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Criminal #6
Criminal, Vol. 6: The Last of the Innocent
WINNER OF THE EISNER AWARD FOR BEST LIMITED SERIES! BRUBAKER and PHILLIPS's gorgeous new CRIMINAL editions finally gets to the most critically-acclaimed and innovative piece of pulp fiction they've ever done. It's "like Watchmen for the Archie set" as CRIMINAL reaches new heights.
120 pages, ebook
First published December 21, 2011
21 people are currently reading
858 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,796 books3,009 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 283 reviews
December 2, 2024
So good. So, so good.
I am a huge fan of Archie comics and all the nostalgia they bring me. If you didn't grow up reading these, I'm not sure it will hit you quite as hard. However, for those of you who begged your mom to buy you Archie comics off those spinner racks near the grocery store checkout line, this will certainly be delicious.
Because Riverdale just went dark.
Riley Richards is a stand-in for everyone's favorite son, Archie Andrews. But in this version, he's all grown up. He and his wife Felix (a nastier Veronica) have, to absolutely no reader's surprise, an unhappy marriage. And the last straw for Riley might be her affair with the Reggie-like rival from their hometown. But who knows? He might be able to turn that into an advantage by the end of things.
The wheels really start spinning when Riley returns to their small hometown as his ailing father dies. It does funny things to remember who you were in your youth.
And this is sort of the perfect storm as he reconnects with his best friend, Freakout, and ex-girlfriend-next-door, Lizzie.
I thought it was a cute nod from Brubaker that Lizzie and Betty are both nicknames for Elizabeth.
Lizzie is the nice girl, the funny girl, the girl he should have been with if he hadn't been wowed by Felix's social standing, money, and sexual maturity.
Freakout is the sad version of Jughead, and instead of having a food addiction, he's the hard-partying guy from high school who let drugs and alcohol take over his life. Though, when Riley comes back into town, Freakout is sober, which makes the way he uses his friend's addiction issues at the end all the more unsavory.
The art reflects the flashbacks between the way Riley remembers the good old days in comparison with the present-day dilemma he finds himself in. He still wants the life he has become accustomed to with his wife's family money, but he desperately wants out from under the thumb of her condescending father. And then, of course, he also wants to recapture the heart of the sweet girl he left behind and rekindle what they had as children.
Well. There's only one way to do that.
Felix has to die.
This one is only tangentially related to the other books in the Criminal series, but it is far and away my favorite - which is saying a lot because as a whole they are an amazing set of noir stories.
I'm not someone who collects books that they won't re-read, so it's saying something that this is the only volume of Criminal I purchased for myself.
Highly Recommended.
I am a huge fan of Archie comics and all the nostalgia they bring me. If you didn't grow up reading these, I'm not sure it will hit you quite as hard. However, for those of you who begged your mom to buy you Archie comics off those spinner racks near the grocery store checkout line, this will certainly be delicious.
Because Riverdale just went dark.
Riley Richards is a stand-in for everyone's favorite son, Archie Andrews. But in this version, he's all grown up. He and his wife Felix (a nastier Veronica) have, to absolutely no reader's surprise, an unhappy marriage. And the last straw for Riley might be her affair with the Reggie-like rival from their hometown. But who knows? He might be able to turn that into an advantage by the end of things.
The wheels really start spinning when Riley returns to their small hometown as his ailing father dies. It does funny things to remember who you were in your youth.
And this is sort of the perfect storm as he reconnects with his best friend, Freakout, and ex-girlfriend-next-door, Lizzie.
I thought it was a cute nod from Brubaker that Lizzie and Betty are both nicknames for Elizabeth.
Lizzie is the nice girl, the funny girl, the girl he should have been with if he hadn't been wowed by Felix's social standing, money, and sexual maturity.
Freakout is the sad version of Jughead, and instead of having a food addiction, he's the hard-partying guy from high school who let drugs and alcohol take over his life. Though, when Riley comes back into town, Freakout is sober, which makes the way he uses his friend's addiction issues at the end all the more unsavory.
The art reflects the flashbacks between the way Riley remembers the good old days in comparison with the present-day dilemma he finds himself in. He still wants the life he has become accustomed to with his wife's family money, but he desperately wants out from under the thumb of her condescending father. And then, of course, he also wants to recapture the heart of the sweet girl he left behind and rekindle what they had as children.
Well. There's only one way to do that.
Felix has to die.
This one is only tangentially related to the other books in the Criminal series, but it is far and away my favorite - which is saying a lot because as a whole they are an amazing set of noir stories.
I'm not someone who collects books that they won't re-read, so it's saying something that this is the only volume of Criminal I purchased for myself.
Highly Recommended.
July 28, 2014
I’ve been struck by a smooth Criminal.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have been doing some of the best hard boiled modern crime stories around in the Criminal series, and they’ve hit a new creative high in The Last of the Innocent.
Riley Richards grew up during the ‘60s in a seemingly idyllic suburb, and he married the local rich girl. They moved to the city where he works for his asshat father-in-law and hides a taste for unwholesome activities like whoring and gambling. When Riley goes back home because his father is ill, he runs into old friends who bring back a flood of memories that make him realize how miserable he is with his life so he hatches a scheme that will get him out of his marriage as a rich man.
As usual with this series, Brubaker takes a crime story and spins it off into unexpected directions with the tight plotting and seedy characters that I’ve come to expect from Criminal. There’s an extra twist in this one. Whenever Riley has a flashback to his past, the artwork shifts to an Archie Comics style that makes is supposed to represent what he thinks of as a more innocent time.* The contrast between the regular gritty drawing and the bright cartoons is striking. As the story progresses, you realize that there’s some seriously dark shit lurking behind those Archie panels.
What you end up with here is a twisted crime tale that uses the comic medium itself to help tell the story.
*Edit 7/28/14 - I just noticed an old comment from Derrick pointing out that there's a lot more than just the art style going on with it's dark spin on an Archie comic, and he's absolutely right. I meant to point that this is essentially a noir version of what happens if Archie married Veronica and left Riverdale.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have been doing some of the best hard boiled modern crime stories around in the Criminal series, and they’ve hit a new creative high in The Last of the Innocent.
Riley Richards grew up during the ‘60s in a seemingly idyllic suburb, and he married the local rich girl. They moved to the city where he works for his asshat father-in-law and hides a taste for unwholesome activities like whoring and gambling. When Riley goes back home because his father is ill, he runs into old friends who bring back a flood of memories that make him realize how miserable he is with his life so he hatches a scheme that will get him out of his marriage as a rich man.
As usual with this series, Brubaker takes a crime story and spins it off into unexpected directions with the tight plotting and seedy characters that I’ve come to expect from Criminal. There’s an extra twist in this one. Whenever Riley has a flashback to his past, the artwork shifts to an Archie Comics style that makes is supposed to represent what he thinks of as a more innocent time.* The contrast between the regular gritty drawing and the bright cartoons is striking. As the story progresses, you realize that there’s some seriously dark shit lurking behind those Archie panels.
What you end up with here is a twisted crime tale that uses the comic medium itself to help tell the story.
*Edit 7/28/14 - I just noticed an old comment from Derrick pointing out that there's a lot more than just the art style going on with it's dark spin on an Archie comic, and he's absolutely right. I meant to point that this is essentially a noir version of what happens if Archie married Veronica and left Riverdale.
February 5, 2018
The sixth of seven volumes of what is for me a favorite series from Ed Brubaker and illustrator Sean Phillips. Another free-standing volume that is loosely linked to the other volumes, with mentions of characters and images that appear in the other volumes. One theme I like is that there is this meta-level tribute to crime comics in the series. The criminals read crime comics! And later on, when it is appropriate to have them do so, a horror comic. And, in this one, the artwork from time to time turns the tale into an Archie and Veronica comic. Riverdale noir!
In this story Riley Richards, who married the town witch, the Betty, the most popular and hated and richest girl in school, Felix, whose father-in-law hates him and hires him, is unhappy. His Dad dies, and he sees his Veronica, Lizzie Gordon, whiom we all KNOW he shoulda married. Riley on some level doesn’t even care that Felix is sleeping with jerk Teddy, he's so out of it. At the time of the funeral he gets together with Lizzie and Freakout, his best bud from high school, and they have SO much fun, but too much fun, so that on-the-wagon Freakout is now off it, heading quickly back through booze to smack. Some friend, Riley. And then Riley, in the process of seeing Lizzie and thinking of the simpler, Riverdale-ish past, and in spite of the fact that he seemingly has everything, suddenly realizes: He has to do something to change his life. Something big.
And then things turn really dark in Riverdale, the end of the innocence.
So: What was once the last volume is now the penultimate volume, though I kind of have the feeling they could continue to add more stories. What links all the volumes is a sense of corrupted innocence, or maybe it was never really deeply innocence, maybe it was naïvete, or youthful vulnerability, or stupid decision-making, but nevertheless the young people of Criminal such as Riley or Tracy Lawless slidie into darkness.
Okay, okay, I decided: The very title of this volume is a lie. NO ONE is innocent in this Calvinist noir world. Ever. Never. So even the author is a liar about the liars. But delightfully so.
This is another great volume of this noir/pulp/potboiler series. Really good page turner, linked thematically to create a sense of a dark world. I like the way Brubaker makes it personal here, too, reflecting on his own life in a way after his own father had died, a kind of twisted tribute, I guess, but one his comic-book-loving Daddy would have appreciated, I bet.
In this story Riley Richards, who married the town witch, the Betty, the most popular and hated and richest girl in school, Felix, whose father-in-law hates him and hires him, is unhappy. His Dad dies, and he sees his Veronica, Lizzie Gordon, whiom we all KNOW he shoulda married. Riley on some level doesn’t even care that Felix is sleeping with jerk Teddy, he's so out of it. At the time of the funeral he gets together with Lizzie and Freakout, his best bud from high school, and they have SO much fun, but too much fun, so that on-the-wagon Freakout is now off it, heading quickly back through booze to smack. Some friend, Riley. And then Riley, in the process of seeing Lizzie and thinking of the simpler, Riverdale-ish past, and in spite of the fact that he seemingly has everything, suddenly realizes: He has to do something to change his life. Something big.
And then things turn really dark in Riverdale, the end of the innocence.
So: What was once the last volume is now the penultimate volume, though I kind of have the feeling they could continue to add more stories. What links all the volumes is a sense of corrupted innocence, or maybe it was never really deeply innocence, maybe it was naïvete, or youthful vulnerability, or stupid decision-making, but nevertheless the young people of Criminal such as Riley or Tracy Lawless slidie into darkness.
Okay, okay, I decided: The very title of this volume is a lie. NO ONE is innocent in this Calvinist noir world. Ever. Never. So even the author is a liar about the liars. But delightfully so.
This is another great volume of this noir/pulp/potboiler series. Really good page turner, linked thematically to create a sense of a dark world. I like the way Brubaker makes it personal here, too, reflecting on his own life in a way after his own father had died, a kind of twisted tribute, I guess, but one his comic-book-loving Daddy would have appreciated, I bet.
August 10, 2017
Here we go! The final full-length volume of Brubaker and Phillips's Criminal series is the bitter/sweet cherry on top of an awesome anthology that provides some of the best examples of noir writing in the sequential art form. It's pretty difficult to stand next to the other books in this series, which are consistently rad, and this one really holds it's own, taking a step away from Center City as the primary backdrop, which connected all of the stories in the series, and follows Riley Richards, a man who seems to have it all but is deeply unhappy and pines for his hometown, obsessing over the mistakes he made there.
What's really cool about The Last of the Innocent is the innovative artwork that contrasts the present day and the flashbacks by illustrating Riley's present-day world in Sean Phillips's trademark rough edges while presenting the nostalgic past with the softer, simpler art that many would recognize from Archie comics. I love it when artists use the singular strengths of their respective mediums to tell the story and the way Phillips uses the comic medium here lends a great effect!
At first, I thought the similarities to Archie were just a stylistic thing, but then I realized that there's much more to it than that. It's exciting to see that the story is essentially a speculation of what might happen if Archie married Veronica, moved to the big city and then got all fucked up. Dead ringers for all the Riverdale characters are all over this story, with pretty blatant Jughead, Reggie, Moose, and Betty analogue characters. But it's also a great tale on it's own merit, touching on simmering regret and resentment, and the lengths that you might be willing to go if given the opportunity to fix your discontent.
Brubaker and Phillips wrapped up this series of stand-alone noir tales with real pizzazz in this great volume!
What's really cool about The Last of the Innocent is the innovative artwork that contrasts the present day and the flashbacks by illustrating Riley's present-day world in Sean Phillips's trademark rough edges while presenting the nostalgic past with the softer, simpler art that many would recognize from Archie comics. I love it when artists use the singular strengths of their respective mediums to tell the story and the way Phillips uses the comic medium here lends a great effect!
At first, I thought the similarities to Archie were just a stylistic thing, but then I realized that there's much more to it than that. It's exciting to see that the story is essentially a speculation of what might happen if Archie married Veronica, moved to the big city and then got all fucked up. Dead ringers for all the Riverdale characters are all over this story, with pretty blatant Jughead, Reggie, Moose, and Betty analogue characters. But it's also a great tale on it's own merit, touching on simmering regret and resentment, and the lengths that you might be willing to go if given the opportunity to fix your discontent.
Brubaker and Phillips wrapped up this series of stand-alone noir tales with real pizzazz in this great volume!
August 20, 2024
I never would have guessed that the next installment of Criminal would be a dark, twisted version of Archie and Veronica where the two have gotten married and have it all. Except that Archie isn't happy and decides to off Veronica for her family's money. Jughead (Freakout) is a junkie trying to escape drug addiction. Betty, Moose, and Reggie analogues appear in the story as well. Just in case you think you are imagining things, Sean Phillips pencils the flashbacks in a cartoony style reminiscent of Riverdale. The story is a little tongue in cheek if you are familiar with Archie, but if not, you probably won't even notice.
July 31, 2018
Man oh man it's so nice to go from one Brubaker and Sean classic (Fade Out) to another (Criminal Vol 6) in such a short time.
So what's The Last of the Innocent? Well imagine this. Archie mixed with some criminal cover up murder crime shit. We're introduced to Riley Richard who is living in the city trying to just live a normal rich man life with his very wealthy wife. His father gets sick so he travels back home to the sticks and spends his last few days there. After being with friends and family there he decides he wants to live there forever but he realizes what he must do. He has to kill his wife!
Good: The story is a breeze to get through. What I mean by that is not a single panel is wasted. The entire story is engrossing from start to finish, every piece of dialog has meaning, and the ending...goddamn. I mean the whole thing is a masterpiece of storytelling and Sean's art? Fucking fantastic. The switch between Archie Innocent type art to his regular grit is perfect.
Bad: Nothing.
This is the height of the Criminal series for me. Where's it had at worst, good volumes, some great, this is extraordinary. This might be top 20 graphic novels of all time for me. A easy 5 out of 5.
So what's The Last of the Innocent? Well imagine this. Archie mixed with some criminal cover up murder crime shit. We're introduced to Riley Richard who is living in the city trying to just live a normal rich man life with his very wealthy wife. His father gets sick so he travels back home to the sticks and spends his last few days there. After being with friends and family there he decides he wants to live there forever but he realizes what he must do. He has to kill his wife!
Good: The story is a breeze to get through. What I mean by that is not a single panel is wasted. The entire story is engrossing from start to finish, every piece of dialog has meaning, and the ending...goddamn. I mean the whole thing is a masterpiece of storytelling and Sean's art? Fucking fantastic. The switch between Archie Innocent type art to his regular grit is perfect.
Bad: Nothing.
This is the height of the Criminal series for me. Where's it had at worst, good volumes, some great, this is extraordinary. This might be top 20 graphic novels of all time for me. A easy 5 out of 5.
August 4, 2015
Do you remember the really popular, beautiful, “it” girl in high school? Remember thinking how perfect your life would be if you were her boyfriend? Hey, maybe her rich father could hook you up with a great, cushy job. Well, I’ve got some great news for you – you’re married and you’ve got that job! You’ll most likely be pampered for the rest of your life. Oh, and no need to worry about supporting your crippling gambling addiction because there will always be money to cover your losses. So, wait.. why aren’t you happy?
Turns out you actually hate that job and your wife being popular and beautiful in high school isn’t exactly enough to support a marriage. Who knew? Maybe you just need a break from it all. Unfortunately (or fortunately), your father takes sick and needs you by his side. So you visit your hometown but rather than giving you some room to breathe from your crushing life in the city, it only makes you realize just how miserable you truly are.
So, what’s the solution? Do you go back and tell your wife it simply isn’t working out? Do you quit your job? Or.. do you kill your wife and try and screw your father-in-law out of millions of dollars? In Ed Brubaker’s work, ain’t nobody going to pick anything but option C.
The Last of the Innocent is a tremendous read, despite the fact that the plot sounds all too familiar. Let’s face it – you read that and think – “oh, isn’t this like ninety percent of noir novels?” Sure, I mean – you wouldn't exactly be wrong. However, there’s something subtly brewing under the surface that I didn’t quite get until I read Kemper's review – this is Riverdale, Riley is Archie! Sure, there’s a shift in artwork at certain points that harkens back to the gang in Riverdale, but I thought that was just a representation of a more innocent time for Riley. Turns out I’m just not that observant.
I've said it before, if you’re a crime fiction fan and have never explored the world of seedy, crime comics, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Brubaker and Phillips are like comics’ Scorcese and Deniro – they’re made for one another. There’s no better team working today.
Turns out you actually hate that job and your wife being popular and beautiful in high school isn’t exactly enough to support a marriage. Who knew? Maybe you just need a break from it all. Unfortunately (or fortunately), your father takes sick and needs you by his side. So you visit your hometown but rather than giving you some room to breathe from your crushing life in the city, it only makes you realize just how miserable you truly are.
So, what’s the solution? Do you go back and tell your wife it simply isn’t working out? Do you quit your job? Or.. do you kill your wife and try and screw your father-in-law out of millions of dollars? In Ed Brubaker’s work, ain’t nobody going to pick anything but option C.
The Last of the Innocent is a tremendous read, despite the fact that the plot sounds all too familiar. Let’s face it – you read that and think – “oh, isn’t this like ninety percent of noir novels?” Sure, I mean – you wouldn't exactly be wrong. However, there’s something subtly brewing under the surface that I didn’t quite get until I read Kemper's review – this is Riverdale, Riley is Archie! Sure, there’s a shift in artwork at certain points that harkens back to the gang in Riverdale, but I thought that was just a representation of a more innocent time for Riley. Turns out I’m just not that observant.
I've said it before, if you’re a crime fiction fan and have never explored the world of seedy, crime comics, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Brubaker and Phillips are like comics’ Scorcese and Deniro – they’re made for one another. There’s no better team working today.
February 24, 2013
Who hasn't looked back on their youth through rose-tinted lenses and wished they could go back? What if you were faced with that choice, that of the two girls who were after you in high school, you chose one and ended up with a depressing and horrible life - wouldn't you wonder if you would've had a better life with the other girl?
That's the decision Riley Richards makes when he returns to Brookview (an idealistic American small town) for his father's funeral and sees the girl that got away, Lizzie. Returning to the city he sees his wife who, despite being beautiful, worldly and rich, hates him and is cheating on him, and he decides to kill her and start over in Brookview with Lizzie.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips create another masterful story of crime and suspense in their brilliant "Criminal" series. The way Phillips draws is always extraordinary and he makes some interesting choices in differentiating between the present and the past, drawing the past as cartoonish and unreal. Brubaker is a helluva writer and his plotting and characterisation here is no less incredible than in the other "Criminal" books. I actually found myself rooting for the villain the entire time even though I knew what a terrible person he was. That's how good Brubaker is.
Anybody new coming to this series shouldn't worry about having to go back and start at Book 1, all of the books are standalone and can be read individually, and "The Last of the Innocents" continues that setup. That said, I heartily recommend the previous 5 if you liked this one. For fans of the other books, I don't need to suggest reading this as you'll no doubt either have done so or are planning to in the near future.
The only real complaint about the book is a material one - the cover to this is some weird new plasticky substance that means the book's covers start curling immediately. When you've read the book the covers will be curled into a fixed position which is really unpleasant and doesn't look good at all. "Incognito: Bad Influences" has the same type of cover material with the same problems too. I really hope Marvel switch to better covers than this as they make the book really shabby, completely different from its contents. C'mon Marvel don't be so damn cheap about the production of your books!
That's the decision Riley Richards makes when he returns to Brookview (an idealistic American small town) for his father's funeral and sees the girl that got away, Lizzie. Returning to the city he sees his wife who, despite being beautiful, worldly and rich, hates him and is cheating on him, and he decides to kill her and start over in Brookview with Lizzie.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips create another masterful story of crime and suspense in their brilliant "Criminal" series. The way Phillips draws is always extraordinary and he makes some interesting choices in differentiating between the present and the past, drawing the past as cartoonish and unreal. Brubaker is a helluva writer and his plotting and characterisation here is no less incredible than in the other "Criminal" books. I actually found myself rooting for the villain the entire time even though I knew what a terrible person he was. That's how good Brubaker is.
Anybody new coming to this series shouldn't worry about having to go back and start at Book 1, all of the books are standalone and can be read individually, and "The Last of the Innocents" continues that setup. That said, I heartily recommend the previous 5 if you liked this one. For fans of the other books, I don't need to suggest reading this as you'll no doubt either have done so or are planning to in the near future.
The only real complaint about the book is a material one - the cover to this is some weird new plasticky substance that means the book's covers start curling immediately. When you've read the book the covers will be curled into a fixed position which is really unpleasant and doesn't look good at all. "Incognito: Bad Influences" has the same type of cover material with the same problems too. I really hope Marvel switch to better covers than this as they make the book really shabby, completely different from its contents. C'mon Marvel don't be so damn cheap about the production of your books!
February 1, 2013
I think this is the best Criminal yet. It's the unusual and totally unexpected premise that gives The Last of the Innocent an extra dimension. It's Archie Comics meets noir!
So what would happen if Archie had married Veronica? Brubaker's take is an unhappy marriage, leading to an impeccably planned murder. The viewpoint character is the Archie analog, Riley Richards, now intent on on killing his Veronica-esque wife after discovering that she's having an affair with his high school rival. Throughout the book, he has flashbacks to his time in his small town high school, drawn in a really fabulous take on the Archie house style. In true Brubaker style, there are some very dark undertones to that supposedly innocent time, slowly revealed over the course of the book. I suspect that a true Archie fan would enjoy this more than I did, as long as they were willing to see a side of Riverdale they'd never expected. I'm sure there were far more parallels than my passing knowledge of Archie let me pick out.
Riley is absolutely not a sympathetic character. Nor, I think, was he meant to be. Huge credit to Brubaker for writing a villain protoganist that works. And for not making his ultimate success or failure a forgone conclusion. I wasn't sure until the last page.
So what would happen if Archie had married Veronica? Brubaker's take is an unhappy marriage, leading to an impeccably planned murder. The viewpoint character is the Archie analog, Riley Richards, now intent on on killing his Veronica-esque wife after discovering that she's having an affair with his high school rival. Throughout the book, he has flashbacks to his time in his small town high school, drawn in a really fabulous take on the Archie house style. In true Brubaker style, there are some very dark undertones to that supposedly innocent time, slowly revealed over the course of the book. I suspect that a true Archie fan would enjoy this more than I did, as long as they were willing to see a side of Riverdale they'd never expected. I'm sure there were far more parallels than my passing knowledge of Archie let me pick out.
Riley is absolutely not a sympathetic character. Nor, I think, was he meant to be. Huge credit to Brubaker for writing a villain protoganist that works. And for not making his ultimate success or failure a forgone conclusion. I wasn't sure until the last page.
February 10, 2018
I'll never look at Archie comic characters the same way again.
December 12, 2025
Definitely one of Brubaker's tightest stories. I think this is where Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips hit their peak... but they've kept going strong ever since with numerous classic comics.
2017 review:I've read this far, so its clear that I like the series. But this is the first one that stands out as a truly great thriller. I appreciate how self-contained it is. The best aspect is the commitment Brubaker gives to really getting inside the head of the protagonist - every thing is told from his point of view without any outside judgment of his actions.
I also really loved the change in artwork for the flash back scenes. They're drawn in an "Archie" style - in fact the whole story is kind of a twisted parody of Archie all grown-up (although I didn't really notice that until after I finished the book... not being a very big Archie reader). Its a clever way of saying the flash backs are a bit too nostalgic and perhaps inaccurate.
2017 review:I've read this far, so its clear that I like the series. But this is the first one that stands out as a truly great thriller. I appreciate how self-contained it is. The best aspect is the commitment Brubaker gives to really getting inside the head of the protagonist - every thing is told from his point of view without any outside judgment of his actions.
I also really loved the change in artwork for the flash back scenes. They're drawn in an "Archie" style - in fact the whole story is kind of a twisted parody of Archie all grown-up (although I didn't really notice that until after I finished the book... not being a very big Archie reader). Its a clever way of saying the flash backs are a bit too nostalgic and perhaps inaccurate.
January 17, 2014
Wow. What a great way to end a series. Not what I expected at all, but absolutely lovely.
September 8, 2018
Hey, remember when I said volume 5 was my favorite of the series? Yeah, I think that’s changed.
What’s it about?
There’s this guy who owes a lot of money to a big time crime boss (one that we’ve seen in previous volumes) who has a wife from a wealthy wife and great life... well so it seems. Anyways, he’s back in his hometown and things get crazy as hell!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is gripping, gritty and interesting. I also love how even though these are all standalone stories they all tie in so well.
Phillips’ art is so damn good and my gosh, his range! This dude can draw anything!
That’s in one page and it works! That is freaking awesome!
The characters are all very interesting and well written.
There’s quite a bit of good, bloody action!
This book is very suspenseful and this volume might have been the one with the most surprising twists.
The comic relief stuff is great. This is still a serious book but this one has more comic relief moments. I especially like the flashbacks with the art in the style of old Archie comics and the way that this book often parodied them.
Of course it might be slightly immature but I can’t help but laugh seeing mature content with cartoony art which is something that was frequently featured in this book!
The narrative is very well written.
The dialogue is good once again. I like the way that Brubaker really captures the characters personalities through realistic dialogue throughout this series.
The ending is so fucked up but good. If you’re a follower of my reviews you probably know that I hate it when fucked up things happen IRL but love it in fiction and boy, this is possibly one of the disturbing endings I’ve read in a book.
Overall:
This book is so good and Criminal is a masterpiece in comic book storytelling and really storytelling in general! If I taught a class on excellent comic storytelling, this series would be required reading (then again I’d be a shitty teacher and this would probably get complaints depending on the age of the students (and even then...)). Everyone with even a slight interest in comics should at least try this series!
Of course my local Hoopla has reached the daily collective borrow limit so I can’t read the final volume right away.
5/5
What’s it about?
There’s this guy who owes a lot of money to a big time crime boss (one that we’ve seen in previous volumes) who has a wife from a wealthy wife and great life... well so it seems. Anyways, he’s back in his hometown and things get crazy as hell!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is gripping, gritty and interesting. I also love how even though these are all standalone stories they all tie in so well.
Phillips’ art is so damn good and my gosh, his range! This dude can draw anything!
That’s in one page and it works! That is freaking awesome!
The characters are all very interesting and well written.
There’s quite a bit of good, bloody action!
This book is very suspenseful and this volume might have been the one with the most surprising twists.
The comic relief stuff is great. This is still a serious book but this one has more comic relief moments. I especially like the flashbacks with the art in the style of old Archie comics and the way that this book often parodied them.
Of course it might be slightly immature but I can’t help but laugh seeing mature content with cartoony art which is something that was frequently featured in this book!
The narrative is very well written.
The dialogue is good once again. I like the way that Brubaker really captures the characters personalities through realistic dialogue throughout this series.
The ending is so fucked up but good. If you’re a follower of my reviews you probably know that I hate it when fucked up things happen IRL but love it in fiction and boy, this is possibly one of the disturbing endings I’ve read in a book.
Overall:
This book is so good and Criminal is a masterpiece in comic book storytelling and really storytelling in general! If I taught a class on excellent comic storytelling, this series would be required reading (then again I’d be a shitty teacher and this would probably get complaints depending on the age of the students (and even then...)). Everyone with even a slight interest in comics should at least try this series!
Of course my local Hoopla has reached the daily collective borrow limit so I can’t read the final volume right away.
5/5
January 11, 2014
I'm sad this was the last Volume of the brilliant Criminal series, but I'm also happy, because it was so damn great.
Imagine Archie married Veronica, had to work for Mr. Lodge, and left Riverdale. They grow up, Archie and Veronica are not happy together, and he finds out she's sleeping with Reggie. Archie goes home to find that Jughead is a recovering drug addict, Moose is the Chief of Police, and Betty still makes him feel all warm in the pants...
OK now filter this through the best crime noir act in comics: Brubaker and Philips. This is tied into the other characters of the Criminal world, but as with the rest, it's also a stand-alone.
It's also a love letter to nostalgia, and the power it holds over us, and the looking back and wondering 'what if?'. Philips also draws the flashback scenes like it's an Archie comic, and at first I didn't like it, then I realized just how good an idea it was.
In addition to nostalgic looks back, it's also a commentary (at least I find) that comics themselves are a great form of nostalgia, and perhaps why many of us still chose to read them (even if we call them graphic novels now, and they are more adult) in an unconscious attempt to remain young or in the better days of the past.
To have a story this good, and this metaphorical for real life, well it doesn't come around too often...
Needless to say, this is an essential, and in some ways, this might be the only one you need to read, though I daresay you'd be missing out if you don't read the whole series.
Bravo!
Imagine Archie married Veronica, had to work for Mr. Lodge, and left Riverdale. They grow up, Archie and Veronica are not happy together, and he finds out she's sleeping with Reggie. Archie goes home to find that Jughead is a recovering drug addict, Moose is the Chief of Police, and Betty still makes him feel all warm in the pants...
OK now filter this through the best crime noir act in comics: Brubaker and Philips. This is tied into the other characters of the Criminal world, but as with the rest, it's also a stand-alone.
It's also a love letter to nostalgia, and the power it holds over us, and the looking back and wondering 'what if?'. Philips also draws the flashback scenes like it's an Archie comic, and at first I didn't like it, then I realized just how good an idea it was.
In addition to nostalgic looks back, it's also a commentary (at least I find) that comics themselves are a great form of nostalgia, and perhaps why many of us still chose to read them (even if we call them graphic novels now, and they are more adult) in an unconscious attempt to remain young or in the better days of the past.
To have a story this good, and this metaphorical for real life, well it doesn't come around too often...
Needless to say, this is an essential, and in some ways, this might be the only one you need to read, though I daresay you'd be missing out if you don't read the whole series.
Bravo!
November 9, 2015
Over after just six volumes but I guess it's better to end at it's peak than to become mediocre later.
This crime noir graphic novel series is among best if not the best I read .There is no big "global" plotline just series of stories about carried criminals set mostly in same city.It's well designed microcosm where minor characters in one volume take spotlight in another and vice versa. Illustrations fit well with story and add to gloomy atmosphere.
Grade for the whole series: easy 5 and place on my favorites list.
This crime noir graphic novel series is among best if not the best I read .There is no big "global" plotline just series of stories about carried criminals set mostly in same city.It's well designed microcosm where minor characters in one volume take spotlight in another and vice versa. Illustrations fit well with story and add to gloomy atmosphere.
Grade for the whole series: easy 5 and place on my favorites list.
August 9, 2020
So this is the story of Riley and his wife and childhood friends. We get some flashback sequences of Riley and his best friend and the girl he should’ve been with and the girl he actually ended up marrying who happens to come from a rich family. Riley discovers his wife is cheating on him but doesn’t tell anyone. He decides he is going to kill her. A lot of F’d up stuff follows afterwards. It’s like Riley has changed. For the first time in this series, this book ends with a happy ending.......I guess. However, there were some diabolical actions that went down to get to that ending.
December 15, 2021
Best Archie comic I’ve ever read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2020
Another excellent addition to one of the very best graphic novel series out there. This one is largely a standalone story although some peripheral characters will be familiar to readers who have read other books in the series.
January 14, 2020
(4,7 of 5 for this crime thriller masterpiece "Archie & Veronica" sequel)
How beautiful, the final book of my 2019 Goodreads reading challenge is this masterpiece. Criminal series had a little rough start for me. Coward wasn't nor what I expected or exactly liked. It was OK, but nothing more. But with Lawless, it started to get better. Then The Sinners hit the ceiling. I like Tracy's character and this was pure noir setting with all that noir key characters and it was awesome. I didn't think it could go higher. But I didn't expect that The Last of the Innocent would be still crime thriller but a very different one from previous ones.
And I totally loved it. Riley is a well-written character, the story is masterfully built, the art - I got used to Phillip's stuff or he refined his style from the first issue, I don't know, but it just fits. And the "memory" Archie-like parts are a funny and smart idea. I won't spoil anybody the story, because the factor that you don't know what will happen is crucial here. But the story is great, Brubaker overdid himself here. So let be bit-exact:
Riley kind of reminded me Steve Harrington from Stranger Things. He was first depicted as a kind of douchebag at first, but you eventually get fond of him. Of course, Riley is not only bit douchebag, but also a gambler and a criminal, but Brubaker still managed to make him very lifelike, plastic and sympathetic. (And Joe Keery could definitely play Riley in a movie adaptation, the look is all there.)
How beautiful, the final book of my 2019 Goodreads reading challenge is this masterpiece. Criminal series had a little rough start for me. Coward wasn't nor what I expected or exactly liked. It was OK, but nothing more. But with Lawless, it started to get better. Then The Sinners hit the ceiling. I like Tracy's character and this was pure noir setting with all that noir key characters and it was awesome. I didn't think it could go higher. But I didn't expect that The Last of the Innocent would be still crime thriller but a very different one from previous ones.
And I totally loved it. Riley is a well-written character, the story is masterfully built, the art - I got used to Phillip's stuff or he refined his style from the first issue, I don't know, but it just fits. And the "memory" Archie-like parts are a funny and smart idea. I won't spoil anybody the story, because the factor that you don't know what will happen is crucial here. But the story is great, Brubaker overdid himself here. So let be bit-exact:
Riley kind of reminded me Steve Harrington from Stranger Things. He was first depicted as a kind of douchebag at first, but you eventually get fond of him. Of course, Riley is not only bit douchebag, but also a gambler and a criminal, but Brubaker still managed to make him very lifelike, plastic and sympathetic. (And Joe Keery could definitely play Riley in a movie adaptation, the look is all there.)
October 28, 2015
Last of the Innocent is the best volume in the Criminal series. It tells an unconventional crime story that combines elements of romance, booze and drugs and innocence.
The trademark dark hues and excellent shadows of Criminal art is juxtaposed with simpler illustrations. Hence the art does not only set the mood for the grim and noir overall tone as what it has always been in the series, but effectively contrasts Riley's (the protagonist) immaturely innocent past and the mess he has become in the present.
Last of the Innocent may be set in Brubaker's Criminal world, but it departs from the typical motivations and perspectives seen in the previous arcs. Connections with other Criminal books are scattered in bits and pieces throughout the story so one would know it happened in the same place as the others stories.
The ending may feel too conveniently easy and happy but that itself gave me a subtle feeling of uneasiness, that things will ultimately go south. So that "things went all too well" at the end is a fitting conclusion.
The trademark dark hues and excellent shadows of Criminal art is juxtaposed with simpler illustrations. Hence the art does not only set the mood for the grim and noir overall tone as what it has always been in the series, but effectively contrasts Riley's (the protagonist) immaturely innocent past and the mess he has become in the present.
Last of the Innocent may be set in Brubaker's Criminal world, but it departs from the typical motivations and perspectives seen in the previous arcs. Connections with other Criminal books are scattered in bits and pieces throughout the story so one would know it happened in the same place as the others stories.
The ending may feel too conveniently easy and happy but that itself gave me a subtle feeling of uneasiness, that things will ultimately go south. So that "things went all too well" at the end is a fitting conclusion.
July 29, 2015
I'm sorry I doubted you, Criminal. It is a great volume.
The story here is VERY disturbing, but has everything I loved about volumes 1 and 2: it's solid, integral, it is written incredibly well and tightly, and the characters feel real and alive.
The art in this volume looks especially good, too. The mix of retro-comics style for flashbacks with the usual Sean Phillips beautiful noir art works great.
The only (minor) complaint I have is this didn't feel like the last volume of the series. It just felt like yet another (great) volume. But it is the concept of this series, to tell another story in each volume about another set of characters who are only vaguely connected. On the plus side, it stays open for the chance that maybe Brubaker and Phillips will decide to make another book in the world of Criminal. Because damn, this was a great series.
The story here is VERY disturbing, but has everything I loved about volumes 1 and 2: it's solid, integral, it is written incredibly well and tightly, and the characters feel real and alive.
The art in this volume looks especially good, too. The mix of retro-comics style for flashbacks with the usual Sean Phillips beautiful noir art works great.
The only (minor) complaint I have is this didn't feel like the last volume of the series. It just felt like yet another (great) volume. But it is the concept of this series, to tell another story in each volume about another set of characters who are only vaguely connected. On the plus side, it stays open for the chance that maybe Brubaker and Phillips will decide to make another book in the world of Criminal. Because damn, this was a great series.
January 30, 2019
This series can do no wrong. A sort of revenge thriller crime novel with a twist. Really cool way the artwork changes for present and past plot telling. Dont want this series to end.
May 6, 2025
Another stunner from Brubaker and Phillips. The Last of the Innocent might be the most haunting entry in the Criminal series yet. They take the classic small-town nostalgia story and twist it into something dark, sharp, and unforgettable. Riley Richards returns home to a life that looks perfect on paper—but he’s drowning in regret, temptation, and the kind of secrets that only murder can bury.
Brubaker plays with structure here in a brilliant way—the flashbacks are drawn in a clean, retro style that contrasts hard with the gritty present-day scenes, and it hits you how much Riley has lost, or maybe never had in the first place. It’s a story about nostalgia gone sour, about trying to rewrite your own life like it’s a comic book—only real life doesn’t work that way.
This volume is one of the most psychologically rich in the Criminal run. It’s not about a heist or a job—it’s about how far someone will go to recapture a version of themselves that might never have been real. Cold, smart, and deeply unsettling. Brubaker and Phillips are on another level here. Absolutely brilliant.
Brubaker plays with structure here in a brilliant way—the flashbacks are drawn in a clean, retro style that contrasts hard with the gritty present-day scenes, and it hits you how much Riley has lost, or maybe never had in the first place. It’s a story about nostalgia gone sour, about trying to rewrite your own life like it’s a comic book—only real life doesn’t work that way.
This volume is one of the most psychologically rich in the Criminal run. It’s not about a heist or a job—it’s about how far someone will go to recapture a version of themselves that might never have been real. Cold, smart, and deeply unsettling. Brubaker and Phillips are on another level here. Absolutely brilliant.
December 14, 2014
Brubaker and Philips are known for their off-the-wall noir storytelling, so it is no surprise to see all the noir elements at play in their Criminal series. But volume 6, The Last of the Innocent, adds an unusual visual twist by combining the dark, gritty noir vibe with a bright, cartoony style reminiscent of Archie comics.
The Archie similarities go far deeper than the art, though, as Brubaker spins a story of a man named Riley Richards. Riley has it all, thanks to his marriage to the beautiful, lusty rich girl. But it's the girl-next-door that he really wants. When the death of Riley's father draws him back to his backwater home town of Brookview, he begins plotting murder.
Basically, this is a cautionary tale for Archie, warning him that Betty was always the better choice over Veronica. That might seem like just a joke to you, or, if you're an Archie fan, you might not like the idea of having your favourite characters presented so darkly, but for me, this was a stunning read, particularly because of how the story plays out around Riley's best friend, Freakout. Freakout is a drug addict, and spends his time either high and constantly eating (sound familiar?), or looking for his next hit. When Riley returns to Brookview, Freakout is on the road to recovery, with an entire year drug free. But what are best friends for, if not to be the perfect alibi for murder?
Through Freakout, Brubaker gives heartbreaking look at friendship and loyalty, and forces us to question happiness and the lengths some might go to attain it.
Or the illusion of it.
This is the sixth volume of the series. There are small connections to the other volumes, which you can discern through the cover images of the other books, but the stories within each volume stand on their own.
www.BiblioSanctum.com
The Archie similarities go far deeper than the art, though, as Brubaker spins a story of a man named Riley Richards. Riley has it all, thanks to his marriage to the beautiful, lusty rich girl. But it's the girl-next-door that he really wants. When the death of Riley's father draws him back to his backwater home town of Brookview, he begins plotting murder.
Basically, this is a cautionary tale for Archie, warning him that Betty was always the better choice over Veronica. That might seem like just a joke to you, or, if you're an Archie fan, you might not like the idea of having your favourite characters presented so darkly, but for me, this was a stunning read, particularly because of how the story plays out around Riley's best friend, Freakout. Freakout is a drug addict, and spends his time either high and constantly eating (sound familiar?), or looking for his next hit. When Riley returns to Brookview, Freakout is on the road to recovery, with an entire year drug free. But what are best friends for, if not to be the perfect alibi for murder?
Through Freakout, Brubaker gives heartbreaking look at friendship and loyalty, and forces us to question happiness and the lengths some might go to attain it.
Or the illusion of it.
This is the sixth volume of the series. There are small connections to the other volumes, which you can discern through the cover images of the other books, but the stories within each volume stand on their own.
www.BiblioSanctum.com
January 25, 2018
Weaker than the 2 previous volumes.
October 17, 2022
Going through my stuff for a yard sale I came across the individual issues for Last of the Innocent. My favorite in the Criminal series since Bad Night. Life with Riley and good friends and wrong choices. A good one.
Read
July 1, 2012Weird, I thought I'd written a review when I added this book to my "library," but it didn't take for some reason. Here it is, semi-again:
. . . . .
I don't think this book is due out until December, but I read it when it appeared as four serial pamphlets earlier in the year.
This is the sixth volume of the great Criminal series by writer Ed Brubaker and illustrator Sean Phillips, who have developed a special collaborative relationship in the process of working together on several different tiles over the years.
Like each preceding volume in the Criminal series, it can be read on its own. Each volume tells a story about the criminal underworld, each vaguely rotating around a broad array of characters, each introducing new temporarily lead characters who may return at a later date as supporting characters -- or, occasionally taking a tertiary character from a previous story and turning the spotlight on him, or her. (It's a model more police procedural TV shows should follow, though casting directors don't have the freedom that comics authors and artists enjoy. The latter don't have to worry that some minor thug in an earlier story now has the lead in an ongoing theatrical production in London; they just draw him in.)
The stories in the Criminal series have both a noir undergirding and fully contemporary setting. It is a tough combination to pull off, but one Brubaker and Phillips manage each time around.
This entry tells the story of a guy who marries well ("well" as the root word of "wealth"), has to deal with the repercussions, and makes a decision that impacts a lot of people in ways he hadn't fully prepared for. The structure of this volume is how that all plays out. The story, though, is how it impacts him.
While the story of love gone sour and its mortal implications is somewhat familiar, the book is distinguished by the way it risks its noir accomplishments by intermingling flashback sequences that present themselves as riffs on the storytelling from Archie comics. This isn't purely a visual effect. The whole Betty/Veronica situation reveals itself as a self-fulfilling prophecy of love triangles, and we come to fear for what did become of Jughead when he woke up.
Comics have peeked through the hardboiled surface of Criminal in the past, but not as thoroughly as they do here.
. . . . .
I don't think this book is due out until December, but I read it when it appeared as four serial pamphlets earlier in the year.
This is the sixth volume of the great Criminal series by writer Ed Brubaker and illustrator Sean Phillips, who have developed a special collaborative relationship in the process of working together on several different tiles over the years.
Like each preceding volume in the Criminal series, it can be read on its own. Each volume tells a story about the criminal underworld, each vaguely rotating around a broad array of characters, each introducing new temporarily lead characters who may return at a later date as supporting characters -- or, occasionally taking a tertiary character from a previous story and turning the spotlight on him, or her. (It's a model more police procedural TV shows should follow, though casting directors don't have the freedom that comics authors and artists enjoy. The latter don't have to worry that some minor thug in an earlier story now has the lead in an ongoing theatrical production in London; they just draw him in.)
The stories in the Criminal series have both a noir undergirding and fully contemporary setting. It is a tough combination to pull off, but one Brubaker and Phillips manage each time around.
This entry tells the story of a guy who marries well ("well" as the root word of "wealth"), has to deal with the repercussions, and makes a decision that impacts a lot of people in ways he hadn't fully prepared for. The structure of this volume is how that all plays out. The story, though, is how it impacts him.
While the story of love gone sour and its mortal implications is somewhat familiar, the book is distinguished by the way it risks its noir accomplishments by intermingling flashback sequences that present themselves as riffs on the storytelling from Archie comics. This isn't purely a visual effect. The whole Betty/Veronica situation reveals itself as a self-fulfilling prophecy of love triangles, and we come to fear for what did become of Jughead when he woke up.
Comics have peeked through the hardboiled surface of Criminal in the past, but not as thoroughly as they do here.
November 29, 2014
This was my first foray into the CRIMINAL world, though I've been a huge fan of other Brubaker/Phillips books for ages. I hadn't gotten around to picking up a volume until our Ladies' Comic Book Club chose it as our November read...and man, am I glad we did.
Brubaker is fantastic at writing noir. Phillips is uncannily awesome at representing the noir visually in every panel. If you've read any of their FATALE series you'll know what I mean. This stand-alone episode of CRIMINAL just proves their marvellous simpatico relationship once again. Gorgeous to look at, distinct characterizations straight away, and a compelling story that made me tear through the entire book in less than an hour.
Obligatory plot outline: Riley is loath to return to his hick hometown, but when his father dies he takes the opportunity to go back and, in the process, dodge a loan shark who's been after him. Riley married into an insanely wealthy family right out of college, ensuring financial security by choosing the "Veronica"-esque Felicity over the "Betty" ex he still loves. But despite working for his father-in-law's corporation and having a gorgeous wife, life isn't all days of wine and roses. His trip home turns really dark very quickly. It's delicious to watch everything fall apart.
My mention of Betty and Veronica is apt: One brilliant stroke of ingenuity here is that, every few pages, we're treated to the various characters' back stories by a page done in Archie comic style art, which really drives home how innocent things were when this group of friends (and enemies) were younger. It's in such stark contrast to the dark themes and colours throughout the present day plot that it's jarring, but in the best possible way. Seeing what some of these people were like back in the day, and how things have turned out for them, hits an emotional note that I don't often find in graphic novels. You get invested. You can't help it.
I'm happy to know there are more CRIMINAL books out there waiting to be read. This one was so taut and smart (and did I mention dark?? The ending made me slap a hand over my mouth in astonishment) that I want more.
Brubaker is fantastic at writing noir. Phillips is uncannily awesome at representing the noir visually in every panel. If you've read any of their FATALE series you'll know what I mean. This stand-alone episode of CRIMINAL just proves their marvellous simpatico relationship once again. Gorgeous to look at, distinct characterizations straight away, and a compelling story that made me tear through the entire book in less than an hour.
Obligatory plot outline: Riley is loath to return to his hick hometown, but when his father dies he takes the opportunity to go back and, in the process, dodge a loan shark who's been after him. Riley married into an insanely wealthy family right out of college, ensuring financial security by choosing the "Veronica"-esque Felicity over the "Betty" ex he still loves. But despite working for his father-in-law's corporation and having a gorgeous wife, life isn't all days of wine and roses. His trip home turns really dark very quickly. It's delicious to watch everything fall apart.
My mention of Betty and Veronica is apt: One brilliant stroke of ingenuity here is that, every few pages, we're treated to the various characters' back stories by a page done in Archie comic style art, which really drives home how innocent things were when this group of friends (and enemies) were younger. It's in such stark contrast to the dark themes and colours throughout the present day plot that it's jarring, but in the best possible way. Seeing what some of these people were like back in the day, and how things have turned out for them, hits an emotional note that I don't often find in graphic novels. You get invested. You can't help it.
I'm happy to know there are more CRIMINAL books out there waiting to be read. This one was so taut and smart (and did I mention dark?? The ending made me slap a hand over my mouth in astonishment) that I want more.
December 31, 2017
Wow! Read this straight through and was absolutely stunned and drop-jawed at the end. The story of Riley, the guy who has it all and is miserable and wants a do-over and figures out how to get his "escape," is mesmerizing and shocking. Brubaker doesn't just trash Riley's present, however, he interweaves the backstory that drives the present and it is full of darkness as well even if it is remembered by Riley as the better days. The darkness is quite subtle at first but it builds and illuminates the present. And then there's Phillips' artwork. The present is the usual grit and grime. The past, however, is all done Archie style, sunny and bright. The contrast is brilliant and it makes the dark stuff going on in these sunny scenes even more powerful once you realize they are in there. The artwork in this volume is really on another level with how it elevates the story. The Archie theme is not just an artistic style, it is also reflected in the characters, which are a dark revisioning of the Archie characters. Adds another layer to this brilliant volume. Best thing I've read this year!
August 30, 2025
Think of this as Archie Noir. Takeoffs of Archie and friends end up embroiled in murder and conspiracy almost 20 years later. It extrapolates the arcs of the characters well, and it quickly feels like a believable future for them. I'm almost curious to read the official Archie future stories to see how they compare. Somehow I don't think any of them will focus on Jughead (here called Freakout) has to deal with his drug addiction, or Archie (here Riley) would decide he has to kill his wife (the Veronica analogue). It's very strange, but works really well.
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