they find and an inhuman new buddy, there's no turning back now!
Our Take: We love John Allison for his blissfully dry, hilarious slice-of-life book Giant Days. The first issue of By Night had a lot more world-building to do than that comic, but the ideas were intriguing and there were moments wherein Giant Days subtle wit shown through. As a result, we have high hopes for this second issue.
Form of a Question OGN
Writer: Andrew J. Rostan
Artist: Kate Kasenow
Publisher: Boom! Studios
More Info: $17.99 / 128 pages / On Sale 11/20/2018
This . . . is . . . JEOPARDY! As a young man, Andrew Rostan spent some of his happiest moments watching JEOPARDY! with his grandfather. Early on, he was ready for Daily Doubles and the iconic buzzer. But now at the age of twenty-two, Andrew’s an actual contestant on the show, and realizes that while he may be ready to meet the host Alex Trebek, he’s not prepared for what comes with starring on one of the most beloved game shows in television history. While Andrew is excellent at remembering facts, he’s also able to recall the memories he associates with those facts—memories of deaths in the family and extraordinary people—and recognize a life lived one step removed from the rest of humanity. A life he’s ready to change. Andrew discovers that existence is like JEOPARDY! and all the answers are staring you in the face if only you ask the right questions. For more info, click here!
Our Take: We are fascinated with writers who choose graphic novels as a medium for memoir, and Andrew Rostan examining his appearance on Jeopardy! as a story about how he unexpectedly learned about life...oof, it’s like this thing is being tailored to our nerdy sensibilities.
Harbinger Wars 2 #3
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Tomas Giorello
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
More Info: $3.99 / 32 pages / On Sale 7/25/2018
All hands on deck! Divided but not yet conquered, Livewire and the Harbinger Renegades are making their last stand for the fate of their fellow psiots! Targeted by X-O Manowar and the governmental forces of the H.A.R.D. Corps, the most powerful players behind the cataclysmic conflict that has torn America asunder are about to converge in a violent conflict where the ultimate fate of the Valiant Universe will be decided... And Ninjak and Bloodshot are about to get a crucial new role in the heart of it all!
Our Take: As we wrote in our review of Harbinger Wars 2 #2, the fact that the Valiant Universe is younger is giving this event some major weight compared to its Big 2 counterparts. The third of four installments, this issue stands to feature a major ramping up of action, and we’re so there for it. Everything related to Harbinger Wars 2 has been total fire thus far.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
