10 Best Ed Brubaker Comics Fans Must Read
2. Criminal
Criminal is Brubaker and Phillips’ magnum opus. In its pages they get to play with every cliché and trope of the crime genre. There are no superheroes here. Nothing supernatural. It’s hardboiled crime with a handful of grit thrown in.
The series was originally published by Marvel’s Icon imprint where each arc was a separate story with its own cast of characters. Now revived at Image where the creative duo have a golden handcuffs deal, stories vary in length from single issues to serialised tales.
Brubaker has stated that he doesn’t want the reader to know where they’re going. Just that it’s to the wrong side of town.
Criminal is not just for comic readers. Anyone who enjoys the crime genre, from the hardboiled detective novels of the 1930s-1950s, to modern day crime fiction, will find something to love about Criminal.
With this series, Brubaker gets to explore the dark underbelly of humanity with gripping stories of a world unhindered by morality. His own partner in crime, Sean Phillips, perfectly compliments the scripts with his clean, brooding pages.
The Image run has become a family affair with Jacob Phillips taking on the weighty responsibility of colouring his own father’s inks. And he is a great addition to the team.