Criminal: Lawless

Collects Criminal #6-10 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

This is the second story in Brubakers and Phillips' hit crime series Criminal, and in tone and style it closely resembles the first story, Coward. This is a very good thing.

The story centers around the veteran Tracy Lawless who joins a gang of robbers to get to the bottom of his brother's death. His brother was in the same gang when he was killed, and Tracy is convinced the murderer is to be found within that tightly knit group of people. Of course, the truth turns out not to be so simple, and before the story is over, Tracy must on several occasions release that dark, violent part of his soul that is constantly lurking under the surface.

This is Brubaker when he is best. This book has a thrilling plot, an evasive atmosphere and excellent characterisation. It would have been easy to write Tracy as just another troubled punk that the world does not understand, but Brubaker does not stop there. At the center of his cynicism lies buried a father/elder brother/smaller brother-relationship, and it this that ultimately makes him a tragic character, and which makes him interesting as a literary character.

Phillips delivers some of the best and moodiest art I have seen from his hand. I remember reading his Hellblazer way back, thinking "This guy would be great on a crime book", and now here we are. Shadows are everywhere in this book, and it is in the shadows that the secrets are hidden. In the cold streets of the city and the dark faces of the people. Phillips' art is perfect for this kind of book, I get the feeling that he is really enjoying himself drawing this, so lets hope he gets to do it for a long while!

I recommend this book to anybody who wants to read a good comic book. There may be no men in tights, but there is everything else, and it's delivered as a powerful, moving comic book experience. Highly recommended!

9/10