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Criminal
Criminal, Vol. 3: The Dead and the Dying
Tells three interlinking stories that take place during the early 1970s and swirl around the fate of a hard-luck Femme Fatale, a boxer and a thief and killer just home from Vietnam. Collects Criminal 2 #1-3
96 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
23 people are currently reading
828 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,794 books3,019 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 234 reviews
August 31, 2024
Three different characters tell the same sad story from their own point of view.
And it is really well done.
Jake is a boxer and the son of the closest confidant and enforcer of syndicate boss Walter Hyde. So he grew up with the heir of a crime family as his best friend.
But as time changes both of them, their friendship takes a beating.
And of course, it's over a woman.
Teeg Lawless returns from Vietnam with more than a few issues and easily falls into the life of a mean drunk. And when his gambling habit catches up to him, he falls even more easily into the life of a small-time crook.
But when he finds out the woman he's been sleeping with has set him up, and that he's stolen from Walter Hyde, some tough choices will have to be made if he wants to survive.
Danica Briggs is the woman who flits through this storyline and sets the wheels in motion for all the men around her. And her story is about as sad as it comes.
She fell in love with the wrong man and her whole life spiraled out of her control from that moment on.
By the time you get to her story, you already know the ending.
But it doesn't make the ride any less interesting.
Highly Recommended.
And it is really well done.
Jake is a boxer and the son of the closest confidant and enforcer of syndicate boss Walter Hyde. So he grew up with the heir of a crime family as his best friend.
But as time changes both of them, their friendship takes a beating.
And of course, it's over a woman.
Teeg Lawless returns from Vietnam with more than a few issues and easily falls into the life of a mean drunk. And when his gambling habit catches up to him, he falls even more easily into the life of a small-time crook.
But when he finds out the woman he's been sleeping with has set him up, and that he's stolen from Walter Hyde, some tough choices will have to be made if he wants to survive.
Danica Briggs is the woman who flits through this storyline and sets the wheels in motion for all the men around her. And her story is about as sad as it comes.
She fell in love with the wrong man and her whole life spiraled out of her control from that moment on.
By the time you get to her story, you already know the ending.
But it doesn't make the ride any less interesting.
Highly Recommended.
September 2, 2015
Just when I thought Ed Brubaker’s Criminal comic series couldn’t get any better, he sets a story back in the ‘70s that had me humming the Shaft theme song while I was reading it.
The main story revolves around a black boxer and his white gangster friend. The two grew up together because their fathers built a criminal empire together, but their friendship has been on a shaky ground since there was some ugliness involving Danica, a beautiful woman they both fell for. Brubaker tells the main story of the three of them, then uses two more flashbacks to give us Danica’s heartbreaking history as well as the backstory of another character that clues us in to some of the story in the previous volume, Lawless.
Any of these books can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story, but if you’ve read the others, you realize that Brubaker is building up an elaborate portrayal of a criminal underworld. None of these characters are what you would call ‘good’, but Brubaker is doing things like making the abusive father of one story the anti-hero of another that makes you understand why the guy ended up such an asshole.
This is great storytelling with hard boiled flair and art that creates a seedy world of thugs and hustlers, each with their own story to tell
The main story revolves around a black boxer and his white gangster friend. The two grew up together because their fathers built a criminal empire together, but their friendship has been on a shaky ground since there was some ugliness involving Danica, a beautiful woman they both fell for. Brubaker tells the main story of the three of them, then uses two more flashbacks to give us Danica’s heartbreaking history as well as the backstory of another character that clues us in to some of the story in the previous volume, Lawless.
Any of these books can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story, but if you’ve read the others, you realize that Brubaker is building up an elaborate portrayal of a criminal underworld. None of these characters are what you would call ‘good’, but Brubaker is doing things like making the abusive father of one story the anti-hero of another that makes you understand why the guy ended up such an asshole.
This is great storytelling with hard boiled flair and art that creates a seedy world of thugs and hustlers, each with their own story to tell
January 29, 2018
“Nothin’ but the dead and dyin’ in my little town.”—Paul Simon
In the third volume we circle back to the roots of the murders in the first two volumes. Teeg Lawless, like his son, a veteran, but of Vietnam, not Iraq, illustrates a noir tenet: The chickens come home to roost or, the past will come back to bite your ass. The storytelling in this volume is ambitious, complicated, interesting, a story told from three different perspectives in each of three separate issues collected here:
“Second Chance in Hell,” told from the perspective of Jake “Gnarly” Brown, whose friendship with Sebastian reveals friction when femme fatale Danica Briggs chooses Sebastian, which turns out (not surprisingly; it’s noir!) to be a very, very bad choice.
“A Wolf Among Wolves” features Teeg Lawless, who returns from Nam with unpaid gambling debts from the time before he had left. He needs to make money fast, and encounters Danica in the Undertow Bar, who suggests a way to get out of his predicament fast. What’s not to like?
“The Female of the Species” ties the previous two stories together and links to the first two volumes, focusing on Danica. A heist, a love triangle, revenge, what else do you need?
This volume, which I had a hard time following when I first read it, I understand better on reread in terms of the whole series, and I think it’s great. There’s a nod to the “blaxploitation period of the seventies. Great stuff. You maybe didn’t know you needed to read crime comics, but Brubaker and Phillips will tell you different.
In the third volume we circle back to the roots of the murders in the first two volumes. Teeg Lawless, like his son, a veteran, but of Vietnam, not Iraq, illustrates a noir tenet: The chickens come home to roost or, the past will come back to bite your ass. The storytelling in this volume is ambitious, complicated, interesting, a story told from three different perspectives in each of three separate issues collected here:
“Second Chance in Hell,” told from the perspective of Jake “Gnarly” Brown, whose friendship with Sebastian reveals friction when femme fatale Danica Briggs chooses Sebastian, which turns out (not surprisingly; it’s noir!) to be a very, very bad choice.
“A Wolf Among Wolves” features Teeg Lawless, who returns from Nam with unpaid gambling debts from the time before he had left. He needs to make money fast, and encounters Danica in the Undertow Bar, who suggests a way to get out of his predicament fast. What’s not to like?
“The Female of the Species” ties the previous two stories together and links to the first two volumes, focusing on Danica. A heist, a love triangle, revenge, what else do you need?
This volume, which I had a hard time following when I first read it, I understand better on reread in terms of the whole series, and I think it’s great. There’s a nod to the “blaxploitation period of the seventies. Great stuff. You maybe didn’t know you needed to read crime comics, but Brubaker and Phillips will tell you different.
February 21, 2017
If you want to understand the truth about anyone, about who they are and where they came from and what they might do, good or bad ...you have to look back
For the third album in their prize-winning comic series Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips decided to go back in time one generation and look at the 'evil roots' or 'sins of the fathers' that led, unavoidably, to the bloody murders from the first two albums. This sense of futility, of a merciless Fate that the protagonists cannot escape or hide from is in the best noir tradition that inspired the series in the first place. The Dead and the Dying includes three single issues, each told from a different perspective, but all three focused on a life-changing (or, you you prefer: death-dealing) crisis in the underworld of Center City, sometime in 1972.
a word of warning before you proceed with the series : It can be read as a prequel to albums one and two, but it is even more explicitly violent than the original albums. Definitely Adult Material!
Second Chance in Hell is told through the eyes of Jake 'Gnarly' Brown, a promising young heavyweight boxer, who grew up with the son of the kingpin of Center City, Sebastian Hyde. Jake's father was instrumental in the rise of the Hyde family to the top of the criminal underworld, serving as driver, enforcer and secret mastermind of the kingpin.
The childhood friendship of Jake and Sebastian is broken up by the entrance of the obligatory femme fatale, Danica Briggs, who chose the bad boy Sebastian over the moony eyed Jake, back in 1967, when she was just a teenager with a rebellious atitude. Coming back to 1972, that decision is setting the three pawns of Fate on a collision course.
A Wolf Among Wolves is told by Teeg Lawless, returning in 1972 from Vietnam with a heavy baggage of PTSD and an appetite for violence. Between the demands of a wife with two small children and out of control gambling debts from before the war, Teeg is forced to go out in the night, looking for trouble... and trouble is sure to find him.
In the 'Undertow' bar, the place where most of the important decisions in seem to be taken, Teeg comes across amore self-assured Danica, who has an offer he cannot refuse. Needless to say, blood will be spilled and the seeds of future vendettas are laid down.
The Female of the Species ties up the previous two stories by giving us the perspective of Danica Briggs, the innocent teenage girl who liked to pretend toughness and to ride with the bad boys. Having her eyes painfully opened back in 1967, Danica is sent packing by her mother to a pious relative, but ends up in a stripper bar, where she discovers that men would do anything for a piece of hot a$$.
It is now 1972, and the cynical, drug-addicted Danica is heading back to Center City for some payback, like an enraged Medusa out of the mythology books. She is only 21 years old.
>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<
Fans of the pulp and noir genres will be in familiar territory with Brubaker and Phillips. I have already praised the writing and the artwork, and this third album is just as good as the first two. The creative duo clearly have done their homework on crime fiction and on the seventies style. The roughness of the dialogue and the edginess of the artwork are deliberate and designed to convey the grittiness and the rawness of the setting. The blog entries at the end of each issue ( The Secret Ingredient of Crime ) are another confirmation, not that we needed it, how Brubaker and Phillips are first of all big fans of the novels and of the movie adaptations that set up the rules of the game.
These blog entries and essays are almost as good as the main story for the true afficionado, and I got a few more ideas here for my future reads:
- Duane Swierczynski - An Appreciation of David Goodis's The Burglar
- Jason Aaron - My favorite TV cops and Movie Tough Guys
- a promo for the movie "Blast of Silence"
- Michael Stradford - Review of The Yakuza by Sidney Pollack
>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<
Recommended mainly for crime fiction fans
For the third album in their prize-winning comic series Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips decided to go back in time one generation and look at the 'evil roots' or 'sins of the fathers' that led, unavoidably, to the bloody murders from the first two albums. This sense of futility, of a merciless Fate that the protagonists cannot escape or hide from is in the best noir tradition that inspired the series in the first place. The Dead and the Dying includes three single issues, each told from a different perspective, but all three focused on a life-changing (or, you you prefer: death-dealing) crisis in the underworld of Center City, sometime in 1972.
a word of warning before you proceed with the series : It can be read as a prequel to albums one and two, but it is even more explicitly violent than the original albums. Definitely Adult Material!
Second Chance in Hell is told through the eyes of Jake 'Gnarly' Brown, a promising young heavyweight boxer, who grew up with the son of the kingpin of Center City, Sebastian Hyde. Jake's father was instrumental in the rise of the Hyde family to the top of the criminal underworld, serving as driver, enforcer and secret mastermind of the kingpin.
The childhood friendship of Jake and Sebastian is broken up by the entrance of the obligatory femme fatale, Danica Briggs, who chose the bad boy Sebastian over the moony eyed Jake, back in 1967, when she was just a teenager with a rebellious atitude. Coming back to 1972, that decision is setting the three pawns of Fate on a collision course.
A Wolf Among Wolves is told by Teeg Lawless, returning in 1972 from Vietnam with a heavy baggage of PTSD and an appetite for violence. Between the demands of a wife with two small children and out of control gambling debts from before the war, Teeg is forced to go out in the night, looking for trouble... and trouble is sure to find him.
In the 'Undertow' bar, the place where most of the important decisions in seem to be taken, Teeg comes across amore self-assured Danica, who has an offer he cannot refuse. Needless to say, blood will be spilled and the seeds of future vendettas are laid down.
The Female of the Species ties up the previous two stories by giving us the perspective of Danica Briggs, the innocent teenage girl who liked to pretend toughness and to ride with the bad boys. Having her eyes painfully opened back in 1967, Danica is sent packing by her mother to a pious relative, but ends up in a stripper bar, where she discovers that men would do anything for a piece of hot a$$.
It is now 1972, and the cynical, drug-addicted Danica is heading back to Center City for some payback, like an enraged Medusa out of the mythology books. She is only 21 years old.
>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<
Fans of the pulp and noir genres will be in familiar territory with Brubaker and Phillips. I have already praised the writing and the artwork, and this third album is just as good as the first two. The creative duo clearly have done their homework on crime fiction and on the seventies style. The roughness of the dialogue and the edginess of the artwork are deliberate and designed to convey the grittiness and the rawness of the setting. The blog entries at the end of each issue ( The Secret Ingredient of Crime ) are another confirmation, not that we needed it, how Brubaker and Phillips are first of all big fans of the novels and of the movie adaptations that set up the rules of the game.
These blog entries and essays are almost as good as the main story for the true afficionado, and I got a few more ideas here for my future reads:
- Duane Swierczynski - An Appreciation of David Goodis's The Burglar
- Jason Aaron - My favorite TV cops and Movie Tough Guys
- a promo for the movie "Blast of Silence"
- Michael Stradford - Review of The Yakuza by Sidney Pollack
>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<
Recommended mainly for crime fiction fans
August 17, 2024
Three individual stories set in 1972, all with different motives and perspectives. I like how Brubaker weaved these stories together and how they overlap one another. One of the three features another one of the Lawless clan.
January 8, 2014
I start reading one of Brubaker's Criminal books, and its so compelling that I start to think, "Yeah. This is awesome. Bad guys. Dirty streets. Heists. I could write something like this."
Then I keep reading. And it's so good. And then it gets even better, and I realize that no, I couldn't write something like this. Not in a decade of hard trying.
Then I keep reading. And it's so good. And then it gets even better, and I realize that no, I couldn't write something like this. Not in a decade of hard trying.
March 21, 2017
When I looked in the mirror, I saw a girl too old for her years. Saw a face with no joy. A smile that had nothing left in it but empty.Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's Criminal series is proving to be impressively consistent, getting better with each installment, and this third volume, The Dead and the Dying, is my favorite so far. This time we jump back to the 60's/70's and take a look at how some of sins of Center City's "fathers" led to where their "sons" are today. Mostly it revolves around Danica, a damaged woman who has returned to the city after leaving under controversial circumstances, and the three men caught up in her web. Brubaker tells the story from three different viewpoints, providing varying perspectives to this riveting noir tragedy.
What I came back for is dumb and dangerous and probably doomed. I feel that as sure as the sidewalk beneath my feet.This volume has the most well-realized characters so far, a great structure, even more impressive writing, cool art, and a compelling story. In the crowded world of graphic fiction, Brubaker stands out above them all.
September 12, 2017
Like the first volume something just felt off about this. I'll get to that in a minute.
This volume is basically 3 parts where you get the point of views of different characters. One being a boxer, another a whore, and the side of the mafia you probably don't want to see. It's a study of how people's lives effect another. It's also a view into many characters and how they grow over time, better or worse, and also how they fit into their parents shoes.
Good: The artwork is still rock solid. I mean, do you expect anything less at this point? Also enjoyed the ending and probably where I felt most connected. Listening to the story of a woman with hopes and dreams get ripped apart and turned into a shell of a former self is heartbreaking but so well done.
Bad: I didn't care for the two main leads. Especially because I can't even recall their names. The story was well told enough but when you can't connect you start not to worry about who they are or what happens. I was let down in that aspect.
Another well told, crime drama tale, of revenge and loss. Ed sure knows how to write them. If I only liked the characters more this would have been a homerun!
This volume is basically 3 parts where you get the point of views of different characters. One being a boxer, another a whore, and the side of the mafia you probably don't want to see. It's a study of how people's lives effect another. It's also a view into many characters and how they grow over time, better or worse, and also how they fit into their parents shoes.
Good: The artwork is still rock solid. I mean, do you expect anything less at this point? Also enjoyed the ending and probably where I felt most connected. Listening to the story of a woman with hopes and dreams get ripped apart and turned into a shell of a former self is heartbreaking but so well done.
Bad: I didn't care for the two main leads. Especially because I can't even recall their names. The story was well told enough but when you can't connect you start not to worry about who they are or what happens. I was let down in that aspect.
Another well told, crime drama tale, of revenge and loss. Ed sure knows how to write them. If I only liked the characters more this would have been a homerun!
April 24, 2017
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Πάνω από τέσσερις μήνες πέρασαν από τότε που διάβασα τον δεύτερο τόμο της τρομερής αυτής σειράς και η αλήθεια είναι ότι μου έλειψε ο σκοτεινός και βρώμικος κόσμος που δημιούργησαν οι Ed Brubaker και Sean Phillips. Αναγκάστηκα να το κάνω, γιατί ήθελα πρώτα να αγοράσω και τους επόμενους τόμους, ώστε να μην ξεμείνω. Πριν λίγες μέρες τους αγόρασα (μιλάω για τους τόμους 4, 5 και 6), έτσι δεν άργησα να ξαναβυθιστώ στο πιο-νουάρ-πεθαίνεις σύμπαν του Criminal.
Λοιπόν, ο παρών τόμος χωρίζεται σε τρεις ιστορίες, οι οποίες όμως συνδέονται άμεσα μεταξύ τους και ουσιαστικά αποτελούν ένα ενιαίο σύνολο. Στην πρώτη ιστορία πρωταγωνιστεί ένας μαύρος μποξέρ, ο οποίος θα έρθει σε σύγκρουση με τον λευκό φίλο του, γιο ενός αφεντικού του εγκλήματος, για χάρη μιας νεαρής και όμορφης γυναίκας. Στην δεύτερη ιστορία παρακολουθούμε έναν βετεράνο του Βιετνάμ που μόλις γύρισε πίσω στο σπίτι, ο οποίος χρωστάει ένα κάρο λεφτά σ'έναν επικίνδυνο τοκογλύφο και έτσι πρέπει να κάνει ένα μεγάλο κόλπο για να αποπληρώσει το χρέος του και να γλιτώσει την οικογένειά του. Τέλος, στην τρίτη ιστορία, γνωρίζουμε καλύτερα την νεαρή γυναίκα της πρώτης ιστορίας, γινόμαστε μάρτυρες του τραγικού παρελθόντος της, καθώς και της προσπάθειάς της να πάρει μια σκληρή εκδίκηση από αυτούς που την διέλυσαν ψυχικά και σωματικά...
Μου άρεσε πολύ που η μια ιστορία χωρίστηκε στα τρία, μιας και έτσι μας δόθηκε η ευκαιρία να δούμε από διαφορετικές πλευρές τα διάφορα γεγονότα και να μάθουμε καλύτερα τους πρωταγωνιστές του όλου δράματος. Η πλοκή είναι, ως συνήθως, καλοδουλεμένη και ενδιαφέρουσα από την πρώτη μέχρι την τελευταία σελίδα, γεμάτη δράση, δυνατές σκηνές, σκληρές εικόνες και μικρές εκπλήξεις. Το σχέδιο παραμένει πολύ ωραίο και ιδιαίτερο, με ρεαλιστική αποτύπωση των τοπίων, των σκηνών δράσης και των διαφόρων χαρακτήρων. Επίσης τα χρώματα εξακολουθούν να είναι μαγικά και απόλυτα ταιριαστά με το ύφος της σειράς.
Ίσως να κόψω μισή μονάδα από την τελική βαθμολογία μου, μιας και οι δυο πρώτοι τόμοι με συγκλόνισαν σε μεγαλύτερο βαθμό, όμως κακά τα ψέματα και αυτός ο τρίτος τόμος είναι μια ακόμα αριστουργηματική προσθήκη στο είδος του Αμερικάνικου νουάρ. Είναι φανερό ότι οι συντελεστές της σειράς έχουν διαβάσει ένα κάρο βιβλία και έχουν δει ένα κάρο ταινίες του είδους και ότι είναι φανατικοί οπαδοί του, και σε συνδυασμό με το ταλέντο τους, προσφέρουν στους λάτρεις των νουάρ πολύ δυνατές, βρώμικες και σκληρές ιστορίες από τον κόσμο του εγκλήματος.
Πάνω από τέσσερις μήνες πέρασαν από τότε που διάβασα τον δεύτερο τόμο της τρομερής αυτής σειράς και η αλήθεια είναι ότι μου έλειψε ο σκοτεινός και βρώμικος κόσμος που δημιούργησαν οι Ed Brubaker και Sean Phillips. Αναγκάστηκα να το κάνω, γιατί ήθελα πρώτα να αγοράσω και τους επόμενους τόμους, ώστε να μην ξεμείνω. Πριν λίγες μέρες τους αγόρασα (μιλάω για τους τόμους 4, 5 και 6), έτσι δεν άργησα να ξαναβυθιστώ στο πιο-νουάρ-πεθαίνεις σύμπαν του Criminal.
Λοιπόν, ο παρών τόμος χωρίζεται σε τρεις ιστορίες, οι οποίες όμως συνδέονται άμεσα μεταξύ τους και ουσιαστικά αποτελούν ένα ενιαίο σύνολο. Στην πρώτη ιστορία πρωταγωνιστεί ένας μαύρος μποξέρ, ο οποίος θα έρθει σε σύγκρουση με τον λευκό φίλο του, γιο ενός αφεντικού του εγκλήματος, για χάρη μιας νεαρής και όμορφης γυναίκας. Στην δεύτερη ιστορία παρακολουθούμε έναν βετεράνο του Βιετνάμ που μόλις γύρισε πίσω στο σπίτι, ο οποίος χρωστάει ένα κάρο λεφτά σ'έναν επικίνδυνο τοκογλύφο και έτσι πρέπει να κάνει ένα μεγάλο κόλπο για να αποπληρώσει το χρέος του και να γλιτώσει την οικογένειά του. Τέλος, στην τρίτη ιστορία, γνωρίζουμε καλύτερα την νεαρή γυναίκα της πρώτης ιστορίας, γινόμαστε μάρτυρες του τραγικού παρελθόντος της, καθώς και της προσπάθειάς της να πάρει μια σκληρή εκδίκηση από αυτούς που την διέλυσαν ψυχικά και σωματικά...
Μου άρεσε πολύ που η μια ιστορία χωρίστηκε στα τρία, μιας και έτσι μας δόθηκε η ευκαιρία να δούμε από διαφορετικές πλευρές τα διάφορα γεγονότα και να μάθουμε καλύτερα τους πρωταγωνιστές του όλου δράματος. Η πλοκή είναι, ως συνήθως, καλοδουλεμένη και ενδιαφέρουσα από την πρώτη μέχρι την τελευταία σελίδα, γεμάτη δράση, δυνατές σκηνές, σκληρές εικόνες και μικρές εκπλήξεις. Το σχέδιο παραμένει πολύ ωραίο και ιδιαίτερο, με ρεαλιστική αποτύπωση των τοπίων, των σκηνών δράσης και των διαφόρων χαρακτήρων. Επίσης τα χρώματα εξακολουθούν να είναι μαγικά και απόλυτα ταιριαστά με το ύφος της σειράς.
Ίσως να κόψω μισή μονάδα από την τελική βαθμολογία μου, μιας και οι δυο πρώτοι τόμοι με συγκλόνισαν σε μεγαλύτερο βαθμό, όμως κακά τα ψέματα και αυτός ο τρίτος τόμος είναι μια ακόμα αριστουργηματική προσθήκη στο είδος του Αμερικάνικου νουάρ. Είναι φανερό ότι οι συντελεστές της σειράς έχουν διαβάσει ένα κάρο βιβλία και έχουν δει ένα κάρο ταινίες του είδους και ότι είναι φανατικοί οπαδοί του, και σε συνδυασμό με το ταλέντο τους, προσφέρουν στους λάτρεις των νουάρ πολύ δυνατές, βρώμικες και σκληρές ιστορίες από τον κόσμο του εγκλήματος.
September 18, 2011
A lifelong friendship ending in tragedy. A botched abortion. Robbing a drug cartel. Abused families. Traumatised Vietnam soldiers. Addiction, pain, hardship, death.
Yup, it's another cheerful book from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Taking place in the late 60s/early 70s, the three stories presented here feature a prizefighter sidelining as a heavy for a drug dealing friend, a Vietnam vet who needs to pay off his gambling debts or his family gets it, and a prostitute looking for revenge. They overlap like Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and are as dark as any noir novel or film.
The script, while gritty, remains true to the characters and the world they inhabit, and despite feeling sickened by some of the characters' actions I found it hard to put the book down once I'd started reading. The artwork perfectly matches the tone of the script, all dark inks and murky colours.
While "Criminal" is a series that isn't the easiest to read, it is one of the best examples of comic books telling real stories that have the integrity and reality as movies and novels. Full credit to Brubaker and Phillips on another fine example of comics storytelling.
Yup, it's another cheerful book from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Taking place in the late 60s/early 70s, the three stories presented here feature a prizefighter sidelining as a heavy for a drug dealing friend, a Vietnam vet who needs to pay off his gambling debts or his family gets it, and a prostitute looking for revenge. They overlap like Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and are as dark as any noir novel or film.
The script, while gritty, remains true to the characters and the world they inhabit, and despite feeling sickened by some of the characters' actions I found it hard to put the book down once I'd started reading. The artwork perfectly matches the tone of the script, all dark inks and murky colours.
While "Criminal" is a series that isn't the easiest to read, it is one of the best examples of comic books telling real stories that have the integrity and reality as movies and novels. Full credit to Brubaker and Phillips on another fine example of comics storytelling.
December 29, 2019
A great prequel to Criminal, Vol. 1: Coward and [book:Criminal, Vol. 2: Lawless|1795583 that tells the stories of characters lightly touched on in those volumes.
August 20, 2013
The third volume of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal series contains three interlocking tales all revolving around Danica, a beautiful but ultimately flawed woman.
With this volume, you’re beginning to see their universe take shape. There are characters resurfacing, settings reappearing and themes continuing. With Brubaker, the writing, as always, is top-notch and his consistent collaborator Sean Phillips brings it home with his excellent style.
With the Criminal series, Brubaker and Phillips are bringing us some of the strongest tales outside of your standard comic fare. If you’re not reading their work, you’re seriously missing out on some fantastic work that transcends the funny-book genre – belonging next to some of the more classic hard boiled and noir tales While this third volume is not exactly the strongest of the three, a weaker Brubaker/Phillips book is usually stronger than most’s best.
Cross Posted @ Every Read Thing
With this volume, you’re beginning to see their universe take shape. There are characters resurfacing, settings reappearing and themes continuing. With Brubaker, the writing, as always, is top-notch and his consistent collaborator Sean Phillips brings it home with his excellent style.
With the Criminal series, Brubaker and Phillips are bringing us some of the strongest tales outside of your standard comic fare. If you’re not reading their work, you’re seriously missing out on some fantastic work that transcends the funny-book genre – belonging next to some of the more classic hard boiled and noir tales While this third volume is not exactly the strongest of the three, a weaker Brubaker/Phillips book is usually stronger than most’s best.
Cross Posted @ Every Read Thing
April 2, 2016
Three little tales, cut from the classic noir bag, and they're just...good. Nothing horrendously shocking, nothing too "fresh". It's like watching an episode of a long-running TV show (like the 11 seasons of Supernatural I'm admitting to you I've watched near-slavishly) - you know what to expect, you're surprised by the occasional line but everything's in the style to which you've become accustomed.
This book is one of those deals where I discover (after I'm done) that I read this book before and just never remembered. Like something that never stuck - was superficially enjoyable but didn't make any impression on me. Is that bad? I dunno. I think I've had nearly a lifetime's fill of the Brubaker/Phillips cavalcade.
I'll say one thing: the way the stories overlapped with each other, and how they played with timeline and personal perspective, was a nice touch of frosting. Not needed, and a little easy to follow, but what the hell.
This book is one of those deals where I discover (after I'm done) that I read this book before and just never remembered. Like something that never stuck - was superficially enjoyable but didn't make any impression on me. Is that bad? I dunno. I think I've had nearly a lifetime's fill of the Brubaker/Phillips cavalcade.
I'll say one thing: the way the stories overlapped with each other, and how they played with timeline and personal perspective, was a nice touch of frosting. Not needed, and a little easy to follow, but what the hell.
August 31, 2016
Did not like Volume 3 as much as the two earlier volumes, perhaps because of the three interconnected stories seemed disjointed. The sons of two city gangsters grown up together: a black boxer and a white roustabout. Their friendship is torn asunder by beautiful, sexy Danica, with her story really serving as the backbone for the book. The twisted and seemingly minor role of Lawless was also a disappointment, at least for me. Not sure whether I will continue the series.
October 19, 2015
Ed Brubaker takes us back to the 70s with 3 crime stories revolving around a black woman named Danica. More of a love tragedy than a heist, The Dead and the Dying combines heist cliches with a love story. The result is a nicely done story you have seen or read before. Volume 3 further expands the criminal world and makes the interconnection between the characters more personal.
January 28, 2019
I've started re reading this series and cant believe how obsessed I am. Great crime writing. Why HBO hasnt turned this into a TV show I dont know why. This takes us back to the 70s and gives us a back story of some previous characters family/friends.
September 3, 2018
Brubaker gives us 3 stories in 1 book and they’re all wonderful!
What’s it about?
In this volume we see 3 stories set in the gritty and interesting world of Criminal, this time we get some back story on things that we saw in the first 2 volumes.
Why it gets 5 stars:
All 3 stories are very interesting and well written.
The art remains fantastic!
The characters are interesting and well written.
The action scenes are amazing in this one! Phillips’ gritty art in blood soaked, intense crime action is something that I’m pretty sure every fan of crime dramas will love!
This book is quite suspenseful throughout.
The narrative is super good.
The dialogue is well written.
So there’s some commentary and such on race and it works here. I do enjoy political stuff in books but it’s often forced, Brubaker does a good job at making it well written here.
Overall:
Criminal is essential reading for fans of crime books! If you are a fan of Brubaker and Phillips (AKA someone with good taste in books) and haven’t read this, read it, you won’t be disappointed!
5/5
What’s it about?
In this volume we see 3 stories set in the gritty and interesting world of Criminal, this time we get some back story on things that we saw in the first 2 volumes.
Why it gets 5 stars:
All 3 stories are very interesting and well written.
The art remains fantastic!
The characters are interesting and well written.
The action scenes are amazing in this one! Phillips’ gritty art in blood soaked, intense crime action is something that I’m pretty sure every fan of crime dramas will love!
This book is quite suspenseful throughout.
The narrative is super good.
The dialogue is well written.
So there’s some commentary and such on race and it works here. I do enjoy political stuff in books but it’s often forced, Brubaker does a good job at making it well written here.
Overall:
Criminal is essential reading for fans of crime books! If you are a fan of Brubaker and Phillips (AKA someone with good taste in books) and haven’t read this, read it, you won’t be disappointed!
5/5
March 27, 2019
Three intertwined stories.
Jake and Sebastian have been friends since childhood. Jake grows up to be a boxer, while Sebastian is being groomed by his father to take over as local crime lord. But can their friendship survive when Jake tries to save him from making the biggest mistake of his life?
Teeg Lawless returns from the Vietnam war haunted by what he has seen. Drinking helps to ease the pain, but causes blackouts. Owing a large sum to a local loan shark,Teeg is looking for a major score.
Danica is at the center of it all. Long ago, she loved Sebastian, but that went sour. She leaves town and builds a new life for herself, but it's not a nice life. One day, she wakes up and sees what she's become. And so she returns to town, seeking … something. What could possibly go wrong?
As always, Brubaker and Phillips are masters of noir. The story is well crafted and the artwork is superb. Recommended!
Jake and Sebastian have been friends since childhood. Jake grows up to be a boxer, while Sebastian is being groomed by his father to take over as local crime lord. But can their friendship survive when Jake tries to save him from making the biggest mistake of his life?
Teeg Lawless returns from the Vietnam war haunted by what he has seen. Drinking helps to ease the pain, but causes blackouts. Owing a large sum to a local loan shark,Teeg is looking for a major score.
Danica is at the center of it all. Long ago, she loved Sebastian, but that went sour. She leaves town and builds a new life for herself, but it's not a nice life. One day, she wakes up and sees what she's become. And so she returns to town, seeking … something. What could possibly go wrong?
As always, Brubaker and Phillips are masters of noir. The story is well crafted and the artwork is superb. Recommended!
October 31, 2019
After Lawless, I just wanted more and The Dead and the Dying is great to follow up that. It's shorter, which is kind of pity, but all of the short stories about some so far side characters wandering around Undertow are great. The composition of stories works perfectly, the art is cool and there is a great deal of great storytelling. It's hard to say anything else (and not going into story details).
June 3, 2019
The Dead and the Dying is a title as accurate as they come—as all the characters are either dead or dying—literally or metaphorically. Volume 3 charts three interconnected stories, all set in the 1970s. With each story, more is revealed, shedding new light on the characters and the circumstances that shape their lives.
In A Second Chance in Hell Jake is a young, up-and-coming boxer with a bright future, attempting to distance himself from his former best friend Sebastian Hyde, son of the city’s crime kingpin. When Sebastian’s ex-girlfriend Danica arrives back in town after an extended absence, Jake finds himself pulled back into the fray in which loyalties are tested, revenge is sought and true colors are shown—transforming the lives of all involved.
How do they connect? In the present-day, Jake (“Gnarly”) is the bartender at the Undertow, the go-to hangout for thieves and thugs and seemingly one of the last decent men left in the City. Sebastian is the crime boss Tracy Lawless is forced to work for at the end of volume 2.
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In A Wolf Among Wolves Teeg Lawless returns home from the Vietnam War even more disillusioned and broken than before. He spends most of his time drinking, cheating on his wife, beating his wife and resenting/avoiding his young kids—so it's safe to say I'm not exactly his biggest fan.
Owing gambling debts to a dangerous bookie, he takes on robbery gig with intel from his latest hook-up, Danica. However, when he discovers he’s stolen from a much bigger player than he originally thought, the wolves start circling and he’ll need to be a bigger wolf than them all if he’s going to make it out alive.
How does he connect? Teeg is the father of Tracy and Ricky Lawless from volume 2. Back in volume 1, we find out that Leo’s father Tommy was convicted for the murder of Teeg (he should have gotten a medal).
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Female of the Species charts the descent of an optimistic and naïve young girl into a broken and hardened young woman. I’m not a fan of stories that involve a woman’s demise being used as a convenient plot twist so a male character can “learn” something, so I was glad to see Danica’s story being told. I must admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of hers during Jake and Teeg’s stories, but seeing things from her perspective changed my opinion of her completely and her story became my favourite of the three.
She’s been callously betrayed by the people she trusted most, and despite moving away and attempting to reclaim her power (albeit in seriously unhealthy ways) she continues to be plagued by the trauma of her past. At the end of her story, we see her heading back to her home town which is where Jake’s story picks up—bringing the volume full circle.
Despite being almost ubiquitously tragic and featuring some of the most sickening characters and events to date, this volume is cleverly crafted, tightly plotted and kept my attention until the very end.
In A Second Chance in Hell Jake is a young, up-and-coming boxer with a bright future, attempting to distance himself from his former best friend Sebastian Hyde, son of the city’s crime kingpin. When Sebastian’s ex-girlfriend Danica arrives back in town after an extended absence, Jake finds himself pulled back into the fray in which loyalties are tested, revenge is sought and true colors are shown—transforming the lives of all involved.
How do they connect? In the present-day, Jake (“Gnarly”) is the bartender at the Undertow, the go-to hangout for thieves and thugs and seemingly one of the last decent men left in the City. Sebastian is the crime boss Tracy Lawless is forced to work for at the end of volume 2.
-----
In A Wolf Among Wolves Teeg Lawless returns home from the Vietnam War even more disillusioned and broken than before. He spends most of his time drinking, cheating on his wife, beating his wife and resenting/avoiding his young kids—so it's safe to say I'm not exactly his biggest fan.
Owing gambling debts to a dangerous bookie, he takes on robbery gig with intel from his latest hook-up, Danica. However, when he discovers he’s stolen from a much bigger player than he originally thought, the wolves start circling and he’ll need to be a bigger wolf than them all if he’s going to make it out alive.
How does he connect? Teeg is the father of Tracy and Ricky Lawless from volume 2. Back in volume 1, we find out that Leo’s father Tommy was convicted for the murder of Teeg (he should have gotten a medal).
-----
Female of the Species charts the descent of an optimistic and naïve young girl into a broken and hardened young woman. I’m not a fan of stories that involve a woman’s demise being used as a convenient plot twist so a male character can “learn” something, so I was glad to see Danica’s story being told. I must admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of hers during Jake and Teeg’s stories, but seeing things from her perspective changed my opinion of her completely and her story became my favourite of the three.
She’s been callously betrayed by the people she trusted most, and despite moving away and attempting to reclaim her power (albeit in seriously unhealthy ways) she continues to be plagued by the trauma of her past. At the end of her story, we see her heading back to her home town which is where Jake’s story picks up—bringing the volume full circle.
Despite being almost ubiquitously tragic and featuring some of the most sickening characters and events to date, this volume is cleverly crafted, tightly plotted and kept my attention until the very end.
November 9, 2015
This volume wasn't quite as good as the other two, although it was nice to learn a bit of background on "Gnarly". He is one of the more likable characters after all. All in all even though it's not a five star read, it's still pretty damn good. This series is a must read!
March 31, 2018
Three individual stories set in 1972, all with different motives and perspectives. I like how Brubaker weaved these stories together and how they overlap one another. One of the three features another one of the Lawless clan.
Brubaker is amazing in the way that he develops fully developed (and often sympathetic) characters in just a few pages. The Dead and the Dying is no exception as it gives us a boxer sucked into the world of crime, a war veteran who finds true brutality on the home front, and a woman who makes bad choices in men and life.
Highly recommended for gritty stories and tough-as-nails art.
Brubaker is amazing in the way that he develops fully developed (and often sympathetic) characters in just a few pages. The Dead and the Dying is no exception as it gives us a boxer sucked into the world of crime, a war veteran who finds true brutality on the home front, and a woman who makes bad choices in men and life.
Highly recommended for gritty stories and tough-as-nails art.
January 18, 2024
Mais uma HQ sensacional do Brubaker e Sean Phillips, com certeza uma das melhores da série Criminal.
Nessa edição, temos uma pegada e um roteiro diferente das HQs que li anteriormente, pois apesar de continuar com o clima Noir, essa história trabalha mais o desenvolvimento interno da máfia e a vingança de alguns personagens, e não fica focado apenas na questão de gangues e os crimes cometidos por eles.
A forma como roteiro é trabalhado também é diferenciado, pois é uma vibe de Pulp Fiction, com histórias de 3 personagens diferentes, que se entrelaçam ao decorrer de cada narrativa, e quando são conectadas, o impacto para o leitor é sensacional.
Nessa edição, temos uma pegada e um roteiro diferente das HQs que li anteriormente, pois apesar de continuar com o clima Noir, essa história trabalha mais o desenvolvimento interno da máfia e a vingança de alguns personagens, e não fica focado apenas na questão de gangues e os crimes cometidos por eles.
A forma como roteiro é trabalhado também é diferenciado, pois é uma vibe de Pulp Fiction, com histórias de 3 personagens diferentes, que se entrelaçam ao decorrer de cada narrativa, e quando são conectadas, o impacto para o leitor é sensacional.
August 30, 2020
"Criminal volume 3: The Dead and the Dying"
This volume of "Criminal" contains three different, interlocking stories set in 1972. The first story is about friendship and how it can by ruined by women, money and pride. It all starts when the father of the story's protagonist decides not to kill Walter Hyde and together they build a crime empire. Their kids become best friends but as they grow up they drift apart. Jake Brown becomes a boxer and Sebastian Hyde wants to build a crime empire, like his father did. But the friendship if those two really gets ruined when a girl, Danica, gets involved.
The second story is about family. This story follows Teegar Lawless, a Vietnam war veteran, a husband and a father. He tries to get money to pay a debt, which if he doesn't pay in two weeks, they'll kill his children. In his attempt to make money he gets involved in a heist without knowing that they are about to steal from Sebastian Hyde.
The third story follows Danica, as she returns in the city after many years and she remembers her relationship with Sebastian and how when she got pregnant his father's people gave her heroine and an abortion. This story is about love, revenge and drug addiction.
In all those three stories Ed Brubaker's writing is very good as always. The characters are very well written, they are rounded, their motives are clear and they are relatable. Also the world building is really great. As always Ed uses narration and as always he does it perfectly.
The artwork by Sean Phillips is very good and the coloring by Val Staples gets better with every volume.
9/10
This volume of "Criminal" contains three different, interlocking stories set in 1972. The first story is about friendship and how it can by ruined by women, money and pride. It all starts when the father of the story's protagonist decides not to kill Walter Hyde and together they build a crime empire. Their kids become best friends but as they grow up they drift apart. Jake Brown becomes a boxer and Sebastian Hyde wants to build a crime empire, like his father did. But the friendship if those two really gets ruined when a girl, Danica, gets involved.
The second story is about family. This story follows Teegar Lawless, a Vietnam war veteran, a husband and a father. He tries to get money to pay a debt, which if he doesn't pay in two weeks, they'll kill his children. In his attempt to make money he gets involved in a heist without knowing that they are about to steal from Sebastian Hyde.
The third story follows Danica, as she returns in the city after many years and she remembers her relationship with Sebastian and how when she got pregnant his father's people gave her heroine and an abortion. This story is about love, revenge and drug addiction.
In all those three stories Ed Brubaker's writing is very good as always. The characters are very well written, they are rounded, their motives are clear and they are relatable. Also the world building is really great. As always Ed uses narration and as always he does it perfectly.
The artwork by Sean Phillips is very good and the coloring by Val Staples gets better with every volume.
9/10
August 8, 2020
3.5 stars. Two so called friends get into it over a girl. Way back, Jake, who went on to become a boxer, let his friend Sebastian, son of a crime lord, have the girl. Later we find out there was this “thing” that was done to her and Jake still holds it against Sebastian. Later something happens to this girl and Jake confronts Sebastian about it and later pays the price.
The story then jumps back and we see what this “thing” was that Sebastian let happen to her. Pretty jacked up. Then we see the life she ends up living afterwards. What a crazy ride. It all eventually comes back full circle and we see what happens to her that made Jake go after Sebastian.
While not as good as the first two volumes, this was still enjoyable thanks to Brubaker’s talented writing.
The story then jumps back and we see what this “thing” was that Sebastian let happen to her. Pretty jacked up. Then we see the life she ends up living afterwards. What a crazy ride. It all eventually comes back full circle and we see what happens to her that made Jake go after Sebastian.
While not as good as the first two volumes, this was still enjoyable thanks to Brubaker’s talented writing.
March 19, 2016
This series remains fantastic. The 70s aren't overdone here, but a perfect setting for the bloody background story. It's easy to get lost in the story.
May 4, 2025
This volume is a gut punch wrapped in noir elegance. The Dead and the Dying slows things down a bit compared to the first two arcs, but it hits just as hard—maybe even harder. Brubaker breaks the story into three interconnected character studies, each focusing on a different player caught in the dark web of Center City’s underworld. It’s less about plot twists and more about tragic inevitability—everyone’s already doomed, they just haven’t realized it yet.
What makes this entry stand out is how deeply personal it feels. It dives into themes of regret, legacy, racism, and desperation with a rawness that lingers. Sean Phillips’ art leans heavy on shadow and silence, adding weight to the characters’ choices. It’s not flashy—it’s moody, methodical, and deeply human. If you’re looking for heartache wrapped in crime fiction, this one’s a masterclass.
What makes this entry stand out is how deeply personal it feels. It dives into themes of regret, legacy, racism, and desperation with a rawness that lingers. Sean Phillips’ art leans heavy on shadow and silence, adding weight to the characters’ choices. It’s not flashy—it’s moody, methodical, and deeply human. If you’re looking for heartache wrapped in crime fiction, this one’s a masterclass.
February 4, 2019
I'm prone to hyperbole when I really like something, but with around 1500 read comic volumes behind me I can confidently deem this book one of the best three-parter comic stories ever written. Each issue/chapter focuses on a different character's perspective within the same conflict, but also each of the stories could stand on their own, making this an amazing case study in short-form storytelling. The flashbacks exploring the characters' backstories and their first person narration are both integral to the narrative unlike in other, inferior crime comics where they abuse these tools without any thought or reason as if they were nothing but stylistic superficialities. There are many definitions of an art or literary works so called "perfection". One goes like this: the particular work could not be improved upon by adding to or taking away from it. This definition is very fitting to this volume. A must read for anyone who wants to explore the best which the comic medium can offer.
March 4, 2019
Criminal 3 includes three short stories connected by a new character "Danice" and the fact that it´s happening in the 70s. And it´s really good. Very well written, depressing and very well drawn. Looking forward for more.
April 3, 2024
This one is smaller interconnected tales, which is fine. I prefer a longer single narrative but that's just personal preference.
These stories are still excellent and pulpy goodness.
These stories are still excellent and pulpy goodness.
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