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Criminal
Criminal, Vol. 5: The Sinners
From the acclaimed and award-winning team of ED BRUBAKER and SEAN PHILLIPS.
The New York Times listed CRIMINAL as one of the best books of the year, and THE SINNERS is a perfect place to find out why. TRACY LAWLESS returns to star in a tale of vigilante justice and twisted betrayal as the streets of his old home town start to box him in like never before. Made Men are being killed all over the city, and since criminals don't go to the cops for help, only Tracy can solve these murders... If he can survive long enough. Featuring an introduction by best-selling crime novelist Ian Rankin.
The New York Times listed CRIMINAL as one of the best books of the year, and THE SINNERS is a perfect place to find out why. TRACY LAWLESS returns to star in a tale of vigilante justice and twisted betrayal as the streets of his old home town start to box him in like never before. Made Men are being killed all over the city, and since criminals don't go to the cops for help, only Tracy can solve these murders... If he can survive long enough. Featuring an introduction by best-selling crime novelist Ian Rankin.
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2010
12 people are currently reading
756 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,794 books3,018 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 - 30 of 199 reviews
June 17, 2015
Tracy Lawless is the main character for this one. I think it's his return to the series but I've read them out of order and I'm easily confused. It doesn't matter with these books though because they each can be read individually. (Yay! that helps old broads with shit for brains)
Lawless is ex-military and he takes a job because he owes for his brother. Tracy Lawless has some shit luck. He ends up with his boss pissed off (accusing him of sleeping with his daughter-dude he is sleeping with the wife-duh), there is a neighborhood gang pissed off at him, and even the Church doesn't like him. Poor guy.
Lawless is ex-military and he takes a job because he owes for his brother. Tracy Lawless has some shit luck. He ends up with his boss pissed off (accusing him of sleeping with his daughter-dude he is sleeping with the wife-duh), there is a neighborhood gang pissed off at him, and even the Church doesn't like him. Poor guy.
September 8, 2024
Good stuff.
Tracy Lawless is working off a debt to Sebastian Hyde, but he's just a little too scrupulous for this line of work and tends to make sure the people he is sent to kill actually deserve it.
Hyde, unwilling to lose him but not digging the way he's working out as muscle, tasks him with finding out who is offing men in the city who should have been untouchable. This town just isn't safe for criminals anymore!
And if tracking down a criminal serial killer isn't dangerous enough, it seems as though Tracy has decided to have an affair with the big man's wife.
Don't worry, I'm sure that won't be a problem later on...
To add a cherry on the top of all this mess, the military has sent someone to find him and bring him back.
But hey, considering everything else that's going on, maybe that isn't the worst thing that can happen to him, right?
Tracy is everyone's favorite Lawless, and you just can't help rooting for him to find a way out of this mess.
But everyone knows that no good deed goes unpunished.
Recommended.
Tracy Lawless is working off a debt to Sebastian Hyde, but he's just a little too scrupulous for this line of work and tends to make sure the people he is sent to kill actually deserve it.
Hyde, unwilling to lose him but not digging the way he's working out as muscle, tasks him with finding out who is offing men in the city who should have been untouchable. This town just isn't safe for criminals anymore!
And if tracking down a criminal serial killer isn't dangerous enough, it seems as though Tracy has decided to have an affair with the big man's wife.
Don't worry, I'm sure that won't be a problem later on...
To add a cherry on the top of all this mess, the military has sent someone to find him and bring him back.
But hey, considering everything else that's going on, maybe that isn't the worst thing that can happen to him, right?
Tracy is everyone's favorite Lawless, and you just can't help rooting for him to find a way out of this mess.
But everyone knows that no good deed goes unpunished.
Recommended.
August 19, 2024
Tracy Lawless from volume 2 returns. He's now under the thumb of Mr. Hyde just like his father was and is looking to pay off his debt. Hyde has ordered him to find out who is behind the murders of several large criminals in town. They've all been gotten to within their strongholds with no evidence left at the scene. Lawless is no detective and goes through the same M.O. of a lot of traditional gumshoes. Stir up a bunch of shit and see what pans out. To add fuel to the fire, the military police have been sent to track down Lawless and bring him back for going AWOL.
This is my favorite story in Criminal yet. Brubaker comes up with a very clever scenario of who is behind the murders and Lawless is an interesting protagonist. I hope we see Tracy pop up again now that he is headed in another direction.
BTW, that Scott Adsit gets around. First, as a murder victim here, then as a SHIELD agent in Gerry Duggan's Deadpool run.
This is my favorite story in Criminal yet. Brubaker comes up with a very clever scenario of who is behind the murders and Lawless is an interesting protagonist. I hope we see Tracy pop up again now that he is headed in another direction.
BTW, that Scott Adsit gets around. First, as a murder victim here, then as a SHIELD agent in Gerry Duggan's Deadpool run.
February 2, 2018
We return in volume five to Tracy Lawless, Iraqi vet who had gone to Iraq to escape the criminal life in which his father had early trained him to succeed. He left his brother Ricky behind, unable to escape it; when Ricky was found let dead in an alley, Tracy went AWOL from Iraq to discover his brother’s killer. Tracy finds that Sebastian Hyde is going to make him repay some old debts by having him work back in the life he had tried to escape, the dirty details of which get “shared” (smeared on us, as in blood) in Criminal Volume 2: Lawless.
Volume 5 continues that story, with gangland killings Tracy is required to investigate for Hyde. Crooked cops, Chinatown gangs, Hyde’s gang (and his daughter and wife), priests and altar boys, citizen vigilante justice, anguish and suffering all around in this sad tale that also features a killer with tenderness and ethical standards! Just excellent crime comics. An exploartion of just who the real sinners are, but hint: There are no saints in Brubaker's deliciously dark tale.
P.S.: I promised Jenna I would try to write some reviews with the challenge of making them connect to the music of Joni Mitchell. Here ya go (especially people who like Joni more than crime comics?):
Joni Mitchell’s “Raised on Robbery”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEpP6...
Oh! You like comics AND Joni?!
Here’s Joni’s “Song for Sharon,” one of my favorite Joni songs ever, illustrated with a comic by Nathaniel Barlam!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1UXq...
Volume 5 continues that story, with gangland killings Tracy is required to investigate for Hyde. Crooked cops, Chinatown gangs, Hyde’s gang (and his daughter and wife), priests and altar boys, citizen vigilante justice, anguish and suffering all around in this sad tale that also features a killer with tenderness and ethical standards! Just excellent crime comics. An exploartion of just who the real sinners are, but hint: There are no saints in Brubaker's deliciously dark tale.
P.S.: I promised Jenna I would try to write some reviews with the challenge of making them connect to the music of Joni Mitchell. Here ya go (especially people who like Joni more than crime comics?):
Joni Mitchell’s “Raised on Robbery”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEpP6...
Oh! You like comics AND Joni?!
Here’s Joni’s “Song for Sharon,” one of my favorite Joni songs ever, illustrated with a comic by Nathaniel Barlam!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1UXq...
September 26, 2017
Volume 2 was one of my favorite storylines in Criminal Guess what? Lawless was the reason. Guess who's back? LAWLESS MOFOS! Hell yeah.
So this storyline picks up where people, ones who aren't supposed to, are getting picked off one by one. I mean shot in the back of the head, tricked and beaten to death, just some horrible ass deaths. However, it's against people who deserve it. Do we have a little bit of a hero on the streets? Lawless is sent to find out what the fuck is happening. When you dive deep into the mystery it gets really really screwed up.
Good: The biggest pro to this volume is Lawless. He's such a badass without trying to be. I also loved the mystery feel here and by the end there was no happiness. Rarely ever is for Brubaker but this was def hard to see unfold at points. How insane was the very last trick too the mob boss huh? Damn so good.
Bad: If you're looking for happiness you won't find it here? Can that be a negative. Eh fuck it.
This is as good as volume 4 but for different reasons. This is a slow burn, mystery, that ends up being terribly sad and hits the emotions we all want it to. I'm going to give this volume another kickass 5 star rating cause it's that good. I <3 you Ed!
So this storyline picks up where people, ones who aren't supposed to, are getting picked off one by one. I mean shot in the back of the head, tricked and beaten to death, just some horrible ass deaths. However, it's against people who deserve it. Do we have a little bit of a hero on the streets? Lawless is sent to find out what the fuck is happening. When you dive deep into the mystery it gets really really screwed up.
Good: The biggest pro to this volume is Lawless. He's such a badass without trying to be. I also loved the mystery feel here and by the end there was no happiness. Rarely ever is for Brubaker but this was def hard to see unfold at points. How insane was the very last trick too the mob boss huh? Damn so good.
Bad: If you're looking for happiness you won't find it here? Can that be a negative. Eh fuck it.
This is as good as volume 4 but for different reasons. This is a slow burn, mystery, that ends up being terribly sad and hits the emotions we all want it to. I'm going to give this volume another kickass 5 star rating cause it's that good. I <3 you Ed!
February 21, 2011
Ed Brubaker’s hard boiled series has quickly earned my complete respect. There’s a lot of authors out there trying to write old school crime fiction these days, but I can’t think of anyone writing novels who is coming up with gritty stories as good as these comics.
Tracy Lawless returns as the main character for this one. Previously, he’d deserted the army to seek revenge for the death of his brother but circumstances have forced him into working as a thug for crime boss Sebastian Hyde. When various mid-level criminals begin showing up dead, Hyde worries that someone is making a push into his territory and orders Lawless to find the killer and stop him. Lawless has other problems with a gung-ho military officer on his trail to take him back to the army.
As always with the Criminal series, what starts with a seemingly ordinary crime story veers off in wildly unexpected directions that still seem logical. One of the other great things about Criminal is that while each volume has its own self-contained story that can be enjoyed by itself, if you’ve read them all, Brubaker has created an elaborate universe where every character has their own backstory. There was an almost audible click when several elements from previous installments slide into place and provide a huge story pay off here
I can’t say enough good things about this series. Fans of good comics and/or good crime stories should check it out.
Tracy Lawless returns as the main character for this one. Previously, he’d deserted the army to seek revenge for the death of his brother but circumstances have forced him into working as a thug for crime boss Sebastian Hyde. When various mid-level criminals begin showing up dead, Hyde worries that someone is making a push into his territory and orders Lawless to find the killer and stop him. Lawless has other problems with a gung-ho military officer on his trail to take him back to the army.
As always with the Criminal series, what starts with a seemingly ordinary crime story veers off in wildly unexpected directions that still seem logical. One of the other great things about Criminal is that while each volume has its own self-contained story that can be enjoyed by itself, if you’ve read them all, Brubaker has created an elaborate universe where every character has their own backstory. There was an almost audible click when several elements from previous installments slide into place and provide a huge story pay off here
I can’t say enough good things about this series. Fans of good comics and/or good crime stories should check it out.
May 23, 2017
This next installment of Criminal picks up once again following Tracy Lawless, the brooding AWOL soldier that showed up in Center City with vengeance on his mind back in Volume 2, Lawless, and got himself in a bit of trouble. He's still in trouble in this one, stuck under the thumb of the city's biggest crime lord. The story is a bit less personal here for Tracy, but just as dark and grimy, and with great writing, exactly the way I like it and with everything I've come to expect in the Criminal series. Brubaker has yet to disappoint!
February 2, 2018
Ed Brubaker can really craft a good crime noir tale. The Sinners is an excellent example of this craft. Tracy Lawless, on the run from the military after going AWOL, is trying to solve a mysterious set of assassins who are selectively taking out mob members. People are starting to suspect Tracy of the hits. Tracy also has a relationship with the wife of his boss. None of this turns out well, but it does turn into a really good volume of crime fiction.
The characters are believable and the story is well told. I will not spoil it any, but the idea behind the hits is well done and it makes sense how it works in the theme of the story. The ending is also quite just. I enjoyed it. The only downside is the art. While it does work well within the boundaries of this story-I wished it were better. It's not bad but not to my tastes. But this story is. Highly recommended for any fan of crime noir fiction.
The characters are believable and the story is well told. I will not spoil it any, but the idea behind the hits is well done and it makes sense how it works in the theme of the story. The ending is also quite just. I enjoyed it. The only downside is the art. While it does work well within the boundaries of this story-I wished it were better. It's not bad but not to my tastes. But this story is. Highly recommended for any fan of crime noir fiction.
August 13, 2015
Forced into paying off his dead brother’s debts, Tracy Lawless has been employed as a hitman for powerful crime boss, Sebastian Hyde. For the past year, Tracy has been knocking off slimy folks deemed expendable by his maniacal master. However, there’s been some issues with Tracy’s efficiency. Regardless of his orders, Tracy has to make sure that his target is truly deserving of death, which as you can imagine, does not lend itself to an employer with little to no patience.
The only thing keeping Tracy on the job is just how good he is, so rather than throw away an asset like Tracy, Hyde gives him another job. Several high ranking members of the crime community are being knocked off. The problem? These folks should be considered untouchable and seeing as Hyde hasn’t been authorizing these hits – Hyde wants to know who’s behind them.
Adding fuel to the fire, Tracy has been sleeping with Hyde’s wife for months, somehow managing to keep the affair away from prying eyes. Not only that, but Tracy went M.I.A. from the US Military when he got tangled up in this mess and a rather driven military inspector is on the lookout for him, hoping to return Tracy to active duty.
What The Sinners lacks in steamy scenes, it excels in in the unsettling violence category. Tracy Lawless appeared in an earlier volume of the series and Brubaker brings him back to close out his story with enough misdirection to throw the reader off the map. While it isn’t quite as strong as the volume that follows it, it’s still an excellent piece of work.
While I suppose Frank Miller paved the way for modern noir with his Sin City series, I would go so far as to say Brubaker and Phillips have perfected the genre.
The only thing keeping Tracy on the job is just how good he is, so rather than throw away an asset like Tracy, Hyde gives him another job. Several high ranking members of the crime community are being knocked off. The problem? These folks should be considered untouchable and seeing as Hyde hasn’t been authorizing these hits – Hyde wants to know who’s behind them.
Adding fuel to the fire, Tracy has been sleeping with Hyde’s wife for months, somehow managing to keep the affair away from prying eyes. Not only that, but Tracy went M.I.A. from the US Military when he got tangled up in this mess and a rather driven military inspector is on the lookout for him, hoping to return Tracy to active duty.
What The Sinners lacks in steamy scenes, it excels in in the unsettling violence category. Tracy Lawless appeared in an earlier volume of the series and Brubaker brings him back to close out his story with enough misdirection to throw the reader off the map. While it isn’t quite as strong as the volume that follows it, it’s still an excellent piece of work.
While I suppose Frank Miller paved the way for modern noir with his Sin City series, I would go so far as to say Brubaker and Phillips have perfected the genre.
September 16, 2011
Tracy Lawless returns for this fifth volume in the critically acclaimed series "Criminal", to find he's lost the nerve for killing he once had and that he's investigating a slew of gangland killings by an untraceable killer. He's also gotten involved with his boss's wife and a military officer is out to bring him back to the Army.
Ed Brubaker pens another fantastic crime comic book filled with mystery, double-crossing, and murders galore. The book is a joy to read as the perspectives shift from Lawless to the killer and back again seamlessly. There is a strong moral question at the heart of this book - in the urban areas where the police have given up, is it right for concerned citizens to make things better for their families by picking up the slack? Lawless also questions the morality of what he does and finds himself weighing up peoples' lives before pulling the trigger.
There's also a great cameo by a famous author in both name and appearance who dies quite horribly, something I'm sure he would approve of given the nature of his own work.
Sean Phillips continues to do his best work with this series. I love his work in everything he does but Criminal seems to be the place where he really flourishes. The end papers include all of the painted covers and some are so devastatingly gorgeous I wish they were posters I could buy.
If you love crime and noir comics then this is a must read. Ed Brubaker is a hell of a comic book writer and this series has to be his masterwork. Excellent book, excellent series, Brubaker and Phillips are batting 5 for 5.
Ed Brubaker pens another fantastic crime comic book filled with mystery, double-crossing, and murders galore. The book is a joy to read as the perspectives shift from Lawless to the killer and back again seamlessly. There is a strong moral question at the heart of this book - in the urban areas where the police have given up, is it right for concerned citizens to make things better for their families by picking up the slack? Lawless also questions the morality of what he does and finds himself weighing up peoples' lives before pulling the trigger.
There's also a great cameo by a famous author in both name and appearance who dies quite horribly, something I'm sure he would approve of given the nature of his own work.
Sean Phillips continues to do his best work with this series. I love his work in everything he does but Criminal seems to be the place where he really flourishes. The end papers include all of the painted covers and some are so devastatingly gorgeous I wish they were posters I could buy.
If you love crime and noir comics then this is a must read. Ed Brubaker is a hell of a comic book writer and this series has to be his masterwork. Excellent book, excellent series, Brubaker and Phillips are batting 5 for 5.
October 25, 2015
Detective stories, given that they are effectively written leave you always at the edge of your seat, silently helping the protagonist in figuring out the answer to the puzzle as stakes become higher and higher. Sinmers does that. It is an effective piece of sleuthing escapades coupled with an increasing pile of dead bodies.
This volume of Criminals is surprisingly unpredictable, given that the previous one are. The reveal (which by the way was revealed to the reader way before our man Tracy Lawless figures it out) is a shock. It was sick and mad and definitely not the one I have thought of. That is a job well done for Ed Brubaker.
There's one strong message Sinners is giving: Crime is a cycle. Yes, you can cleanse the streets and kill the head, but someone will take over. It cannot be beaten but it can be restarted with a clean slate.
After reading five volumes of Criminal, I can say that the investment I gave to it was well worth it.
This volume of Criminals is surprisingly unpredictable, given that the previous one are. The reveal (which by the way was revealed to the reader way before our man Tracy Lawless figures it out) is a shock. It was sick and mad and definitely not the one I have thought of. That is a job well done for Ed Brubaker.
There's one strong message Sinners is giving: Crime is a cycle. Yes, you can cleanse the streets and kill the head, but someone will take over. It cannot be beaten but it can be restarted with a clean slate.
After reading five volumes of Criminal, I can say that the investment I gave to it was well worth it.
September 8, 2018
Okay. This might be my favorite volume so far.
What’s it about?
A lot of criminals have been getting killed in the city. In order to pay a debt, Tracy Lawless has to find out why. That’s all I can say without giving spoilers!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is awesome! This is one that I think fans of gritty crime books everywhere would love! It is dark as hell but that’s part of what makes it so good and gritty. I also liked the
Do I even need to tell you that Phillips did an amazing job with the art? It’s Phillips, he did an amazing job with the art.
All of the characters are very interesting.
The action scenes are great and gritty as always!
This volume is pretty unpredictable and has quite a few twists!
The dialogue is well written.
The narrative is a great example of fantastic storytelling in comics.
There was one thing this comic did that I’m sure has been in other comics, I know it’s been in some TV shows, Brubaker does a remarkably good job here though: having one scene end unfinished but the next scene begins with something that is very likely to be the thing that happens next in the previous scene. I think that’s an interesting method in storytelling if done right, Brubaker does it right.
Overall:
This is a fantastic series. I know I keep saying it but if you like crime stories and you haven’t read this you are missing out big time! This is essential reading for fans of both crime books and comic books. Highly recommend this one!
5/5
What’s it about?
A lot of criminals have been getting killed in the city. In order to pay a debt, Tracy Lawless has to find out why. That’s all I can say without giving spoilers!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is awesome! This is one that I think fans of gritty crime books everywhere would love! It is dark as hell but that’s part of what makes it so good and gritty. I also liked the
Do I even need to tell you that Phillips did an amazing job with the art? It’s Phillips, he did an amazing job with the art.
All of the characters are very interesting.
The action scenes are great and gritty as always!
This volume is pretty unpredictable and has quite a few twists!
The dialogue is well written.
The narrative is a great example of fantastic storytelling in comics.
There was one thing this comic did that I’m sure has been in other comics, I know it’s been in some TV shows, Brubaker does a remarkably good job here though: having one scene end unfinished but the next scene begins with something that is very likely to be the thing that happens next in the previous scene. I think that’s an interesting method in storytelling if done right, Brubaker does it right.
Overall:
This is a fantastic series. I know I keep saying it but if you like crime stories and you haven’t read this you are missing out big time! This is essential reading for fans of both crime books and comic books. Highly recommend this one!
5/5
March 28, 2016
Bloody brilliant. Criminal is Brubaker's best work.
January 19, 2018
This series is really growing on me.
September 9, 2020
"Criminal volume 5: The Sinners"
This story continues one year after the second volume of the series. I don't wanna spoil the second volume for you, if you haven't read it, so I'm just gonna say that Tracy Lawless is forced to work for Hyde. In this story Tracy has been working for Hyde for a year. Suddenly various high-profile, supposedly untouchable crime figures if the city are getting murdered. Hyde is worried and tells Tracy that if he finds the killers, he's gonna let him leave. So Tracy starts investigating the murders. At the same time an Army CID agent gets to the city looking for deserting Sgt. Tracy Lawless.
This is probably the most morally ambiguous story of the series. It's also my favorite volume of the series so far. The writing by Ed Brubaker is just perfect. The characters are very well written, rounded, relatable and with clear motives. As always, the narration of the story is great. In this story there are so many things going on at the same time and every single one of them is amazingly written. The artwork by Sean Phillips is great and the coloring by Val Staples is also very good.
10/10
This story continues one year after the second volume of the series. I don't wanna spoil the second volume for you, if you haven't read it, so I'm just gonna say that Tracy Lawless is forced to work for Hyde. In this story Tracy has been working for Hyde for a year. Suddenly various high-profile, supposedly untouchable crime figures if the city are getting murdered. Hyde is worried and tells Tracy that if he finds the killers, he's gonna let him leave. So Tracy starts investigating the murders. At the same time an Army CID agent gets to the city looking for deserting Sgt. Tracy Lawless.
This is probably the most morally ambiguous story of the series. It's also my favorite volume of the series so far. The writing by Ed Brubaker is just perfect. The characters are very well written, rounded, relatable and with clear motives. As always, the narration of the story is great. In this story there are so many things going on at the same time and every single one of them is amazingly written. The artwork by Sean Phillips is great and the coloring by Val Staples is also very good.
10/10
July 28, 2015
I feel like this series lost something special about it after volume 2. Not saying that this particular volume is bad, it's just that no following book was as great as 1 and 2. Story is still strong, characters are as well-written as before, but something is not right, and I can't exactly articulate what is. Also, I felt a bit lost at certain points, like I missed some important plot points earlier, even though I don't think I did.
Still, only one volume to go, and I hope it will fully redeem these not so strong books in the middle of the run.
Still, only one volume to go, and I hope it will fully redeem these not so strong books in the middle of the run.
February 1, 2013
More hardboiled goodness from Brubaker. This time, he actually reuses a character from a previous book as a protagonist. Last seen in Criminal, Vol. 2: Lawless, Tracy Lawless is now working as a reluctant hitman for Sebastian Hyde, trying to pay off his dead brother's debt. Tracy has been told to figure out who is behind a series of hits on some of Hyde's associates, professionally and quietly done without witnesses. But he has more than that to worry about: there's a military inspector on his trail to haul him back into service. And did I mention that Hyde suspects Tracy is having an affair with his daughter?
So yes, it does get very messy for Tracy. There are enough twists and turns to keep things interesting, but Brubaker plays fair, if you will, by having a sort of logical progression to it all. Events may be unexpected, but they do make sense.
Although this is a direct sequel to Lawless, having read the prior book is not, strictly speaking, necessary to read and enjoy The Sinners. I would highly recommend it, though. Not only do you get a deeper understanding of where Tracy is coming from, and how he got to where he is today, it's also a fine book in its own right. Really, you're just cheating yourself if you skip it.
So yes, it does get very messy for Tracy. There are enough twists and turns to keep things interesting, but Brubaker plays fair, if you will, by having a sort of logical progression to it all. Events may be unexpected, but they do make sense.
Although this is a direct sequel to Lawless, having read the prior book is not, strictly speaking, necessary to read and enjoy The Sinners. I would highly recommend it, though. Not only do you get a deeper understanding of where Tracy is coming from, and how he got to where he is today, it's also a fine book in its own right. Really, you're just cheating yourself if you skip it.
August 25, 2024
(Zero spoiler review) 3.75/5
Kinda running out of different ways to say the same thing about these volumes of Criminal. Another competent although altogether unspectacular effort from Brubaker and Philips. This one felt like it was building towards one of the more notable efforts in the series, but Brubaker's occasionally clunky exposition / dialogue and a character turn he did towards the end knocked it down a notch.
If you read it, I guarantee you won't not like it, though just how much you'll actually like it remains to be seen. 3.75/5
OmniBen.
Kinda running out of different ways to say the same thing about these volumes of Criminal. Another competent although altogether unspectacular effort from Brubaker and Philips. This one felt like it was building towards one of the more notable efforts in the series, but Brubaker's occasionally clunky exposition / dialogue and a character turn he did towards the end knocked it down a notch.
If you read it, I guarantee you won't not like it, though just how much you'll actually like it remains to be seen. 3.75/5
OmniBen.
December 22, 2019
Another great addition to this Eisner award winning series of noir graphic novels. While the books in this series are basically standalone, this one is less so than the others. Tracy Lawless, the title character of a previous volume, returns as a gangster's hired gun working outside of his comfort zone investigating the murders of several other criminals thought to be protected.
May 29, 2012
Maybe not exactly worthy of five stars, but Sinners stands head and shoulders about the other volumes of Brubaker & Phillips's Criminal series in my reading thus far (I have yet to read Bad Night).
Sinners takes the Lester Dent pulp fiction formula, pours kerosine and gunpowder on it and then tosses it off a cliff. The Lester Dent formula basically involves heaping trouble after trouble onto the hero, never letting him get the upper hand until the very end, and Sinners's hero, Tracy Lawless, is indeed getting squeezed on all sides: his employer, the most powerful mobster in town, is unhappy with his services and suspicious of his daughter's relationship with Tracy, the military police are after him for being AWOL, and the Triads and a murderous cabal run are out for his blood for their own reasons. And this is just a taste. Brubaker never lets off, always ratcheting up the pressure on Tracy and never letting the story plateau until the very end. Very well done.
Sinners takes the Lester Dent pulp fiction formula, pours kerosine and gunpowder on it and then tosses it off a cliff. The Lester Dent formula basically involves heaping trouble after trouble onto the hero, never letting him get the upper hand until the very end, and Sinners's hero, Tracy Lawless, is indeed getting squeezed on all sides: his employer, the most powerful mobster in town, is unhappy with his services and suspicious of his daughter's relationship with Tracy, the military police are after him for being AWOL, and the Triads and a murderous cabal run are out for his blood for their own reasons. And this is just a taste. Brubaker never lets off, always ratcheting up the pressure on Tracy and never letting the story plateau until the very end. Very well done.
August 9, 2020
4.5 stars. This was dope. Maybe I just like the Tracy Lawless character the most. Anyway, Tracy has been working as Sebastian Hyde’s Hitman except he only kills people he feels deserves it and just roughs up everybody else. Hyde likes Tracy but his patience with him is running thin. Then some made men around the town have been being executed and Sebastian tasks Tracy in finding out who done it in exchange for Tracy’s debt being paid.
One of the things Brubaker does so well is taking a bunch of mysteries and crazy situations and connecting them together in such a satisfying manner. While Tracy is looking for the killer, someone has actually noticed him which makes him a problem to them, Mr Hyde has one of his men following him off suspicion and to top it off, a C.I.D military man has come looking for Tracy to haul him back to the war. All these things come to a head in a great way which makes for a dope ending.
One of the things Brubaker does so well is taking a bunch of mysteries and crazy situations and connecting them together in such a satisfying manner. While Tracy is looking for the killer, someone has actually noticed him which makes him a problem to them, Mr Hyde has one of his men following him off suspicion and to top it off, a C.I.D military man has come looking for Tracy to haul him back to the war. All these things come to a head in a great way which makes for a dope ending.
January 29, 2019
Again another great crime story with Tracy Lawless back in action. I get a badder harder Jack Reacher type of character. Hes workijg to lay off his debts to Hyde. During this he gets caught up in other events. Hopefully we saw more of him down the track.
November 17, 2017
This installment makes me think if Lee Child ever wants someone to adapt his Reacher novels, Brubaker and Phillips could make them even more interesting.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
May 6, 2025
Criminal: The Sinners is my favorite entry in the series so far, and that’s saying something, because these are great—grim, gripping, and relentlessly tense. Tracy Lawless is neck-deep in a string of mobster murders, forced to clean up the mess for a boss he barely respects, all while trying to hold onto what’s left of his warped sense of honor. Brubaker’s writing is razor-sharp, and Phillips’ art oozes atmosphere on every page. There’s a moral rot at the center of this story that Tracy can’t escape, and that slow, inevitable slide is what makes it so damn compelling. Brutal, emotional, and totally unforgettable.
November 22, 2013
The best character of the whole 'Criminal' world/series returns! Tracy Lawless is back, and if you love this series, that's the best thing that could happen to you. This is the darkest entry in many ways, the depths of despair and having almost no way out. Lawless is stuck and the way out will surprise you! He's got a target on his back, but still finds time to make things worse for himself. Though things are not looking good for him, he's not going down without a fight, and people will find out the hard way what happens when they mess with the wrong man.
In many ways, this could be the swan song of the series, and I'd stand up and applaud that it went out like this. There's still one more Volume, which I will read, but I have my doubts that this will be topped. The Brubaker/Philips team is dynamite.
In many ways, this could be the swan song of the series, and I'd stand up and applaud that it went out like this. There's still one more Volume, which I will read, but I have my doubts that this will be topped. The Brubaker/Philips team is dynamite.
July 6, 2013
A direct followup to Volume 2 (Lawless), the story takes the hero Lawless and ties him up into an even uglier situation than the previous, as he tries to solve a series of murders of 'untouchables.' Lawless isn't much of a detective, and events manage to take several turns for the worse in almost absurdly bad situations, but all of it carries the noir overtones the series is known for. There's an undertone of discontent and despair at escaping a bad situation. The story takes a couple of coincidental turns that are a bit farther out than anything else in the series, but it all comes together in a powerful climax. Continuing good work from Brubaker and Phillips.
November 25, 2019
So far, Sinner is the best Criminal book. Tracy Lawless is perfect "noir" character and with Sinner story arc Brubaker gave him the perfect "noir" story. And the perfect ending - this could be a perfect end of the Criminal series if anybody wanted to.
The story of the Sinner is thrilling, even when Brubaker decided to use storytelling when the reader sees all the player's hands. Because it's not important, who did what, but how the characters interact with others. And that perfect way to hone characters, to create lifelike ones. I wasn't too excited from previous stories, even if I like some of them, the Sinner left me stunned. Stunned with great reader's satisfaction.
The story of the Sinner is thrilling, even when Brubaker decided to use storytelling when the reader sees all the player's hands. Because it's not important, who did what, but how the characters interact with others. And that perfect way to hone characters, to create lifelike ones. I wasn't too excited from previous stories, even if I like some of them, the Sinner left me stunned. Stunned with great reader's satisfaction.
February 24, 2021
Tracy Lawless has been doing hits for Hyde for a year now. He's a born killer, but his moral code makes him a bad fit for the job. Hyde gives Tracy one last chance to square his debt by investigating who's killing seemingly disconnected mobsters across the city. Meanwhile, Uncle Sam isn't done with the AWOL soldier just yet...
What can I say? Brubaker writes it, Phillips brings it into being, and it sings. It's twisty without being contrived, and concise without being terse. I love this series.
What can I say? Brubaker writes it, Phillips brings it into being, and it sings. It's twisty without being contrived, and concise without being terse. I love this series.
August 14, 2024
Criminal Vol. 5 picks up where Vol. 2 left off. Tracy Lawless, the former soldier/current hitman with a conscience, is the protagonist again. In this one, he searches for the killer of a priest and he gets in trouble with his boss Sebastian Hyde (cf. Vols. 2-3). Of course, as is typical for the series, he goes through hell and back before the end of the story.
December 31, 2017
Tracy Lawless from Volume 2 is back to settle debts with Sebastian Hyde. This one is a bit longer and and the pacing is less frenetic that the first four in the series, but the plotting is more detailed and the violence is amped up considerably. Great stuff.
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