Criminal Vol. 4: Bad Night [Paperback]

Ed Brubaker (Author), Sean Phillips (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 2009

A woman in trouble, friends on the run from cops and mobsters, and a secret no one is prepared to face! Five years ago, Jake was a happy family man, long-retired from the life of crime he grew up in, and then the police made him the prime suspect in a horrible crime and ripped his life apart! Now, years later, Jake is less than a shadow of his former self, a hopeless insomniac who walks the city streets at night. But one night, he walks into the wrong place at the right time, and his whole life changes again... Collects Criminal 2 #4-8.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In their superhero-cum-spy comic Sleeper, Brubaker and Phillips played down the powers-and-costumes elements. With Criminal, they’ve escaped superheroes altogether, if only to adhere slavishly—but rewardingly—to another genre, hard-boiled noir. In this arc, insomniac cartoonist Jacob Kurtz’s nocturnal excursions lead him to a fateful encounter in a seedy diner with an alluring redhead and her psychotically violent boyfriend, who ensnare him in an ill-advised heist. Jacob is damaged goods; he never recovered, physically or psychologically, from being framed by the police for murdering his wife and beaten by her mobbed-up relatives. The noose around him tightens; his obsession with the redhead grows; and in true noir fashion, he becomes increasingly desperate and unhinged (he receives visitations from his strip’s Dick Tracy–ish protagonist, Frank Kafka, PI). This all leads to an appropriately twisted denouement. Brubaker brings to Criminal the same intricate plotting and gritty dialogue that distinguished his earlier comics, and emphasizing mood and character plays to Phillips’ considerable strengths. The shadowy, dangerous world of Criminal is hauntingly convincing. Criminal’s among the best mainstream comics produced today. --Gordon Flagg

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Marvel; First Edition edition (February 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785132287
• ISBN-13: 978-0785132288
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #464,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fourth installation in a highly recommended series March 31, 2009

By Stan FREDO

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Mr. SCHREITER just before me has just about said all that has to said about this book. It is not one of those cases where a fan praises the product just for the sake of it all and splashes five stars on it without giving any reasonable thought whatsover. No. This truly is a masterpiece, just as the three volumes before were masterpieces. The story is fresh, the characters are very well defined, the interaction between them is very good, the art is consistently appropriate. This is a modern classic in the noir genre as well as a classic (graphic) novel. Period. So far, nothing that I bought with the names "Brubaker" and/or "Philips" on it has been a disappointment or even average.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Brubaker does it again! April 21, 2009

By P. Miller

Format:Paperback

I really enjoy Brubaker's work overall, and I think his writing and Sean Phillips' art seem to complement one another very well. They certainly do in Bad Night. This isn't a superhero book, it's a crime noir mystery--and a well done one indeed. Brubaker creates characters that are interesting and believable and Sean Phillip's art wonderfully captures and enhances the mood that Brubaker creates. It's a dark world composed of thieves, corrupt cops, and violence.

I've read all of the books in the Criminal line, and I've thoroughly enjoyed each one. If you like a gritty story of crime, betrayal, and danger, you'd do well to give this series a chance. I'm glad I did.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A provocative, realistic and well written tale November 3, 2011

By Sr. Nico L

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is like the fight club of the criminal series. IT shows the working class man whose just going through life with and interesting past that chases him. This book is very artistic and a story that is not for all but those who read it will be rewarded with a tale that keeps you on the edge and always wanting to know if there is a way out of the situation our main character has been thrown into. The first half of this book is very atmospheric and shows you what our main character is doing for a job and how he may already be insane but there's just something in his past holding him together. He then is forced into a world of violence and sex that sends him in an ecstatic downwards spiral to where he comes to his senses and he finds out no matter how he tries to live his life from then on... there will be blood. The one night he started it all is the one night that reborn the protagonist. He lived a sheltered life from before the events of Bad night, talking to his friend thats not really there whose named Frank. This artistic and chilling story is should receive more praise for its nice ending and how it nods to readers of the whole series.