Search Results for: brubaker phillips criminal

The Last of the Innocent

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Whenever Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips get together for a crime comic series they create magic.  Well, the boys are at it again with their latest arc Criminal: The Last of the Innocent.  Based on Brubaker & Phillips track record, I like many of you, pre-ordered it, sight unseen.  Well according to this five star review at CBR.com, we made an excellent decision in getting on board early.

If you haven’t ordered yours yet, it’s not to late to contact your local comic shop.  You’ll be glad you did.

Make Mine Marvel… Again

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When I was in high school and college I bought a lot of Marvel comics. Then as I got older I found myself bying fewer and fewer Marvels. It even got to the point that I’d go months [years?] without getting anything from the house that Stan and Jack built. Of course I was buying fewer comics in general…

Imagine my surprise to find that my Preview order this month has nine comics and four of them are from Marvel [Punisher Annual #1, Punisher: Frank Castle Max #74, Dominic Fortune #2 and Criminal: Sinners #1]. Of course if Marvel continues to feature art by Dave Johnson, Jason Pearson, Howard Chaykin and Sean Phillips with stories by Rick Remender, Victor Gischler, Howard Chaykin and Ed Brubaker, how can I not buy ’em?

Sleeper No More

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It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips work together. I discovered them by way of their award-winning Criminal series. That led me to their first team up, Sleeper. I couldn’t believe how good it was. [Can these two hit nothing but homeruns?]Sean announced on his blog today the following: Sleeper, a new crime series with Ed Brubaker.

Wow! Great news for Sean and Ed and their fans everywhere. Let’s hope that a team comes together to make the movie with the same care and ability that went into “Iron Man,” “The Dark Knight” and “Watchmen”. In the mean time, if you haven’t already, you should check out the four volumes that make up the Sleeper series: Out in the Cold; All False Moves; A Crooked Line; and The Long Way Home.

Last of the Independents

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Last week I ordered two graphic novels that I have been meaning to get for literally years. The first, which I’ll talk about today, is Last of the Independents by Matt Fraction and Kieron Dwyer.I’d meant to purchase Last of the Independents when it was first published back in 2003. I just never got around to it. But when Christopher Mills posted a perfect 6 out of 6 review for it on his Guns in the Gutters blog, my interest was rekindled. Then in this month’s issue of Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips [also worth picking up], Matt Fraction joined Charlie Huston and Greg Rucka [two of my favorite authors] in a discussion of 70’s crime movies. [The issue is worth picking up just to read their thoughts on the subject.] At any rate, Fraction talks about getting his title Last of the Independents from the unused title for “Charley Varrick” [a 70’s crime flick]. So I was sold and ordered Fraction and Dwyer’s graphic novel.

Last of the Independents is Fraction’s love letter to the creators and fans of the movie “Charley Varrick”. Like in the movie, a middle aged guy and his crew knock off a small town bank only to discover it’s mob money that they’ve stolen. There are other similarities, but never does this feel like anything more than a tip of the fedora to a movie, a genre and an era that had an enormous impact on crime fiction fans. Fraction’s story and script are first rate. He drops us in as the bank is being robbed and introduces us to the main characters quickly without wordy exposition. In fact, he often lets Kieron Dwyer’s art tell the tale. Dwyer’s art is perfect for the graphic novel. [I’ve been a fan of his work for some time and hope to someday see a piece by him in my Stallone Gallery.]

One final note, the graphic novel is presented in a “widescreen” format. I usually get annoyed by graphic novels that don’t fit nicely on the book shelf. The publisher, AIT/Planet Lar, must have realized how picky collector’s can be because this graphic novel comes with a vertical slipcover that makes it possible for it to be shelved on the bookcase with other “regular” graphic novels. Kudos for whoever worked out such a creative and simple solution.

Last of the Independents rates an “A”.