So Good, It’s Criminal!

One of the best series to hit comic shops in recent memory is the Eisner-winning Criminal. With each issue, Ed Brubaker (Captain America) and Sean Phillips (Marvel Zombies) deliver engaging tales of lawbreakers, thieves, and backstabbers with brooding narration and moody artwork.

Each story arc of Criminal is being traded into a series of sharply designed graphic novels, but the individual issues are a must have. The back pages of each issue packed with letters and write ups of great crime films by Brubaker or a guess writers (like Patton Oswalt or Andre Parks) with accompanying illustrations by series artist Sean Phillips. These features provide excellent insight into Criminal and its influences as well as great recommendations of films that any crime movie buff should see. I’m still dying to see those Johnny To movies Brubaker wrote about in issue #10.

In late February, Criminal relaunches with a volume two and a new page count of 40 pages an issue. In a recent interview with IGN, Brubaker said that the higher page count so that installments run as long as they need, as he has all ready run over on page count in previous issues. He is also expanding the back features to add a more magazine-like feel to the individual comics. While the backs of these new issues will be filled with even more great write-ups, illustrations, and interviews, expect the comics portion of the first three issues to be filled with 30+ pages of stand-alone yarns that all tie together to create one bigger tale.

In honor of this relaunch, Myspace Comic Books is featuring Criminal from last Wednesday, January 30th, to Tuesday, February 5th. There, you can check out previews of the first two Criminal graphic novels as well as interviews with the series creators and more!

-Nick