Customer Reviews

Criminal Vol. 3: The Dead and The Dying

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This third trade paperback collects three 30-page issues of the consistently outstanding "Criminal" series featuring the same creative team of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips. This story arc was billed as Volume 2, #1-3 of the Marvel series and serves as a prequel to the previous plotline. Back in 1972, the Undertown hosts a previous generation of thugs and miscreants, the final "N" of its neon sign still burned out. The three issues tell an overlapping story from three separate perspectives. Issue 1 centers on the pugilist past of Gnarly, the current Undertown bartender. #2 features Teeg Lawless, father of Tracy, the protagonist of the second TPB. #3 centers on hard luck Danica Briggs, pictured on the cover and deeply involved with the previous two characters. Unlike most comic book plots, the gritty, rated-R realism herein requires no leaps of faith from the reader. This book met my high expectations and is very strongly recommended for both regular fans of comics and graphic novels as well as a much wider audience.

This volume of Criminal is arguably the best yet. While the characters aren't as immediately likeable as Leo, or desperately engrossing like Tracy, they are perfectly crafted and shoved into a delightfully broken morality tale.

I agree word for word with S. Curly in his above review, except for the deduction of one star for the lack of essays. You can't judge this product on what it lacks, but on what it presents. The essays are an incentive to the monthly readers, but they're not Criminal. The book doesn't deserve to be penalized for not reprinting them. That's like penalizing a DVD release because it doesn't have a special feature that interviews the director's friends about their favorite things about the genre. You may catch such an interview on TV, but to decide the product is worth less because they're not included is flawed thinking.

This third collection of stories coincided with "Criminal"'s relaunch as a new volume, with a new format, including more pages, though some of these are given over to the articles, which are, of course, not included in these collected editions, since they are meant as incentives to monthly readers. These trades feel somewhat incomplete for someone who reads the single issues, one of the few cases where a series debatably reads better in that format (for the record, these three issues featured: Duane Swierczynski, crime novelist and Marvel comics writer, on 'The Burglar' by David Goodis; Marvel/Vertigo writer Jason Aaron on his favourite film and TV tough guys; and Sony VP Michael Stradford on 'The Yakuza', a 70s Sydney Pollack/Robert Mitchum gangster drama). Brubaker and Phillips elect to take their new larger issue format to tell three one-shot stories, which nevertheless are indelibly linked by the story of one character, who appears in all three.

The first story ("Second Chance in Hell") details the origin of Gnarly, the bartender of the Undertow who appeared in the first two story arcs. We get his backstory as a down-on-his-lukc boxer with a childhood connection to Sebastian Hyde, the man we met in the preceding story as the aged, all-powerful underboss of the city. This may be the strongest of the three stories, though all are quite good (personally, I'd quite like to see a story about Gnarly set in the present day, to see what happened with him and the little girl Angie). The second story ("A Wolf Among Wolves") is about Teeg Lawless, the father of Tracy and Ricky Lawless, both featured in the preceding arc (aptly titled "Lawless"). Lawless is a drug-addicted Vietnam veteran who returns home to find himself indebted to the mob, and, in the course of trying to escape its clutches, may find himself relentlessly pulled in (much as his son Tracy was in the preceding story). Tracy is the least sympathetic of the three main characters (though characters in crime fiction don't need to be conventionally sympathetic; indeed, that's often the attraction). Phillips makes effective use of blacked-out panels to communicate Teeg's drug-induced stupor, and the ending has a rather bitter tone mixed with Teeg's parental sacrifice, knowing how his children will turn out. Finally, there is the story of Danica Briggs ("Female of the Species"), the first female main character in "Criminal"'s run so far (there is usually only one prominent female character per tale, the obligatory femme fatale). Danica is indeed a femme fatale of sorts, but, by the time she gets her solo tale, we already know her beginning (in Gnarly's story) and end (in Teeg's). It lends the finale a morbid poignancy.

Brubaker is a first-rate writer of crime fiction, and "Criminal" features him at the top of his game. The tone is brilliantly noirish, with a perfect atmosphere of desperation and sober immorality (with clearly levels, from those just out to survive to those who are out to dominate; the first story, in particular, gives an interesting spotlight on Sebastian Hyde, at the point where he was caught between entering the family business or staying out of it). Sean Phillips' art is perfect for the subject matter, bringing the properly grey sensibility to a noir world. This is probably a five-star collection, but I deduct one for the absence of the articles, which add a lot to the reading experience.

A great spin on noir, this volume of the series combines the Blaxploitation with the genre with a good many characters backgrounds that the rest of the series hints at. It's a great set of story archs that make the other volumes even more engaging. The short vignettes of each of the three stories packs alot of information into the characters that Brubaker develops and puts them all through as much pain, misery and down-and-out soul-wretching drama that you can in a graphic novel only a hundred or so pages thick. But he does this to a tee. It's the interconnectedness and the details that he gives the characters that not only makes the plot engaging but that breaths them to life. His storytelling ability, the pacing, revelations and emotional psychology is top-notch. Combined with the gritty artwork this is another great volume, not as great as the first, in the series.

A lifelong friendship ending in tragedy. A botched abortion. Robbing a drug cartel. Abused families. Traumatised Vietnam soldiers. Addiction, pain, hardship, death.

Yup, it's another cheerful book from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Taking place in the late 60s/early 70s, the three stories presented here feature a prizefighter sidelining as a heavy for a drug dealing friend, a Vietnam vet who needs to pay off his gambling debts or his family gets it, and a prostitute looking for revenge. They overlap like Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and are as dark as any noir novel or film.

The script, while gritty, remains true to the characters and the world they inhabit, and despite feeling sickened by some of the characters' actions I found it hard to put the book down once I'd started reading. The artwork perfectly matches the tone of the script, all dark inks and murky colours.

While "Criminal" is a series that isn't the easiest to read, it is one of the best examples of comic books telling real stories that have the integrity and reality as movies and novels. Full credit to Brubaker and Phillips on another fine example of comics storytelling.

To give you an idea of what kind of graphic novels I enjoy.. novels like Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" or " V for Vendetta", " Sandman" by Neil Gaiman, " Kingdom Come " by DC Comics, " The Killing Joke" by DC Comics, " Preacher" by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon or "Hellblazer" by the same team, more recently " Y the Last Man" from vertigo.. these are the kind of comics I give 5 stars (4 in the case of Y ) .. and then there's this one...

Having superheroes with capes and wands and lots of superhero pulp action is not a requirement for me to enjoy a graphic novel... having said that , my initial reaction was that this was over far too quickly.. the first comic in this collection got off to a great start and when it ended I was like " That's IT?!? " .. it got wrapped up way too quickly.. same goes for the other comics, it's like getting a bite of a tasty meal before the waiter whisks the rest away ..

Then I found myself with some extra time , read it again and picked up on all the details I'd missed the first time... it was much better on the second read and I was fully able to appreciate the complexity of it, how the stories all linked together ... I'm still not 100 percent convinced it's award-worthy though in comparison to say volume one of the series, "Coward".. THAT volume I enjoyed a lot on the first read and was able to absorb everything in it right away... this one is a bit more obtuse, probably because of the whole story being told from 3 different angles thing... when you first read it you're like " That's it ? " and on the second read it's more of an " Ohhhh that's what they were talking about " kind of reaction...

Having said that I find myself reserving 4 stars for books you can throughly enjoy on the first read through ..... I'd definitely pick up volumes one and two "Coward" and "Lawless" which are excellent reads (I liked Coward more than Lawless but Lawless was a pretty good read too ) ... At most however the most I'd pay for this is half the amazon sale price (which works out to somewhat less than half of the suggested manufacturer retail price)...

I didn't find vol. 3 to be as engrossing as the first two volumes in the series. Partly, I think, because of the lack of a central protagonist. Brubaker opts to tell three different interconnected stories here rather than focusing on a central character. I would still recommend The Dead and the Dying if you are a fan of the series, crime fiction, noir, Ed Brubaker's writing, or all of the above. Criminal Vol. 1: Coward, and Criminal Vol. 2: Lawless, are some of the best fiction I've read in awhile. So if you are looking for an introduction to the series, start there.

The first two volumes of the Criminal were hard boiled bonanza. In third we see a story telling bonanza. The third volume has one story, from three different acters. The story starts from the middle, proceeds to the end for one charaters, then it starts again from the middle, proceeds to the end for one other character and in the third story we see the beginning. This editing trick made the story great, sure the characters are complex, drwaing and coloring are superb, but the story telling and edinting is what made this one great for me. If you want the good stuff read Parker novels, if you want the best read Criminal.

I'm a big Ed Brubaker fan. His comics have always carried a crime and noir feeling about them that strike a resonance within me. I know we must have read the same books growing up. Probably still like the same authors, if we compared notes.

I've read his work on CAPTAIN AMERICA and DAREDEVIL, and his work on GOTHAM CENTRAL (which is finally getting the hardcover treatment those books are due). I've thrilled to SLEEPER and the undercover cop motif he worked out in that run. Still don't know why that hasn't become a movie, but maybe it's in the works.

But I'm really wowed by his CRIMINAL books. The comic series comes out irregularly, when Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips have time to put the issues out. Timeliness is a big thing in comics these days, so they make sure they're ready to rock and roll before they start releasing them.

I've reviewed the previous two CRIMINAL graphic novels and found both of them to be great reads. Each graphic novel before has stood on its own, so readers new to the series don't have to read them in any particular order. Brubaker's world of criminals and hustlers gets bigger with each new volume, though, so it's interesting to watch it grow.

However, the earlier books have to be read in order. In this latest graphic novel, CRIMINAL: THE DEAD AND THE DYING, you can read any of the three issues in any order. In fact, I'd recommend going back after you've read it the first time and mixing up the reading order just to see what new information you get out of the story.

Each of the issues is set in the 1970s and concerns itself with a different character, but all of them have lives that overlap. The book immediately reminded me of PULP FICTION in the way that it ended almost the way it began.

The first issue, "Second Chance In Hell", revolves around Jake a young black boxer with ties to a criminal past. All his life he's been best friends with Sebastian Hyde, the heir to a criminal empire. Jake's father worked for Sebastian's father and the two boys, despite being racially separate, grew up together.

While Jake and Sebastian's relationship is undergoing a strain, Jake's old flame Danica walks back into the picture. Jake is supposed to be training for the fight of his career, supposed to be focused, but he can't help getting pulled back into the fire by Danica. Regular readers of CRIMINAL have met Jake before. He's the bartender at Undertown, a place where all the bad guys congregate and plan heists and murders. In this issue, we get to see his back story as well as how he got his limp.

"A Wolf Among Wolves" reveals the history of Teeg Lawless, the father of the two boys in CRIMINAL Volume 2. Readers are treated to a returning, disillusioned war vet who went into Vietnam with all kinds of problems to begin with. He came back with even more, including a gambling problem that puts him on the wrong side of a deadly bookie.

Brubaker deftly weaves this story in with the first tale, mixing characters and revealing more of what happened during the robbery that changed things forever between Jake and Sebastian. It also reveals how much Danica had to do with things.

I admit, I was seriously stoked over this issue when I saw how neatly Brubaker had plotted everything. I had questions left over from the previous issue, and some of them were answered, but not all.

"Female Of The Species" is Danica's story. Everything we thought we knew about her gets flipped on its head and turned inside out in this issue. We find out why she made the decision that broke Jake's heart and how she got seriously messed up herself after all of that. When I saw her on the page in the first couple of issues, I didn't like her. But after reading her story, I saw her in a new light. Just as Brubaker planned.

Throughout all these issues, Brubaker's ear for street dialogue and his eye for pacing and the neon-drenched shadows that cling to the alleys commands attention. Sean Phillips's artwork brings the rough world of these career criminals into sharp focus.

I hope the pair continues turning out these stories. They've currently got a new arc underway and I can't wait to see what happens. I just have to be patient as they take their time. That's hard, though, because nobody does bad as good as they do.