I love Criminal as a comic, but….something about this issue didn’t sit right. And I think it was Brubaker intention. In the last 3 issues he has created characters that you both love and hate. The first issue had a tragic, yet lovable character. The second issue with Lawless you saw the portrait of a bastard. And here you see the destruction of a femme fatale character a standard in the Noir medium.
But I keep going back to the fact that this issue didn’t sit right. And I think its because I don’t see a trhread between these 3 issues (and maybe I’m missing the point). Its not unlike Brubaker to do one shots that don’t come back with a vengeance later on. That said outside of Gotham Central and Criminal I do not have too much experience with Brubaker.
Onto the back up content, I don’t read it straight away but it is something I pick up later and enjoy. What I do do is that when the back up content, and Brubakers insights in Noir and crime fiction are shown to have links to movies or other content I try to lap that up. It where I wished that they had Netfix in Australia so I could just jump online and get them sent to me.
I am well and truly on board for the next arc (and O am so glad it is an arc) and so happy that I jumped from trades to issues on this book. The only worry is I hope Sean Phillips apparent medical issues do not negatively effect this comic, but you can’t hold that against him if it does.