I’m going to risk here and sound potentially hyperbolic.  I read a lot of Brubaker.  I loved Sleeper.  Gotham Central is one of my all-time favorite books.  I really dug his time on Iron Fist.  The current stuff he’s doing with Cap and Daredevil is great.  This book, however, and this story particularly, is probably the best I’ve read from him in a long time.  I’m surprised by how much I loved this story.  This story is just pure comic book storytelling at its finest.

This issue concluded both the “Bad Night” story and this particular volume. The character of Jacob is an ex-criminal-turned-crime writer (where did you think Bru took inspiration from that…) who has been through a whirlwind of crap.  Infatuated with your standard noir troubled broad, Jacob has been involved in a web of murder, sex, and lies.  Last issue, a certain penny dropped in the plot that then set the scene for the tragedy that is bound to happen.  The care Brubaker takes into crafting Jacob in the story is visibly astounding in these pages.  The amount of chaos and pain in this guy’s life just leaps out of the page.  Touched upon in the last few issues, Jacob’s visions of his creation Frank Kafka (a play on author Franz Kafka) are now becoming so intense and invasive that things are just not going to go well.  By the end, Jacob is so far gone from reality that it’s a roller coaster of scenes written beautifully by a master of this genre.  In some ways Jacob is a little like Tommy from Lowlife if ten years and if Tommy just seeing visions of Dick Tracy.  Whether it’s Brubaker making a personal connection with the character, sheer luck, or something else, I really almost wish he would make more stories with the character because I really really like him.

The other characters, Starr and Iris, are also really well-done.  The use of both of them to enhance the character arc of Jacob is really good.  Starr’s characterizations and motivations of obsession and desire for warped justice is fantastic.  Iris’s damaged and self-destructive ways is perfect to highlight Jacob’s damaged and self-destructive ways.  Jacob and Iris are tragically perfect for each other in this book.  Everyone in here has a fascinating backstory and intriguing characterization that drives the twisty plot forward.  The plot itself is really interesting and always seems to turn it up a notch right when you think things are going to cool down.  It’s just a really well-done crime story done by a guy who does it better anyone right now.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sean Phillips do anything better than this arc and I mean it.  The way he draws these characters and sets up these scenes is amazing.  I don’t know what it is Jacob’s design that makes me feel so, but the way Phillips draws the main character makes me want to feel for him.  The amount of emotion in every character is dynamite on the page.  I love his stuff on Sleeper and the other Criminal stories, but here it’s just that extra touch of magic I can’t explain that makes this awesome.

I’m really sad to see this wonderful series, but it left on a darn good high note.  I think this story is the most satisfying I’ve read from him all this year, including his great Cap story.  The story and art just come together here and make something that I think I’m going to read and re-read for a while.  Hopefully, Incognito keeps up the pace.  If not, I’ll still have my “Bad Night.”