I don’t know if this poor, horrible joke has been made yet, but I’m going to do it anyway:  It’s criminal just how good Criminal is.  After a few months off, Brubaker returns with both guns (or in this case fists) a blazing.  Just like Powers, it looks like Criminal is going to take the route of adding more pages.  The quality of this issue was just amazing from the production to the paper stock.

But how was it on the inside?  Delicious.  The story follows a boxer on the rise who can’t seem to shake the shadows of his past.  It’s classic Brubaker/Phillips set with all the trapping of becoming another classic.  Brubaker can write the tragic hero like no one else, and this book gives him the perfect tapestry to play with these characters.  In this story, the main character is no different from Leo or Tracy.  He’s a man haunted by his demons doing something he shouldn’t, not because it’s illegal but because they know it’s going to lead to very bad things.  He’s just a man trying to what he feels is right in a world that could care less about it.  These are men of principle who just can’t seem to win.  And I like that about this book, and this month’s issue is a perfect composition of all those things.

Sean Phillips art in this book is gorgeous.  The interplay of light and dark mixed with the muted colors created visuals that just claw into your eyes.  I don’t think anyone else could tell Brubaker’s stories like Phillips.  He just has the pacing and composition down to a science. 

I’m looking foward to the next few issues as they are also going to be one-shots.  That means that if you’re not buying this book, there’s no excuse not to.