Twenty years ago, Tracy Lawless traded the crime-ridden streets of the city for a life in the military, and it's a decision he's rarely regretted. But now he's walking out of the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq and back into the world he grew up in, to find out who killed his brother Rick, and why. But truth is one of the few things uglier than family history, and the only thing Tracy has in his favor as he unravels the twisted strands of the criminal life his brother led, is that no one knows who the hell he is. And what they don't know, just might kill them! Collects Criminal #6-10
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Noir at its bleakest and most beautiful.,
By
This review is from: Criminal Vol. 2: Lawless (Paperback)
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' CRIMINAL is the best crime series possibly of all time. It has such a dedication to the pulp-noir roots of artists like authors like Jim Thompson and Paul Auster, and filmmakers like Mike Hodges and Jean-Pierre Melville that these seem like great love notes to the masters of the modern noir. The first arc of CRIMINAL, titled "Coward" is such a pulse-racing and cinematically-styled story that I didn't know if they would be able to top it.
Well, they did. "Lawless" is such an obvious title for this arc because of its dual meaning: The main character named Tracy Lawless and the seeming amorality of the characters of this world. The main story is as simple as you can get: A mysterious man seeking vengeance for the death of his younger brother. Sure it seems simple, but as we get more into the back-story of these characters and their lies and truths, which are so brilliantly woven by Brubaker, we see how complicated and brutal their lives are. As opposed to the 'coward' Leo from the first arc, Tracy is as cold as an arctic whiteout. He is ruthless and calculating, but there is a fire that is burning inside him that he may not be able to contain before the final act draws to a close... a fire that we see glimpses of in his past as a soldier in the current Iraq war. Amd once we do get to the final moments of this story, they're moments that you're not likely to forget anytime soon. The ending is so bleak and brutally honest that it makes most modern noir look like Sunday comic strips. Phillips' art, as per usual, lends itself perfectly to Brubaker's hard-boiled, no-prisoners storytelling. The art, like Mazzuchelli (whose works include BATMAN: YEAR ONE and DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN), is never too cartoony but never too super-realistic. Val Staples, who provides the colors, is also at the top of the game as well. Crime just doesn't get any easier than this.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ed Brubaker delivers another great crime story.,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Criminal Vol. 2: Lawless (Paperback)
I first encountered Ed Brubaker's writing on Marvel's "Captain America" series, which is perhaps the greatest run in the character's history, and I have followed him to such titles as "Uncanny X-Men", "Daredevil", and "The Immortal Iron Fist". Despite his excellent superhero work, he began his career and made his name in the more noirish field of crime and espionage fiction (influences which clearly carry over into his best work). Eventually, after becoming a star at Marvel, he opted to reunite with "Sleeper" (Vertigo) co-creator Sean Phillips on this series for Marvel's creator-owned ICON line. This volume collects the second story arc, issues 6 to 10, titled "Lawless" and following the character of the same name, Tracy Lawless.
Of the two collections currently published, I would say that "Lawless" is the superior to "Coward", and anyone looking to try out the series might begin with this; a caution, though, that reading this arc, while mostly self-contained, will reveal some spoilers for the preceding story. This is a straightforward (in a sense) revenge story, with Tracy Lawless making his way back to his hometown to find out who killed his brother Ricky; more generally, Tracy has not been home for fifteen years, and, in the process of his investigation, he uncovers what happened to his more innocent (in his mind) younger brother in the years Tracy was gone. Fans of the crime genre will recognize a lot of familiar types, but spun in interesting ways, and, just generally, done well (cliches became cliches because they were effective). Tracy is, like most crime story protagonists, not strictly a sympathetic character, but the audience is made to take his side anyway; everyone's the hero of his own story, after all.
5.0 out of 5 stars
What Comics Can Be,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Criminal Vol. 2: Lawless (Paperback)
Both story and art are deceptively simple, and that's how Brubaker and Phillips get you hooked. Tracy Lawless is a bad dude going after other bad dudes -- the ones that killed his younger brother. Classic revenge story that never gets old. This book (along with Asterios Polyp) restored my faith in comics. I'd stopped reading them for a long time. But Lawless delivers and I'm hooked on Brubaker and Phillips. Bravo!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
