Comics Fondle

I don’t remember much about the first Criminal arc, other than Phillips’s art was beautiful and Brubaker had some kind of super-cop-out conclusion, on par with Sleeper: Season Two. So I approached the second Criminal arc with caution–I didn’t read it in floppies, I ignored online press. I basically forgot about it until it was complete (I even forgot what happened to the main character of the first arc, who cameos in this one and confused the hell out of me).

This arc, “Lawless,” really feels like an updated film noir. Not a neo-noir, because it’s a made up term (the “neo” suggests the story is a post-modern response to the genre, which they never are), but a modern one. The main character’s fresh out of the military (one of the contributing factors to film noir being, of course, the displaced WWII vet) and gets in to a bunch of crime-filled trouble. Maybe the first arc suffered from Brubaker establishing the setting of the book, because this one just operates in it and does very well.

But the real difference is the narration. It’s good and Brubaker’s got a real handle on it. He maintains an informative and relaxed tone and it elevates “Lawless,” almost immediately, in to a practically ethereal position. I didn’t get worried about the characters because the narration somehow took care of them. Quite an achievement (even if some of the text borders on the genre’s norms, which are non-existent).

It doesn’t hurt, either, the protagonist and his quest were a hell of a lot of fun to read about. Brubaker’s basically got Burt Lancaster running around swearing and being a bad ass and it works really, really well.

So I feel bad I wasn’t reading “Lawless” in the floppies and it’s so good, I’m almost ready to get the collected first arc too, just so it this one’s won’t look lonely on the shelf.

A

Technorati Tags: Comic Book, Criminal, Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Icon Comics, Review

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