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Five Gears In Reverse: A Criminal Book
Not yet published
Expected 23 Jun 26144 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 23, 2026
3 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,797 books3,022 followersEd Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Brubacker and Phillips are a magical team. They have a truly unique way of shoving you down the slippery slope of the gritty, dangerous world of ordinary criminals. There are no great mastermind here, just fuck ups and violence.
The last installment in the Criminal series is just as good as the previous ones.
if you haven't read the previous books, this might not be the best entry point but it still works well as a standalone.
Thank you Image Comics for this ARC!
The last installment in the Criminal series is just as good as the previous ones.
if you haven't read the previous books, this might not be the best entry point but it still works well as a standalone.
Thank you Image Comics for this ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The upcoming Criminal show that will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video is already a success in my mind simply for prompting Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips to give us two new graphic novels about the Lawless family in the last year, first The Knives and now Five Gears in Reverse.
Broderick "Ricky" Lawless gives a master class in how not to be a criminal as he scrambles with his girlfriend Mallory through a series of bad deals in 2004 in an attempt to pay off a debt to a bookie. Drugs are consumed, mistakes are made, and people die, needlessly and bloodily, over and over.
Get your schadenfreude on as this trainwreck unfolds in a riveting spiral of love and violence.
Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: The High Roller -- The Bad Getaway -- The Trip -- The Girl from Nowhere -- The Way Some People Die -- Afterword
Broderick "Ricky" Lawless gives a master class in how not to be a criminal as he scrambles with his girlfriend Mallory through a series of bad deals in 2004 in an attempt to pay off a debt to a bookie. Drugs are consumed, mistakes are made, and people die, needlessly and bloodily, over and over.
Get your schadenfreude on as this trainwreck unfolds in a riveting spiral of love and violence.
Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: The High Roller -- The Bad Getaway -- The Trip -- The Girl from Nowhere -- The Way Some People Die -- Afterword
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Ricky Lawless is back in “Five Gears in Reverse” by Ed Brubaker and it is brutal. Not the artwork. Not the story telling. The action. Just brutal.
Ricky just has bad luck. Mostly of his own making. One mistake after another. He owes people money and that is just the beginning of all of his bad decisions. At the end of this graphic novel, I’m still trying to remember one good decision he made. I seriously can’t think of one.
This is when we say something like, “This is a cautionary tale of…”. Nope. Just don’t be Ricky. No cautionary tale needed. Because this tale is full of sex, drugs, violence, and death. And all of it costs something. All. Of. It.
Well, I will say, if Ricky survives, I’m sure that Brubaker will be around to document all of his bad decisions.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
Ricky just has bad luck. Mostly of his own making. One mistake after another. He owes people money and that is just the beginning of all of his bad decisions. At the end of this graphic novel, I’m still trying to remember one good decision he made. I seriously can’t think of one.
This is when we say something like, “This is a cautionary tale of…”. Nope. Just don’t be Ricky. No cautionary tale needed. Because this tale is full of sex, drugs, violence, and death. And all of it costs something. All. Of. It.
Well, I will say, if Ricky survives, I’m sure that Brubaker will be around to document all of his bad decisions.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A thrilling comedy of errors in the world of Criminal, Brubaker and Phillips provide the origins story of Mallory and how she and Ricky Lawless found love. Of course, it is in the midst of a crime spree where Ricky is seeking to make good on a debt, but the ideas never quite pan out. That five of the title plays out in several different ideas that see different locales and from the family that has been the backbone of the series.
Ricky has a tragic arc, son of a cruel but disciplined man who never escaped the life he’d known since childhood. Here Ricky is all grown up, but still in the shadow of his family, just trying to get through the day and meet whatever is needed be it drugs, money or… well it’s mostly money.
It’s a strong stand-alone story that can also serve as an entry point to the series and the underbelly where it is situated. It’s very gritty and violent, but not always without purpose. One adventure sees someone even worse than Ricky, who has been hired to serve as an escort, but, of course, things don’t pan out as planned.
Recommended to readers or noir, criminal thrillers or inter-related stories.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
Ricky has a tragic arc, son of a cruel but disciplined man who never escaped the life he’d known since childhood. Here Ricky is all grown up, but still in the shadow of his family, just trying to get through the day and meet whatever is needed be it drugs, money or… well it’s mostly money.
It’s a strong stand-alone story that can also serve as an entry point to the series and the underbelly where it is situated. It’s very gritty and violent, but not always without purpose. One adventure sees someone even worse than Ricky, who has been hired to serve as an escort, but, of course, things don’t pan out as planned.
Recommended to readers or noir, criminal thrillers or inter-related stories.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was so fun! I've been meaning to read Criminal for years, so I had to jump at the chance to read this early. It really lived up to the hype! It told a ton of story in the few issues that this covers and made me really excited to see more of these characters in the rest of the series. I liked Ricky and Mallory a lot and seeing them get themselves into more and more trouble was a lot of fun. I also didn't know that the series is being made into a TV show in the near future, so I'm definitely looking forward to that. Thanks for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Great read!!! This book has different criminal stories. Backstory of the characters. I quite enjoyed reading this book. Ed Brubaker comics always have this old comics vibe and i love that so much!!
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Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this opportunity to read and review this amazing book in advance~
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Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this opportunity to read and review this amazing book in advance~
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I have been reading Criminal since the beginning, but this volume was something special. The art is amazing, I really like the choices Jacob Phillips made on the colouring, and Brubaker’s story kicked ass. An excellent addition to the overall Lawless story, or great as a standalone.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I've not loved all the Criminal books, but Five Gears is a lesson in two things; 1) doing one thing really well and 2) just letting things rip.
Brubaker and Phillips continue to do what they do, and as I am discovering, if it isn't your cup of tea, it's your loss.
Brubaker and Phillips continue to do what they do, and as I am discovering, if it isn't your cup of tea, it's your loss.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Note: I received access to read this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Man this series is consistent with its bangers. The pacing is so perfect. you're told just enough about these characters to root for them even though they're terrible people. I'm hungry for the rest.
Man this series is consistent with its bangers. The pacing is so perfect. you're told just enough about these characters to root for them even though they're terrible people. I'm hungry for the rest.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews