Coward (Criminal, Vol. 1) [Paperback]

Ed Brubaker (Author), Sean Phillips (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2007

From Harvey Award-Winning Best Writer Ed Brubaker, and Scream Award-Winning Best Artist Sean Phillips comes the first collection of Criminal, one of the best reviewed comics of 2006. Coward is the story of Leo, a professional pickpocket who is also a legendary heist-planner and thief. But there's a catch with Leo, he won't work any job that he doesn't call all the shots on, he won't allow guns, and the minute things turn south, he's looking for any exit that won't land him in prison. But when he's lured into a risky heist, all his rules go out the window, and he ends up on the run from the cops and the bad men who double-crossed him. Now Leo must come face-to-face with the violence he's kept bottled up inside for 20 years, and nothing will ever be the same for him again. Collects Criminal #1-5.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (May 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078512439X
• ISBN-13: 978-0785124399
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.2 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Mystery

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What Brubaker does best..., August 25, 2007

By 

Jamie S. Rich (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coward (Criminal, Vol. 1) (Paperback)

Ed Brubaker's writing has always had a kind of laconic grit to it. His best work, be it his autobio stuff or the more fantastical run he had on CATWOMAN, has always been down to earth and set in a modern, semi-urban environment. CRIMINAL is his return back to the crime genre, this time on the harder side of it, dealing with bad guys and bad consequences. Sean Phillips is an able collaborator, meeting Ed's no-nonsense script with a similarly straight-up artistic approach. Both men deal in only the most essential details, and that keeps this first volume in the series gripping from start to finish.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like reading a movie, decent but predictable, September 14, 2009

By 

S. Penrose (Small Town, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coward (Criminal, Vol. 1) (Paperback)

I'm a huge Brubaker fan and I was really interested in reading this volume of Criminal. I don't know what I was expecting but I think I was expecting more. This seemed like I was watching a movie panel by panel. That's not a bad thing but usually not my cup of tea. Phillips art works really well for this story style I just wished the storytelling wasn't as predictable. Just an okay read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brubaker and Phillips make a great team, February 8, 2008

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Coward (Criminal, Vol. 1) (Paperback)

"Coward", a crime-oriented graphic novel, reunites writer Ed Brubaker and illustrator Sean Phillips, creators of the stunning superpowered spy saga, "Sleeper." I gotta say, I really like this creative team - Phillips really captures some intangible element of Brubaker's writing, and the results are quite delicious. The forlorn, downbeat (or beat-down) sensibilities of Brubaker's savvy antiheroes comes through in every panel, and the mood they set oozes out of the pages. I was thoroughly engrossed by this story, sorry to see it end so soon (and also sorry about the finality of this particular plotline...) Looking forward to "Criminal", v.2, though! (ReadThatAgain book reviews)