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Sex Criminals
Sex Criminals, Vol. 5: Five-Fingered Discount
Suzie and Jon have that special something—when they have sex, they freeze time and do crimes. Well—they HAD that special something. In the aftermath of what would appear to be a breakup, where do our two love-crazy time-freezing sex-having bank robbers go? REBOUND AHOY! Also everything gets more dangerous and complicated? But it's okay.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 14, 2018
18 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
About the author
Matt Fraction
1,224 books1,869 followers"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
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February 22, 2023
It's six months later... where is everyone now? What are they doing? Who are they with? The Sex Police's leader still can't get over what Suze and Jon did to him! Unfortunately this is the weakest volume so far, but still better than the vast majority of comic book serials our there. There's more story and less quirkiness in this volume. Yes there has to be more story to re-establish where everyone has moved six months on and push the book forward but to me the book was not about the innovative relationships between cast members but the total disregard for the fourth wall, out of reality humour, creator interventions, censorship, and the quasi essays into sex in the 21st century... was I asking for too much? 8 out of 12 Four Stars.
2019 read
2019 read
March 24, 2020
2.5 stars
So.
There's this cool idea but it's just not going anywhere sane.
If I were 13, then maybe just the concept of a sex-centric comic would be funny/edgy/titillating enough on its own to overwhelm any desire I might have for a plot to actually have plot-like qualities.
Unfortunately, I'm a little older now. I've moved on from oooh! sex! tee-hee! to oooh! sex! fuck! leg cramp! leg cramp! goddamn it. well. maybe tomorrow., and these realities of life don't lend themselves to enjoying stories simply because there are drawings of glowing peckers on the page.
I'm not saying that peckers on a page, glowing or otherwise, are a no-go for me because I've obviously read 5 fucking volumes of this story.
I just need a somewhat reasonable(ish) plot. Please.
I do continue to enjoy the slice of life look at relationships that this comic offers up. And I also still mostly like all the silly sex puns and easter eggs drawn into the panels.
BUT. There is quite literally nothing in the Sex Police plot that makes any sort of sense. I don't understand the concept of these so-called police & I don't understand any of the motives of the people involved with it. I don't even understand most of the motives of the characters fighting the Sex Police.
I mean, if you can even call what they are doing fighting. As far as I can tell they meet up in random diners, make snarky jabs at each other, and...plot? Except the plotting is lame because I still don't understand exactly what they're plotting to do. Just some random we'll team up and get 'em! garbage while they mentally shake their fists.
Even at the end when there's the big reunion and Keigelface shows up to...what? What are they even doing? Going after some asshole dude who (and I'm not even sure about this) gets superpowers by hooking his dick up to a machine?
What. Is. That?
I'm just thankful that there is (supposedly) only one more volume in the works. I'm holding back final judgment because there's a slim chance this will all make sense in the end.
Slim. Chance.
So.
There's this cool idea but it's just not going anywhere sane.
If I were 13, then maybe just the concept of a sex-centric comic would be funny/edgy/titillating enough on its own to overwhelm any desire I might have for a plot to actually have plot-like qualities.
Unfortunately, I'm a little older now. I've moved on from oooh! sex! tee-hee! to oooh! sex! fuck! leg cramp! leg cramp! goddamn it. well. maybe tomorrow., and these realities of life don't lend themselves to enjoying stories simply because there are drawings of glowing peckers on the page.
I'm not saying that peckers on a page, glowing or otherwise, are a no-go for me because I've obviously read 5 fucking volumes of this story.
I just need a somewhat reasonable(ish) plot. Please.
I do continue to enjoy the slice of life look at relationships that this comic offers up. And I also still mostly like all the silly sex puns and easter eggs drawn into the panels.
BUT. There is quite literally nothing in the Sex Police plot that makes any sort of sense. I don't understand the concept of these so-called police & I don't understand any of the motives of the people involved with it. I don't even understand most of the motives of the characters fighting the Sex Police.
I mean, if you can even call what they are doing fighting. As far as I can tell they meet up in random diners, make snarky jabs at each other, and...plot? Except the plotting is lame because I still don't understand exactly what they're plotting to do. Just some random we'll team up and get 'em! garbage while they mentally shake their fists.
Even at the end when there's the big reunion and Keigelface shows up to...what? What are they even doing? Going after some asshole dude who (and I'm not even sure about this) gets superpowers by hooking his dick up to a machine?
What. Is. That?
I'm just thankful that there is (supposedly) only one more volume in the works. I'm holding back final judgment because there's a slim chance this will all make sense in the end.
Slim. Chance.
August 26, 2018
Jon and Suze have broken up. She’s moved back to her mom’s place only to discover her mother’s gotten wayyyy too sexual in her retirement, while he’s moved in with a bisexual lady who he’s in an open relationship with. So they’re both still messes! Meanwhile the villainous Kuber Badal is doing questionable stuff with his sex powers – Sex Crimz and Sex Pols assemble!
Eh… no. I didn’t like this one much. There’s barely any story to speak of and what little there is remains vague and meandering – I’m honestly not sure what the characters are trying to do at this point or why but, worse, I don’t really care.
Jon and Suze breaking up was contrived and pointless as we know they’ll get back together again. It’s not entertaining and it’s just a waste of a book to have them putzing about with other, dreary people. There were too many unnecessary and dull subplots like Kegelface and Jon’s psychiatrist having an affair and some gay guy getting off with another gay guy who looks like him. And what was up with Suze’s dad living in an old PC?!
The series is starting to move in the unfortunate direction of the later volumes of Chew when there was a new food-powered character or three being introduced in every book; there’s a whole bunch of new sex-powered characters being tossed in for want of a plot. Maybe it’s required for later on but I’d prefer to read a story than this plodding table-setting.
Chip Zdarsky’s art is still very strong. And, rarely for this usually funny title, the only times I smiled were at the dedications and author bios at the front and back which had more humour and imagination than the actual comic itself!
A boring, empty read that doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing anymore, Sex Crimz, Volume 5: Five-Fingered Discount is the first crummy addition to this otherwise fun series. Maybe it’s time to pull the (butt)plug on this title and close it out with an orgy-themed Queen musical number?
Eh… no. I didn’t like this one much. There’s barely any story to speak of and what little there is remains vague and meandering – I’m honestly not sure what the characters are trying to do at this point or why but, worse, I don’t really care.
Jon and Suze breaking up was contrived and pointless as we know they’ll get back together again. It’s not entertaining and it’s just a waste of a book to have them putzing about with other, dreary people. There were too many unnecessary and dull subplots like Kegelface and Jon’s psychiatrist having an affair and some gay guy getting off with another gay guy who looks like him. And what was up with Suze’s dad living in an old PC?!
The series is starting to move in the unfortunate direction of the later volumes of Chew when there was a new food-powered character or three being introduced in every book; there’s a whole bunch of new sex-powered characters being tossed in for want of a plot. Maybe it’s required for later on but I’d prefer to read a story than this plodding table-setting.
Chip Zdarsky’s art is still very strong. And, rarely for this usually funny title, the only times I smiled were at the dedications and author bios at the front and back which had more humour and imagination than the actual comic itself!
A boring, empty read that doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing anymore, Sex Crimz, Volume 5: Five-Fingered Discount is the first crummy addition to this otherwise fun series. Maybe it’s time to pull the (butt)plug on this title and close it out with an orgy-themed Queen musical number?
September 20, 2018
This was quite weird even for this series. But I have grown very fond of Jon and Suzy and I will miss them when it's all over.
July 10, 2018
Sex Criminals keeps being one of my all-time favourite comics, and this new (penultimate!) volume may easily be the best one yet since volume 2. Not much to say without spoiling stuff, but characters go through some very sincere emotional experiences that have been building up towards since the start of the book, and the ongoing rivalry is nearing its climax (heh).
Also, if you're reading the singles, there's a whole other personal drama going on in the letters column between Matt Fraction and, well, himself, so if you have a chance, check it out — there are some profound personal revelations in between all the jokes about fucking and jerking off.
If you haven't read Sex Criminals yet, it's better than Saga. Funnier, too. You know what to do with that information.
(I mean, if you ask me, a lot of things are better than Saga, but I know you people love it...)
Also, if you're reading the singles, there's a whole other personal drama going on in the letters column between Matt Fraction and, well, himself, so if you have a chance, check it out — there are some profound personal revelations in between all the jokes about fucking and jerking off.
If you haven't read Sex Criminals yet, it's better than Saga. Funnier, too. You know what to do with that information.
(I mean, if you ask me, a lot of things are better than Saga, but I know you people love it...)
October 16, 2018
So you've just blown a load. It's all over the place. You don't know what to do with yourself. And then your mum walks in. She's waiting for a response. So what do you do?
You start dancing.
You pull an Ashlee Simpson from that SNL act and start frantically dancing like the dopiest motherfucker on the planet.
That's Sex Criminals at this point.
I honestly don't know what happened here. It started off so light and quirky and goofy only to descend into a six-year old's idea of a story. Things just happen with no context or forehshadowing. So let's recap here. I did a review of Sex Criminals Volume 1 a while back (see here) and in that review I mentioned that after the initial story petered off, the story just desends into quirky slice of life drama. The problem is that I didn't realise just how bad it got. I've got no problem with slice of life drama, but it still has to mean something in the context of the story.
So by this stage in the story, the overall arc about the main characters being....you know....sex criminals....has just kind of petered off. Their initial plans have been scuppered and the main protags have broken up. But here's some of the problems with the series at this point:
Weak Protags: The thing about Suzie and Jon is that they were never the strongest protags to begin with. Suzie's ability to stop time never really helped her become her own person while Jon was so flawed a human being that it's difficult to feel any sympathy for him. He's the master of his own self-destruction, so why should I as a reader care when he doesn't show any development?
A Weak Villain: After Kegelface (the nickname of the head of the "Sex Cops") stops being the main villain of the story, that job shifts to Kuber Badal, a corporate scumbag with his own sex powers related to hooking his meat and two veg up to some machine. The problem is that, as far as villains go, Kuber is kind of milquetoast. There's no real menace to his character, the implications that he might have contributed to Suzie's father's death are so far removed because the last time we saw that was in Issue 1 and he's mostly a bland stereotype.
An Axe to Grind:By this stage in the story, Fraction's run out of traction (yes I made that joke before, shut up!) so instead he's tried to turn the story into an exploration about human relationships and how sex plays into it. Unfortunately it seems like he's cribbing notes from his wife Kelly Sue DeConnick (whose comic Bitch planet I reviewed here). Instead of having the characters have deep insightful discussions into the relationships and open up about their personal hangups, he instead chooses to have those same characters stop the plot and comic for about five fucking pages to wax philosophical/ideological. I'll show you what I mean. At some point in the story, Jon's psychologist and the sex-worker turned academic hook up. While he tries to eat her out, she gets no pleasure from it. What follows is a four page long diatribe about how he doesn't respect her as a person, sees her only as a sex object, long technical diatribes about projection and fantasies, blah freaking blah. Who talks like that? Who reduces every sexual encounter they have to a dissertation? I get that she's turned her sex life into an academic stomping ground, but this doesn't make her feel like a person. It feels like Fraction's been perusing his wife's feminist friends for academic theories. And the real kicker? The psychologist just lies there. Listens. Says nothing. That's not how people act. They respond, they talk, they question. It reinforces the fact that Fraction isn't writing characters. He's writing mouthpieces.
A Waste of Characters: Another problem is the fact that in lieu of a coherent story, Fraction instead decided to bring the side characters to the forefront in an attempt to flesh them out. But his method of doing so is so lazy and egregious that it makes me go crosseyed. Alix - our resident asexual base jumper - has an entire chapter devoted to her, only for her character to not contribute anything to the overall plot. The Anime fan - who spooges some weeaboo avatar - suddenly is revealed to be gay - after a long lengthy monologue that feels like a justification than an actual person - and suddenly is snogging the gay bus driver. There's no subtlety or buildup. Its all so fucking ridonkulous, I have to wonder where Fraction's editors are.
Wasted Potential A few other reviewers on this site have mentioned that Sex Criminals feels like John Layman's Chew, in that the author is just throwing cool ideas at the wall and trying to make them stick. And I kind of agree with them. So many of the other sex powers shown come across as window dressing with no real indication of their origins, their uses, etc. There's a veritable goldmine of creative ideas on store here and they're wasted so Fraction can have another moment where characters whine about how miserable their sex lives are.
I have a theory about Matt Fraction and his wife Kelly Sue DeConnick. I reckon they were the nerds back in high school who wanted to be popular. Because so much of Sex Criminals and Bitch Planet has that feeling like it's trying too hard. Bitch Planet wants to be rocking girl power comic, but it feels like an awkward mix of Women in Prison exploitation drama and a feminist dissertation. Sex Criminals wants to be an awesome zany sex comedy but at the same time wants to be a deep honest look at sexuality and relationships and ends up failing at both. It's like the pair of them want to be the next Alan Moore, instead of letting their work speak for itself.
Which is a shame, because in the early chapters, there was a lot to like. The comedy was quirky, the characters were at least relatable and the story seemed to be going somewhere. But somewhere along the way, Fraction blew his load all over our faces. And now we're sitting there, wiping the spunk from our eyes while Fraction does a SNL jig, desperately trying to get our attention.
You start dancing.
You pull an Ashlee Simpson from that SNL act and start frantically dancing like the dopiest motherfucker on the planet.
That's Sex Criminals at this point.
I honestly don't know what happened here. It started off so light and quirky and goofy only to descend into a six-year old's idea of a story. Things just happen with no context or forehshadowing. So let's recap here. I did a review of Sex Criminals Volume 1 a while back (see here) and in that review I mentioned that after the initial story petered off, the story just desends into quirky slice of life drama. The problem is that I didn't realise just how bad it got. I've got no problem with slice of life drama, but it still has to mean something in the context of the story.
So by this stage in the story, the overall arc about the main characters being....you know....sex criminals....has just kind of petered off. Their initial plans have been scuppered and the main protags have broken up. But here's some of the problems with the series at this point:
Weak Protags: The thing about Suzie and Jon is that they were never the strongest protags to begin with. Suzie's ability to stop time never really helped her become her own person while Jon was so flawed a human being that it's difficult to feel any sympathy for him. He's the master of his own self-destruction, so why should I as a reader care when he doesn't show any development?
A Weak Villain: After Kegelface (the nickname of the head of the "Sex Cops") stops being the main villain of the story, that job shifts to Kuber Badal, a corporate scumbag with his own sex powers related to hooking his meat and two veg up to some machine. The problem is that, as far as villains go, Kuber is kind of milquetoast. There's no real menace to his character, the implications that he might have contributed to Suzie's father's death are so far removed because the last time we saw that was in Issue 1 and he's mostly a bland stereotype.
An Axe to Grind:By this stage in the story, Fraction's run out of traction (yes I made that joke before, shut up!) so instead he's tried to turn the story into an exploration about human relationships and how sex plays into it. Unfortunately it seems like he's cribbing notes from his wife Kelly Sue DeConnick (whose comic Bitch planet I reviewed here). Instead of having the characters have deep insightful discussions into the relationships and open up about their personal hangups, he instead chooses to have those same characters stop the plot and comic for about five fucking pages to wax philosophical/ideological. I'll show you what I mean. At some point in the story, Jon's psychologist and the sex-worker turned academic hook up. While he tries to eat her out, she gets no pleasure from it. What follows is a four page long diatribe about how he doesn't respect her as a person, sees her only as a sex object, long technical diatribes about projection and fantasies, blah freaking blah. Who talks like that? Who reduces every sexual encounter they have to a dissertation? I get that she's turned her sex life into an academic stomping ground, but this doesn't make her feel like a person. It feels like Fraction's been perusing his wife's feminist friends for academic theories. And the real kicker? The psychologist just lies there. Listens. Says nothing. That's not how people act. They respond, they talk, they question. It reinforces the fact that Fraction isn't writing characters. He's writing mouthpieces.
A Waste of Characters: Another problem is the fact that in lieu of a coherent story, Fraction instead decided to bring the side characters to the forefront in an attempt to flesh them out. But his method of doing so is so lazy and egregious that it makes me go crosseyed. Alix - our resident asexual base jumper - has an entire chapter devoted to her, only for her character to not contribute anything to the overall plot. The Anime fan - who spooges some weeaboo avatar - suddenly is revealed to be gay - after a long lengthy monologue that feels like a justification than an actual person - and suddenly is snogging the gay bus driver. There's no subtlety or buildup. Its all so fucking ridonkulous, I have to wonder where Fraction's editors are.
Wasted Potential A few other reviewers on this site have mentioned that Sex Criminals feels like John Layman's Chew, in that the author is just throwing cool ideas at the wall and trying to make them stick. And I kind of agree with them. So many of the other sex powers shown come across as window dressing with no real indication of their origins, their uses, etc. There's a veritable goldmine of creative ideas on store here and they're wasted so Fraction can have another moment where characters whine about how miserable their sex lives are.
I have a theory about Matt Fraction and his wife Kelly Sue DeConnick. I reckon they were the nerds back in high school who wanted to be popular. Because so much of Sex Criminals and Bitch Planet has that feeling like it's trying too hard. Bitch Planet wants to be rocking girl power comic, but it feels like an awkward mix of Women in Prison exploitation drama and a feminist dissertation. Sex Criminals wants to be an awesome zany sex comedy but at the same time wants to be a deep honest look at sexuality and relationships and ends up failing at both. It's like the pair of them want to be the next Alan Moore, instead of letting their work speak for itself.
Which is a shame, because in the early chapters, there was a lot to like. The comedy was quirky, the characters were at least relatable and the story seemed to be going somewhere. But somewhere along the way, Fraction blew his load all over our faces. And now we're sitting there, wiping the spunk from our eyes while Fraction does a SNL jig, desperately trying to get our attention.
September 22, 2018
I have NO IDEA what is going on in
Sex Criminals, Vol. 5: Five Fingered Discount.
** Spoilers ahead **
Of course, I don't remember what happened in Fourgy either but how did Jon end up in Cumworld?
There are so many bizarre, unbelievable subplots that make absolutely no sense and lead to nowhere:
Jon and Suzie are broken up. Jon is living with a roommate with benefits. Suzie is dating a pretentious dick and not enjoying a lackluster sex life.
Kegel Face hooking up with the shrink, the shrink hooking up with the porn star turned sex therapist,
Dewey or whatever his name is hooking up with the bus driver...I mean....what?
Don't you just hate it when a brilliant premise for a book and/or graphic with an equally stellar title goes off the rails?
Makes me think of Chew in its last issues when the conspiracy spiraled out of control and random people with special powers and bizarro cases showed up like so much filler. I used to like Chew too.
This was the worst of the series (and that's saying a lot for such an offbeat and unconventional story).
You know its a bad sign when the titles are SO MUCH BETTER than what's inside the cover.
I don't have any hope for the finale, not even le petite mort.
** Spoilers ahead **
Of course, I don't remember what happened in Fourgy either but how did Jon end up in Cumworld?
There are so many bizarre, unbelievable subplots that make absolutely no sense and lead to nowhere:
Jon and Suzie are broken up. Jon is living with a roommate with benefits. Suzie is dating a pretentious dick and not enjoying a lackluster sex life.
Kegel Face hooking up with the shrink, the shrink hooking up with the porn star turned sex therapist,
Dewey or whatever his name is hooking up with the bus driver...I mean....what?
Don't you just hate it when a brilliant premise for a book and/or graphic with an equally stellar title goes off the rails?
Makes me think of Chew in its last issues when the conspiracy spiraled out of control and random people with special powers and bizarro cases showed up like so much filler. I used to like Chew too.
This was the worst of the series (and that's saying a lot for such an offbeat and unconventional story).
You know its a bad sign when the titles are SO MUCH BETTER than what's inside the cover.
I don't have any hope for the finale, not even le petite mort.
January 1, 2021
The plot is...well fucking weird and going nowhere fast.
But it is still FUNNY. I won't lie. There's a few parts that made me laugh here. Especially the part about "Two-four pancakes. See I can make up words too, you're not special" I broke out laughing hard on that one. Also, the absurdity of this whole thing, Suzanne's mom a major sex fiend who has a cult like following of woman watching their own vagina's in mirror's is....well fucking insane yet you can't help but enjoy it.
The plot itself is annoying and I don't even know who the hell the bad guy is. But by the end we're finally getting the "band" back together for a final showdown(?) and it seems we'll end it all. Best part of the series is the relationship and Suzanne is the best character in the whole series still though Jon, despite being a dick, makes me laugh.
A 3.5 out of 5.
But it is still FUNNY. I won't lie. There's a few parts that made me laugh here. Especially the part about "Two-four pancakes. See I can make up words too, you're not special" I broke out laughing hard on that one. Also, the absurdity of this whole thing, Suzanne's mom a major sex fiend who has a cult like following of woman watching their own vagina's in mirror's is....well fucking insane yet you can't help but enjoy it.
The plot itself is annoying and I don't even know who the hell the bad guy is. But by the end we're finally getting the "band" back together for a final showdown(?) and it seems we'll end it all. Best part of the series is the relationship and Suzanne is the best character in the whole series still though Jon, despite being a dick, makes me laugh.
A 3.5 out of 5.
June 6, 2019
Once upon a time, this was a book about criminals who had lots of sex. Then artificial roadblocks were introduced for dramatic effect resulting in less sex and less crime. This volume removes some of those obstacles as a large number of the cast starts to come together, but not for crime or sex, rather to form a vigilante SEC to combat insider trading? Huh?
Here's hoping next volume's finale is more Ocean's 11 and less The Big Short.
Here's hoping next volume's finale is more Ocean's 11 and less The Big Short.
September 4, 2018
This series keeps devolving further and further into utter strangeness, but I will never stop reading. The story in this volume wasn’t all that compelling, imo, but it’s so witty and funny.
October 14, 2020
Aimless, and if it weren't still funny I'd have quit.
May 6, 2021
2021 re-read: This time around, I'm reading the series straight through, so I do (mostly) know what's going on in this volume. It's still not as compelling as the first two volumes, but it's better than I gave it credit for. Jon and Suzanne learn about themselves just in time to come back together to take down the bad guy. But yeah, it sure did take a while for the plot to kick in. Either make Sex Criminals a romantic comedy or a sex thriller, Fraction! Don't dither between the two!
Original review: I don't know, man. I still love the art and humor of Sex Criminals, but I have absolutely no idea what's going on in this volume. The back cover tells me that Suzie and Jon have broken up - I remembered that much at least from previous volumes. But now there are dozens of other characters roaming around, narrating scenes, doing random stuff. This volume desperately needs some kind of "previously on" introduction. Even if I did know what was going on, there's almost no forward momentum. Sex Criminals is still amusing and artistically delightful, but in this volume, the series is spinning its wheels.
Original review: I don't know, man. I still love the art and humor of Sex Criminals, but I have absolutely no idea what's going on in this volume. The back cover tells me that Suzie and Jon have broken up - I remembered that much at least from previous volumes. But now there are dozens of other characters roaming around, narrating scenes, doing random stuff. This volume desperately needs some kind of "previously on" introduction. Even if I did know what was going on, there's almost no forward momentum. Sex Criminals is still amusing and artistically delightful, but in this volume, the series is spinning its wheels.
April 2, 2019
I'm confident that the story would have been better without the magical elements. I know that's sort of the "point", the gimmick of it, but I find it to be the weakest element. The plot with the sex police has been awful for the last three volumes. I wish we could just strip the narrative down to its commentary, its exploration of modern sexuality and the situational humor of the art--that, to me, is what makes Sex Criminals special, not some convoluted conspiracy theory.
One more volume to go, in any case.
One more volume to go, in any case.
August 31, 2018
Fraction and Zdasrsky always manage to produce beautiful human narratives in these books, and Volume 5 reminded why I enjoy this series so much. That's not to say that this volume was perfect the pace was at times too meandering, and, much like previous two volumes, by the end I was left wondering where this narrative is actually going. There is an emourmous opportunity to be explored in this world, and when the story of Suze and Jon has been reached closure I really do hope Fraction and Zdarsky continue to build this universe up.
As for Volume 5 as a whole I do feel like there was a great level of characterization taking place, but really Zdarsky's art is a constant reminder of why I love this book. The art is aware of the capacity of the medium of comics and Zdrsky always plays with abandon filling the page with fascinating angles, and plenty of sex puns, but also he managed to create beautiful pages that, even at their most empty, manage to keep the reader involved with the emotions of the narrative.
I love this series, and I hope it continues, but the reader will probably end this book wanting more and hoping for a little more direction or at least exploration.
As for Volume 5 as a whole I do feel like there was a great level of characterization taking place, but really Zdarsky's art is a constant reminder of why I love this book. The art is aware of the capacity of the medium of comics and Zdrsky always plays with abandon filling the page with fascinating angles, and plenty of sex puns, but also he managed to create beautiful pages that, even at their most empty, manage to keep the reader involved with the emotions of the narrative.
I love this series, and I hope it continues, but the reader will probably end this book wanting more and hoping for a little more direction or at least exploration.
September 12, 2018
Ugh, a whole volume dedicated to Jon and Suzie moping after their breakup just so they can get back together? That's rom-com trite and predictable.
The writing is still razor sharp but I thought Fraction and Zdarsky were better than this.
The writing is still razor sharp but I thought Fraction and Zdarsky were better than this.
March 30, 2022
(3,3 of 5 for this Chip & Matt's sex fanzine)
I hate Sex Criminals. The interesting premise went a very weird way, I have a hard time sympathising with any character and the art just reminds me of webcomic strips. What I like are pop-cultural references/jokes. But in the beginning, there were maybe too many of them. And now there are too few of them to keep me entertained and the story surely won't do that. I made it through, it is not exactly bad, because the artist and author are both good ones. But this is too weird a specific genre/story and I find it hard to enjoy it.
And I also read it first time 4 years back and I didn't remembered a thing. That say pretty much about that.
I hate Sex Criminals. The interesting premise went a very weird way, I have a hard time sympathising with any character and the art just reminds me of webcomic strips. What I like are pop-cultural references/jokes. But in the beginning, there were maybe too many of them. And now there are too few of them to keep me entertained and the story surely won't do that. I made it through, it is not exactly bad, because the artist and author are both good ones. But this is too weird a specific genre/story and I find it hard to enjoy it.
And I also read it first time 4 years back and I didn't remembered a thing. That say pretty much about that.
August 12, 2023
Mom & dad are back together!
December 21, 2018
At this point in the relationship, we know what to expect from Sex Criminals - lots of sex and drawings of penises, but also, some vaguely meaningful commentary on relationships and intimacy. And even when we don't get either of those things, we're getting hilarious visual gags and puns, meta rants between the creators, and the like.
Unfortunately this latest - and penultimate - arc of Sex Criminals didn't deliver on any of those things. It was a confusing, rambling set of issues where nothing really happens and the humor has almost completely evaporated.
Suzie and Jon broke up, and six months later they've both moved on with other partners, neither of whom seem that ecstatic about. Jon is in an open relationship with a woman who seems much more interested in banging women than being with him - oh, and Jon is bisexual too? Did I completely miss that? - and he seems to have sunk even further into his mental health issues. He works full time at Cumworld which surely isn't helping either. But seriously, I'm bisexual, there's no WAY I would have missed that, and how are we just finding out about it now?!
Suzie, on the other hand, is in a relationship with an older, pretentious gallery owner whose art installations are extremely sexual (and probably the funniest things in the book), but she has a less than satisfying sex life with him. She's moved back in with her mother, who apparently has become some sort of sex therapist for her female friends, and hand mirrors are involved, and it's just weird - how Suzie stays living at home is beyond me.
PS - This was a nice scene but I'm not exactly sure how her boyfriend's art gallery is also where Van Gogh's Starry Night also exists. Somehow, bug sex installation and most famous painting behind Mona Lisa don't seem to belong in the same place. Actually, never mind. This is Sex Criminals. That absolutely makes sense.
While these two are bumbling through their post-breakup sadness there are a bunch of other meandering storylines that don't seem to go anywhere. Here are a few:
- Jon's therapist is cheating on Ana with Myrtle, who decides to switch sides when Badal threatens to expose her affair to her husband
- Jon goes into a sex club, and the red/black color scheme look a lot like his dream-obsession with Myrtle but it doesn't explain or resolve anything
- Badal's weird way to use his own powers
- Alix jumps in front of a bus presumably to test the limit of her own powers
- Everyone goes rollerblading?
- Dewey begins a relationship with a bus driver, who looks exactly like him (...why? Also I've forgotten who Dewey is about four times)
- Suzie somehow reunites with her dead father over his computer, and then somehow also gets ahold of financial records to figure out Badal's insider trading, with a Microsoft Word Clippy-esque helper that looks like...let's say take the first three letters of Clippy and you figure it out.
Some of these things might seem irreverent enough to be funny, but none of them really were, nor did they contribute to a cohesive story. (We also saw a WHOLE THING about Rach and her boyfriend in the last arc and we saw her in one panel. Not that I cared much about her, but still, what gives?) Zdarsky's art is still great, and there are some wordless pages where Zdarsky handles the narration wonderfully. But the visual humor was really missing here - aside from the art installations and Suzie's mom's hand gestures at the dinner table.
And of course, we knew that Jon and Suzie would eventually get back together, but how they did really sucks. C'mon, Suzie! Jon didn't have any goals for the relationship and he didn't let you in! You tried, and you brought markers, dammit! I know you missed him - everyone misses their partner after a breakup if they weren't completely nuts or abusive - and your next boyfriend was an asshole, but what, you just forgive him and get back together?
On one hand, Fraction could make it clear later that Suzie is just bouncing back into a comfortable relationship with Jon, along with a healthy scoop of self-denial about why they broke up in the first place (as the back cover says, "because reasons"). It definitely happens. But I'm not sure what that will look like seeing as we're heading into the final arc of Sex Criminals.
Hopefully in the series finale we'll see what's behind Jon's issues, and maybe he and Suzie can get back together - if he's willing to get over himself a little bit. I suppose they'll take down Badal too, but the series has always been about Jon and Suzie. I hope it ends more like it started and less like this volume.
More complaining with pictures on my blog, Reading Art!
Unfortunately this latest - and penultimate - arc of Sex Criminals didn't deliver on any of those things. It was a confusing, rambling set of issues where nothing really happens and the humor has almost completely evaporated.
Suzie and Jon broke up, and six months later they've both moved on with other partners, neither of whom seem that ecstatic about. Jon is in an open relationship with a woman who seems much more interested in banging women than being with him - oh, and Jon is bisexual too? Did I completely miss that? - and he seems to have sunk even further into his mental health issues. He works full time at Cumworld which surely isn't helping either. But seriously, I'm bisexual, there's no WAY I would have missed that, and how are we just finding out about it now?!
Suzie, on the other hand, is in a relationship with an older, pretentious gallery owner whose art installations are extremely sexual (and probably the funniest things in the book), but she has a less than satisfying sex life with him. She's moved back in with her mother, who apparently has become some sort of sex therapist for her female friends, and hand mirrors are involved, and it's just weird - how Suzie stays living at home is beyond me.
PS - This was a nice scene but I'm not exactly sure how her boyfriend's art gallery is also where Van Gogh's Starry Night also exists. Somehow, bug sex installation and most famous painting behind Mona Lisa don't seem to belong in the same place. Actually, never mind. This is Sex Criminals. That absolutely makes sense.
While these two are bumbling through their post-breakup sadness there are a bunch of other meandering storylines that don't seem to go anywhere. Here are a few:
- Jon's therapist is cheating on Ana with Myrtle, who decides to switch sides when Badal threatens to expose her affair to her husband
- Jon goes into a sex club, and the red/black color scheme look a lot like his dream-obsession with Myrtle but it doesn't explain or resolve anything
- Badal's weird way to use his own powers
- Alix jumps in front of a bus presumably to test the limit of her own powers
- Everyone goes rollerblading?
- Dewey begins a relationship with a bus driver, who looks exactly like him (...why? Also I've forgotten who Dewey is about four times)
- Suzie somehow reunites with her dead father over his computer, and then somehow also gets ahold of financial records to figure out Badal's insider trading, with a Microsoft Word Clippy-esque helper that looks like...let's say take the first three letters of Clippy and you figure it out.
Some of these things might seem irreverent enough to be funny, but none of them really were, nor did they contribute to a cohesive story. (We also saw a WHOLE THING about Rach and her boyfriend in the last arc and we saw her in one panel. Not that I cared much about her, but still, what gives?) Zdarsky's art is still great, and there are some wordless pages where Zdarsky handles the narration wonderfully. But the visual humor was really missing here - aside from the art installations and Suzie's mom's hand gestures at the dinner table.
And of course, we knew that Jon and Suzie would eventually get back together, but how they did really sucks. C'mon, Suzie! Jon didn't have any goals for the relationship and he didn't let you in! You tried, and you brought markers, dammit! I know you missed him - everyone misses their partner after a breakup if they weren't completely nuts or abusive - and your next boyfriend was an asshole, but what, you just forgive him and get back together?
On one hand, Fraction could make it clear later that Suzie is just bouncing back into a comfortable relationship with Jon, along with a healthy scoop of self-denial about why they broke up in the first place (as the back cover says, "because reasons"). It definitely happens. But I'm not sure what that will look like seeing as we're heading into the final arc of Sex Criminals.
Hopefully in the series finale we'll see what's behind Jon's issues, and maybe he and Suzie can get back together - if he's willing to get over himself a little bit. I suppose they'll take down Badal too, but the series has always been about Jon and Suzie. I hope it ends more like it started and less like this volume.
More complaining with pictures on my blog, Reading Art!
October 5, 2025
2.1 (biblio)
October 31, 2018
I liked this a lot better than the last one, which made me feel like the series was starting to become aimless and no fun. It's still not as purely fun here as it was in the first two volumes, but a lot of things were course corrected, and the last couple of pages were great.
Suzie and Jon are both not doing so well post-breakup. Suzie is with the world's most 'meh' man, and Jon is in an open relationship with a lovely woman who he feels nothing for, and he works in a sex shop called 'Cumworld'. Meanwhile, things are going on with the ex-porn star whose name I can't remember, Jon's therapist (who I can't remember how he got involved in this, and I don't think he knows about these people being able to stop time with their orgasms?), Kegelface (aka Myrtle Spurge, which is worse) who wants to be good now, and the guy who owns everything and is committing crimes and stuff. The book actually ends with all the Sex Criminals (or whatever) in one location for the first time. So something big is about to go down.
One problem I had is that it's been so long since I read one of these that I couldn't remember who several main characters were, and I was a bit confused. If I read Vols. 1-5 back to back, this would probably earn a full four stars.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
Suzie and Jon are both not doing so well post-breakup. Suzie is with the world's most 'meh' man, and Jon is in an open relationship with a lovely woman who he feels nothing for, and he works in a sex shop called 'Cumworld'. Meanwhile, things are going on with the ex-porn star whose name I can't remember, Jon's therapist (who I can't remember how he got involved in this, and I don't think he knows about these people being able to stop time with their orgasms?), Kegelface (aka Myrtle Spurge, which is worse) who wants to be good now, and the guy who owns everything and is committing crimes and stuff. The book actually ends with all the Sex Criminals (or whatever) in one location for the first time. So something big is about to go down.
One problem I had is that it's been so long since I read one of these that I couldn't remember who several main characters were, and I was a bit confused. If I read Vols. 1-5 back to back, this would probably earn a full four stars.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
December 31, 2021
Here's the thing, there are still a million questions that need to be answered. They haven't explained fully what's the deal with the sex cops, what they really want, I don't know much about Myrtle, aside from the unsatisfactory life and barely there husband. What's the deal with the real bad guy, with Suzanne's father, with the crazy Japanese demon, and why everyone has a different ability in The Quiet. This is vol 5 and I have the same unanswered questions since Vol 1. It's quite a bet to leave everything for the big finale in hopes that everyone is content at the end, coz if you don't deliver it might feel like you were dragging us along through 6 volumes without a real direction just for the sake of dragging us along. Fingers crossed this is not the case because questions aside, this is a great crazy story and I've really enjoyed it so far.... But I need my answers!
Now, if I was a regular comic reader that had to wait months for every issue, maybe I would have been a bit disappointed, coz the plot didn't really advance much, and I can imagine how frustrating might've been waiting each issue just to get another cliffhanger. Here everybody was miserable and then they weren't, it was funny and there was individual growth, but plot wise, they still want to stop the bad guy but don't know how and the bad guy is the bad guy but hasn't been doing a lot of bad lately, and we don't even know what his ulterior motive is 🤷🏻♀️......
Since I'm reading them back to back, no waiting, and I do love the characters, I enjoyed it enough to rated 4, and that ending was straight out of a 90s irreverent movie.
But!
Please vol. 6 be worth it. I really want my answers.
Now, if I was a regular comic reader that had to wait months for every issue, maybe I would have been a bit disappointed, coz the plot didn't really advance much, and I can imagine how frustrating might've been waiting each issue just to get another cliffhanger. Here everybody was miserable and then they weren't, it was funny and there was individual growth, but plot wise, they still want to stop the bad guy but don't know how and the bad guy is the bad guy but hasn't been doing a lot of bad lately, and we don't even know what his ulterior motive is 🤷🏻♀️......
Since I'm reading them back to back, no waiting, and I do love the characters, I enjoyed it enough to rated 4, and that ending was straight out of a 90s irreverent movie.
But!
Please vol. 6 be worth it. I really want my answers.
November 17, 2020
I've been away from this series for a long time, so rejoining it was like attending a high school reunion - the faces are vaguely familiar and you remember one or two details about most of the characters, but how they got to where they are had faded from memory. Ultimately, this volume is all about self-reflection, as our characters interrogate their choices to decide if they're where they want to be. It's interesting in its way, and there are some fun moments here, but a lot of it just plods along, treading water until the climax comes along to merge all the plots into a single knot. This volume feels a lot like setup for the finale, and I'm not sure that it really earns the changes it makes to the characters. There's a little world building, and an interesting computer, and a couple other random moments that reflect the spark of the series' past, but this definitely isn't the high point of it. The humor is lacking, the sexiness of it has been put on hold in favor of attempts at justifying (or just acknowledging without shaming) the characters' predilections, and we get one major eureka moment about the antagonist. As a part of the larger series, it serves a purpose. But on its own, there's not much here to justify the read.
July 4, 2021
I must say this, while people have drawn comparisons to John Layman's Chew comics, I don't remember that series EVER getting this bad, not even towards the end when Layman was just throwing every idea at the wall. At least he was still having fun with it, giving Guillory tons of opportunities to make good art.
SexCrimz, on the other hand, is just garbage at this point. There is no plot and the dialogue is mostly atrocious. The lead characters are off doing nothing and being boring. Fraction expects you to care about random side characters and not one thing of note happens even with them. The things that happen make no sense, occur without context or any effort.
Calling this fifth volume filler is an understatement. Filler can be good; this, however, feels like a writer working out his commitment to do a certain number of issues; his heart's clearly not in it anymore. He seems to be even less invested than the reader. Zdarsky's art is wasted on this series; the only bits I enjoyed were his background gags. I kinda hate myself for still needing to read the sixth volume... Damn my completionist ways.
P.S. I read a review here saying this is better than Saga, to which I can only ask, ARE YOU TOTALLY FUCKING INSANE?! Even in its worst issues, Saga has been a bazillion times better than this, so far, and that's because BKV is so much more talented at making you care for his characters than Fraction. BKV knows that diatribes can't substitute for dialogue, and when he does monologues, he goes straight for your heart, not this wishy-washy pop philosophy.
SexCrimz, on the other hand, is just garbage at this point. There is no plot and the dialogue is mostly atrocious. The lead characters are off doing nothing and being boring. Fraction expects you to care about random side characters and not one thing of note happens even with them. The things that happen make no sense, occur without context or any effort.
Calling this fifth volume filler is an understatement. Filler can be good; this, however, feels like a writer working out his commitment to do a certain number of issues; his heart's clearly not in it anymore. He seems to be even less invested than the reader. Zdarsky's art is wasted on this series; the only bits I enjoyed were his background gags. I kinda hate myself for still needing to read the sixth volume... Damn my completionist ways.
P.S. I read a review here saying this is better than Saga, to which I can only ask, ARE YOU TOTALLY FUCKING INSANE?! Even in its worst issues, Saga has been a bazillion times better than this, so far, and that's because BKV is so much more talented at making you care for his characters than Fraction. BKV knows that diatribes can't substitute for dialogue, and when he does monologues, he goes straight for your heart, not this wishy-washy pop philosophy.
Read
July 21, 2020I am now reading this seriesout of a sense of completion.
I don't understand the purpose of the police - to stop people from stopping time, I suppose, but they also seem to be controlled by one guy who just...wants control? If he is supposed to be a villain, they have spent no time on his motives or reasons. In fact, the villain is now helping our crew who is fighting the police? What made her turn? She barely talks to the other guy and all of a sudden she's not evil? Also, our crew has a plan to do something, somewhere, to some people. Does the reader get to know what this plan is? Nope - I don't believe the characters even know what their plan is.
Nothing of significance seems to be happening and I'm not even sure the authors understand their characters motives or where the story is going. There is only one more volume so I will read it but...huh. It makes me wonder if there are some special issues not included in the trade volumes.
As always, this one is for mature audiences only.
I don't understand the purpose of the police - to stop people from stopping time, I suppose, but they also seem to be controlled by one guy who just...wants control? If he is supposed to be a villain, they have spent no time on his motives or reasons. In fact, the villain is now helping our crew who is fighting the police? What made her turn? She barely talks to the other guy and all of a sudden she's not evil? Also, our crew has a plan to do something, somewhere, to some people. Does the reader get to know what this plan is? Nope - I don't believe the characters even know what their plan is.
Nothing of significance seems to be happening and I'm not even sure the authors understand their characters motives or where the story is going. There is only one more volume so I will read it but...huh. It makes me wonder if there are some special issues not included in the trade volumes.
As always, this one is for mature audiences only.
October 30, 2018
I forgot to rate this one, so I had a lot of time in-between to think (and to forget the details). For me, Sex Criminals needn't be that horrible. But sadly, it's a mixture of disparate elements. Comedy, drama, satire, parody, action (and none of them actually match the other), art that I would expect in more "childish" (in meaning for younger readers and different genre) comics and things that would rather fit some comics fanzine than actuall comics. I like some of those things, mostly the pop culture references and jokes on other comics series. But as a whole it did not work for me. As for this book, everything just gets more hackneyed (even though there are some highlights here and there).
March 31, 2019
Here is the thing about Fraction and Zdarsky's SEX CRIMINALS. . . I like it, but I sometimes get the feeling that it wants me to root for Jon and Suzy to be together. . . but they are awful for each other and I'd rather read about them as exes than a couple.
So the romantic reunion at the end is a lot less interesting (and actually a tragic turn of of events if you ask me) than the various superpowered sex agents (or whatever the hell they are) teaming up against a big bad.
So the romantic reunion at the end is a lot less interesting (and actually a tragic turn of of events if you ask me) than the various superpowered sex agents (or whatever the hell they are) teaming up against a big bad.
September 18, 2018
This fucking book.
January 19, 2019
Ahh finally. They've got back together 💜
February 14, 2019
Remember when this series was funny?
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