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Review: _Criminal vol. 1: Coward_, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Ed Brubaker has been writing good comics for some years now, and is finally beginning to get the widespread recognition he deserves, landing him high-profile writing assignments like X-Men, Daredevil, and Captain America. But forget the superheroes. The genre Brubaker has always been best at is Noir. And now he has the chance to let that talent shine.
Brubaker and Phillips first worked together at Wildstorm, where they did the excellent, but under-appreciated Sleeper, a book which deftly mixed superhero and noir tropes for a unique mix. Sadly, that mix never quite found a sustainable audience, despite being given a decent amount of marketing support.
As Brubaker's star began to rise at Marvel, he was given the opportunity to work on a creator-owned project, and made the decision to stop trying to please noir and superhero fans at the same time, and go for the pure strain, with no fantasy elements. The result is less original than Sleeper was, but is no less entertaining.
The first Criminal story arc, "Coward", is now done, and will be out in collected form soon. The second arc will start serializing soon, following a different protagonist, though in the same setting, so many familiar characters will appear.
Our protagonist for the first arc, Leo, is a small-time pickpocket. He has the skills to be much more than that, but the small-time is safer -- and Leo appears to be more concerned with his safety than anything else. He has a carefully worked out set of rules which will keep him safe, even if it means walking away from a big score. Then a friend convinces him to bend a rule, just this once, for a heist that's too good to pass up. Naturally, it's also too good to be true, and things go quickly to hell, with double-crosses and deaths. Leo has a secret escape route prepared, of course -- it's one of his rules. But now he's a witness on the run. Will any of Leo's hallowed rules be enough to save him -- or those he loves -- now? And what happens when there's nothing left for the rules to save?
As a way to try and keep the monthly comics relevant in this age of the book, Brubaker includes text back-up features, where he and guest writers discuss their favorite film noir and crime novels.
No fan of hardboiled crime drama should miss it.
Brubaker and Phillips first worked together at Wildstorm, where they did the excellent, but under-appreciated Sleeper, a book which deftly mixed superhero and noir tropes for a unique mix. Sadly, that mix never quite found a sustainable audience, despite being given a decent amount of marketing support.
As Brubaker's star began to rise at Marvel, he was given the opportunity to work on a creator-owned project, and made the decision to stop trying to please noir and superhero fans at the same time, and go for the pure strain, with no fantasy elements. The result is less original than Sleeper was, but is no less entertaining.
The first Criminal story arc, "Coward", is now done, and will be out in collected form soon. The second arc will start serializing soon, following a different protagonist, though in the same setting, so many familiar characters will appear.
Our protagonist for the first arc, Leo, is a small-time pickpocket. He has the skills to be much more than that, but the small-time is safer -- and Leo appears to be more concerned with his safety than anything else. He has a carefully worked out set of rules which will keep him safe, even if it means walking away from a big score. Then a friend convinces him to bend a rule, just this once, for a heist that's too good to pass up. Naturally, it's also too good to be true, and things go quickly to hell, with double-crosses and deaths. Leo has a secret escape route prepared, of course -- it's one of his rules. But now he's a witness on the run. Will any of Leo's hallowed rules be enough to save him -- or those he loves -- now? And what happens when there's nothing left for the rules to save?
As a way to try and keep the monthly comics relevant in this age of the book, Brubaker includes text back-up features, where he and guest writers discuss their favorite film noir and crime novels.
No fan of hardboiled crime drama should miss it.