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Criminal
Criminal, Vol. 4: Bad Night
A woman in trouble, friends on the run from cops and mobsters, and a secret no one is prepared to face! Five years ago, Jake was a happy family man, long-retired from the life of crime he grew up in, and then the police made him the prime suspect in a horrible crime and ripped his life apart! Now, years later, Jake is less than a shadow of his former self, a hopeless insomniac who walks the city streets at night. But one night, he walks into the wrong place at the right time, and his whole life changes again... Collects Criminal 2 #4-7.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
16 people are currently reading
796 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,794 books3,018 followersEd Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 238 reviews
September 21, 2024
Goddamn. This is how you write crime fiction.
We first met Jacob as the counterfeiter who makes Tracy a new identity in Lawless. And now Brubaker tells us his story.
And I was not expecting the story I got.
Like all hardboiled crime noir, there's a lousy dame at the center of this one.
And like everything else in this thing, she starts out one way and ends up as something entirely different.
Jacob's backstory is that he married the niece of the biggest crime syndicate boss in the city, Sebastian Hyde. So, when she went missing and Detective Starr kept trying to point the finger at Jacob, his wife's uncle didn't take the news well.
He had Jacob beaten until he was crippled, which brought on a nervous breakdown that left him institutionalized for quite some time.
Meanwhile, his wife's body was found in her car, the victim of an apparent accident on the road.
To assuage his guilt, Hyde made it so that Jacob could live out the rest of his days writing his Frank Kafka, Private Eye comic strip for the paper. The end result is that the cartoon Kafka is along for the ride in Jacob's head giving him advice and telling him to man up.
The skinny gist? Iris (the lousy dame) and her scuzzball boyfriend catch Jacob's eye in a diner when they get into a vicious argument. Intrigued by her, he slowly rides to the rescue and ends up getting embroiled in a lot more than he ever bargained for.
And that's all I can say without spoiling the whole shebang.
This is one of my favorite Criminal storylines so far.
Wow. Just...wow.
Highly Recommended.
We first met Jacob as the counterfeiter who makes Tracy a new identity in Lawless. And now Brubaker tells us his story.
And I was not expecting the story I got.
Like all hardboiled crime noir, there's a lousy dame at the center of this one.
And like everything else in this thing, she starts out one way and ends up as something entirely different.
Jacob's backstory is that he married the niece of the biggest crime syndicate boss in the city, Sebastian Hyde. So, when she went missing and Detective Starr kept trying to point the finger at Jacob, his wife's uncle didn't take the news well.
He had Jacob beaten until he was crippled, which brought on a nervous breakdown that left him institutionalized for quite some time.
Meanwhile, his wife's body was found in her car, the victim of an apparent accident on the road.
To assuage his guilt, Hyde made it so that Jacob could live out the rest of his days writing his Frank Kafka, Private Eye comic strip for the paper. The end result is that the cartoon Kafka is along for the ride in Jacob's head giving him advice and telling him to man up.
The skinny gist? Iris (the lousy dame) and her scuzzball boyfriend catch Jacob's eye in a diner when they get into a vicious argument. Intrigued by her, he slowly rides to the rescue and ends up getting embroiled in a lot more than he ever bargained for.
And that's all I can say without spoiling the whole shebang.
This is one of my favorite Criminal storylines so far.
Wow. Just...wow.
Highly Recommended.
January 31, 2018
"The last refuge to the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world"--Leonard Cohen
In my rereading of this reprinted series, this is my favorite one so far, fabulous crime comics for noir and comics fans. Jacob Kurtz (cf. Kurtz in Heart of Darkness), a former counterfeiter, and insomniac, is a cartoonist whose strip, "Frank Kafka, Private Eye," (cf. Franz Kafka) appears in the daily paper, something various criminals read in this series. His wife died in a tragic car accident several years ago. Most people, including a detective, believed he killed her, and one guy crippled him over that belief. When it was clear that he did not kill her, his former father-in-law, crime kingpin Sebastian Hyde, asks him what he would most want to do and he says comics, an answer that comes back to bite him.
"Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder, 'Why me?' Then a voice answers, 'Nothing personal, your name just happened to come up'"--Charlie Brown
Bespectacled Jacob, in an all-night cafe, sees Iris, a dancer who won't admit she is a stripper, being berated by some tough guy. A fight ensues, Jacob offers to take Iris home, and it all goes deliciously downhill from there in amusingly predictable (but who cares, this is pulp genre-love; predictability is part of the point) ways. This couple draws him back into crime, and how. Heist, love triangle, with the detective also involved in a way that rubs Jacob's already bloody nose into the dirt. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to run a satirical portrait of the detective in your comic, Jacob! The real trouble with Jacob's comic is that throughout, Jacob is guided as he proceeds in his decision-making (as is Woody Allen is guided by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart in Play It Again, Sam) by his one cartoon hero, Frank. You're a cartoonist, (clearly) not a criminal mastermind, Jacob!
The self-referential Dick Tracy-like comic strip story running through the series is terrific, funny and meaningful. As Goodreads friend Morgan suggests, the shleppy loser Kurtz prefigures Brubaker and Phillips's also first person-narrated Dylan in Kill or Be Killed. Bad Night, indeed. Can it get worse? Or, can it can get any better for comics readers? The best crime comics ever. I love all the cheesy noir stuff: The name Lawless for characters, with that humorously pomo Kafka/Conrad edge. Yes, you could read this as a standalone. Do it! Iris will shoot you if you don't!
In my rereading of this reprinted series, this is my favorite one so far, fabulous crime comics for noir and comics fans. Jacob Kurtz (cf. Kurtz in Heart of Darkness), a former counterfeiter, and insomniac, is a cartoonist whose strip, "Frank Kafka, Private Eye," (cf. Franz Kafka) appears in the daily paper, something various criminals read in this series. His wife died in a tragic car accident several years ago. Most people, including a detective, believed he killed her, and one guy crippled him over that belief. When it was clear that he did not kill her, his former father-in-law, crime kingpin Sebastian Hyde, asks him what he would most want to do and he says comics, an answer that comes back to bite him.
"Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder, 'Why me?' Then a voice answers, 'Nothing personal, your name just happened to come up'"--Charlie Brown
Bespectacled Jacob, in an all-night cafe, sees Iris, a dancer who won't admit she is a stripper, being berated by some tough guy. A fight ensues, Jacob offers to take Iris home, and it all goes deliciously downhill from there in amusingly predictable (but who cares, this is pulp genre-love; predictability is part of the point) ways. This couple draws him back into crime, and how. Heist, love triangle, with the detective also involved in a way that rubs Jacob's already bloody nose into the dirt. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to run a satirical portrait of the detective in your comic, Jacob! The real trouble with Jacob's comic is that throughout, Jacob is guided as he proceeds in his decision-making (as is Woody Allen is guided by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart in Play It Again, Sam) by his one cartoon hero, Frank. You're a cartoonist, (clearly) not a criminal mastermind, Jacob!
The self-referential Dick Tracy-like comic strip story running through the series is terrific, funny and meaningful. As Goodreads friend Morgan suggests, the shleppy loser Kurtz prefigures Brubaker and Phillips's also first person-narrated Dylan in Kill or Be Killed. Bad Night, indeed. Can it get worse? Or, can it can get any better for comics readers? The best crime comics ever. I love all the cheesy noir stuff: The name Lawless for characters, with that humorously pomo Kafka/Conrad edge. Yes, you could read this as a standalone. Do it! Iris will shoot you if you don't!
March 30, 2017
Not too long ago, I wrote a review of Brubaker and Phillips's
The Dead and the Dying
, gushing that it was my favorite volume in the Criminal series that I've read. Well I'll be damned, here I am saying it again! This volume is not only the best Criminal story so far and one of the best graphic novels I've read to date, but it takes this series to a whole new level, delivering a story of noir so ink-black and classic in it's development that Goodis, Brewer, Cain, Keene, and Thompson would all be impressed.
Bad Night focuses on Jacob Kurtz, the counterfeiter-turned-cartoonist who was a supporting character in Lawless , a loner and insomniac who's quiet life is upended when he meets a sexy, redheaded lush at a late night diner. To say more about the plot would spoil the unhinged, fascinating ways that this tale of murder, sex, and obsession evolves. Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips have always been partners in total sync, and Phillip's art here is a perfect fit for this grimy and brooding bit of graphic fiction. If you have any interest in noir or in any dark crime fiction in general, you owe it to yourself to check this out. It's like all your favorite books in these genres, but with pictures!
Bad Night focuses on Jacob Kurtz, the counterfeiter-turned-cartoonist who was a supporting character in Lawless , a loner and insomniac who's quiet life is upended when he meets a sexy, redheaded lush at a late night diner. To say more about the plot would spoil the unhinged, fascinating ways that this tale of murder, sex, and obsession evolves. Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips have always been partners in total sync, and Phillip's art here is a perfect fit for this grimy and brooding bit of graphic fiction. If you have any interest in noir or in any dark crime fiction in general, you owe it to yourself to check this out. It's like all your favorite books in these genres, but with pictures!
March 5, 2017
Episode four in the "Criminal" series continues the tradition of self-contained story-arcs, focused on one character at a time, yet somehow interconnected into the larger picture of the dark underbelly of Center City. Jacob Kurtz had a brief cameo in one of the earlier issues as a counterfeiter. We meet him now as a nighthawk : an timorous insomniac plagued by a terrible past that left him first tortured by a local cop, then beaten to a pulp by the kingpin's henchmen after his wife disappeared in suspicious circumstances.
When her death is proven to be the result of a car accident, Jacob is offered a job as a cartoonist for a local paper, as compensation from the Hyde family for being crippled for life.
Anyway, in the present time, Jacob tries to keep his head low and pours his frustrations into the fictional life of his comic book alter ego, "Frank Kafka, Private Eye". And when his inner demons keep him from sleeping, Jacob walks the streets of Center City in the wee small hours of the morning. You can run but you cannot hide, man!
Trouble finds Jacob in the end sitting for a coffee in his favorite "Blue Fly Diner". Trouble in the shape of Iris, a fiery redhead with a punk boyfriend. Frank Kafka could have warned Jacob that it's a bad idea to pick up drunk damsels in distress at 3 a.m. on a rainy night.
Jacob's bad night has just started, and his journey into Hell is full of the twists and turns that have earned Brubaker and Phillips two Eisner Awards in a row. I don't want to spoil the beans on who does what to whom, but be prepared for a classic tale of lust and betrayal, a game of cops and robbers full of role reversals between the good guys and the bad guys, flashbacks and multiple perspectives that will blend together into a clear picture only with the last panel of the fourth issue. Good Stuff! [ with the usual parental advisory about extreme gore and explicit scenes and vocabulary. ]
best soundtrack for this insomniac, nightmarish story : Tom Waits - "Nighthawks at the Diner" , or any other Tom Waits album of your choice
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For the fans of the series, the blog entries at the end of each issue continue to provide good tips and ideas for further reading with reviews of movies like "Night and the City" or "One False Move" ; an interview with Charles Ardai, publisher and writer for Hard Case Crime; appreciations of fellow pulp writers Eugene Izzi and Andrew Vachss; promos for old TV crime shows like "Harry O" and more.
August 19, 2024
Best volume of the series yet. Brubaker and Phillips really knock it out of the park with this twisty-turvy and just plain twisted gut-punch of a story.
Jacob, the counterfeiter from book 2, is back and stars in this tale of deception, kidnapping, murder and lies. Jacob now lives a quiet life drawing a Dick Tracy type comic strip. One night he helps a girl with a douche of a boyfriend out, giving her a ride home. His life descends into hell from there, a hell he can't quite manage to escape.
Jacob, the counterfeiter from book 2, is back and stars in this tale of deception, kidnapping, murder and lies. Jacob now lives a quiet life drawing a Dick Tracy type comic strip. One night he helps a girl with a douche of a boyfriend out, giving her a ride home. His life descends into hell from there, a hell he can't quite manage to escape.
September 12, 2017
Now this one...this one might be my favorite in the series so far.
Jacob is a cartoonist who's been through shit. I mean, wow. But first you start with him just eating at a restaurant one night and BAM this woman gets into a fight with her boyfriend and the owner of the diner knocks the punk out. The girl runs and by chance Jacob finds her on the side of the road and takes her home. From here on, the story just makes so many twist and turns it's hard not to love it.
I really don't want to go into too many details but this story basically focuses on one character. Jacob. yes, the supporting cast get's their time but nobody you feel as close to as Jacob. For good and bad. By the end, you are in this character's head, and fuck is it scary.
Good: The art is stunning once more. The tale told here is harrowing and dark as fuck but it fits so well. Whenever there's a moment of happiness it's quickly snatched away and thrown back into the pits of darkness. The background of Jacob is equally as screwed up as the story being told at the present time. By the end I was glued to the story.
Bad: Nothing really.
Overall this is Criminal's strongest story yet. The ending made me thing. The start got me hooked. The middle was hard to read for how screwed up it was. Overall this is a easy 4.5 out of 5. Rounding it to a 5 because it's that good.
Jacob is a cartoonist who's been through shit. I mean, wow. But first you start with him just eating at a restaurant one night and BAM this woman gets into a fight with her boyfriend and the owner of the diner knocks the punk out. The girl runs and by chance Jacob finds her on the side of the road and takes her home. From here on, the story just makes so many twist and turns it's hard not to love it.
I really don't want to go into too many details but this story basically focuses on one character. Jacob. yes, the supporting cast get's their time but nobody you feel as close to as Jacob. For good and bad. By the end, you are in this character's head, and fuck is it scary.
Good: The art is stunning once more. The tale told here is harrowing and dark as fuck but it fits so well. Whenever there's a moment of happiness it's quickly snatched away and thrown back into the pits of darkness. The background of Jacob is equally as screwed up as the story being told at the present time. By the end I was glued to the story.
Bad: Nothing really.
Overall this is Criminal's strongest story yet. The ending made me thing. The start got me hooked. The middle was hard to read for how screwed up it was. Overall this is a easy 4.5 out of 5. Rounding it to a 5 because it's that good.
February 20, 2011
I had a hard time reading this one because it’s so steamy that my glasses kept fogging over.
Jake is the introverted artist/writer of a comic strip starring a Dick Tracy-kind of character. Since he has problems sleeping, he prowls around the city at night. Sitting in his favorite diner, Jake witnesses an altercation between a beautiful woman named Iris and her boyfriend. When the dust settles, Jake tries to take the drunk Iris home, but ends up having a night of crazy sex with her instead. Anyone who has ever read any type of noir story with a femme fatale knows that things are about to get real ugly for Jake.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips continue to tell a series of hard boiled crime stories that are as good as any I’ve read. They’ve got a knack for taking familiar set-ups and twisting them so that the plots veer off wildly from where you think they’ll end up. The real hook in this one is Iris. Many a writer has tried to create a seductive temptress that leads the protagonist down the road to ruin, but few have felt as real, dangerous and completely bat shit crazy as Iris does in this.
More Criminal, please.
Jake is the introverted artist/writer of a comic strip starring a Dick Tracy-kind of character. Since he has problems sleeping, he prowls around the city at night. Sitting in his favorite diner, Jake witnesses an altercation between a beautiful woman named Iris and her boyfriend. When the dust settles, Jake tries to take the drunk Iris home, but ends up having a night of crazy sex with her instead. Anyone who has ever read any type of noir story with a femme fatale knows that things are about to get real ugly for Jake.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips continue to tell a series of hard boiled crime stories that are as good as any I’ve read. They’ve got a knack for taking familiar set-ups and twisting them so that the plots veer off wildly from where you think they’ll end up. The real hook in this one is Iris. Many a writer has tried to create a seductive temptress that leads the protagonist down the road to ruin, but few have felt as real, dangerous and completely bat shit crazy as Iris does in this.
More Criminal, please.
August 12, 2015
Jake spends his days in a waking coma. He walks the streets at night, produces a syndicated comic strip during the day, and grabs sleep when he can. It’s not a bad life considering he was once accused of murdering his wife, a charge he managed to avoid due to a lack of evidence. But Jake isn’t entirely innocent. While he never did kill his wife, he did at one point run a counterfeit ring in his youth, but those days are long behind him. Or so he thought..
After witnessing a young couple fighting inside a local diner, Jake takes a shot at an honest-to-goodness good deed and offers one half of the couple – the beautiful and sexy Iris – a lift home. Fortunately for Jake, the two end up back at his place and after a wild night in bed, he awakes alone. However, it isn’t long before she returns, this time with her criminal boyfriend, and the two threaten to kill Jake unless he mocks up a fake FBI badge.
Sean Phillips is on point here, as always, presenting stunning artwork that is as integral to the story as Brubaker’s writing. One without the other would almost certainly present a weaker form of art when it comes to this series and like all of Brubaker and Phillips’ Criminal books, I read this in one sitting, which isn’t a difficult task to accomplish given how easily the pair suck you into their seedy, seductive world. I just had to know what happened next!
Criminal: Bad Night is fearless fiction with a frighteningly fantastic femme fatale.
After witnessing a young couple fighting inside a local diner, Jake takes a shot at an honest-to-goodness good deed and offers one half of the couple – the beautiful and sexy Iris – a lift home. Fortunately for Jake, the two end up back at his place and after a wild night in bed, he awakes alone. However, it isn’t long before she returns, this time with her criminal boyfriend, and the two threaten to kill Jake unless he mocks up a fake FBI badge.
Sean Phillips is on point here, as always, presenting stunning artwork that is as integral to the story as Brubaker’s writing. One without the other would almost certainly present a weaker form of art when it comes to this series and like all of Brubaker and Phillips’ Criminal books, I read this in one sitting, which isn’t a difficult task to accomplish given how easily the pair suck you into their seedy, seductive world. I just had to know what happened next!
Criminal: Bad Night is fearless fiction with a frighteningly fantastic femme fatale.
September 1, 2021
Some people really loved this one and I thought it was pretty good, but for me the same "Criminal" formula seems to be getting applied once and again with the series wherein a male POV character is beguiled by a femme fatale and winds up generally worse off than when they started via some entertaining and sordid twists and turns.
The protagonist's mental health issues made this one even twistier and turnier than usual, but I felt that the ending was rushed.
Will definitely be continuing the series!
The protagonist's mental health issues made this one even twistier and turnier than usual, but I felt that the ending was rushed.
Will definitely be continuing the series!
July 20, 2012
A crippled cartoonist helps out an attractive red-head after she has a drunken fight with her boyfriend one night. Would that be the end of it? Not if this is an Ed Brubaker book! The cartoonist winds up in a complex plan involving kidnapping, extortion, murder, betrayal, and madness. "Bad Night" is a twisting story about twisted people double-crossing one another to get what they think they want.
Brubaker's writing is as taut as ever and the plot whirls quickly throughout the book. The strength of the “Criminal” series has always been that each character develops into a deeper person. The cartoonist is in fact a minor character from Book 2 but Brubaker has plucked him from a sub-plot back then and given him an entire book here. It shows the true skill and imagination Brubaker has to do this.
Sean Phillips' artwork is nothing short of masterful, as always, but his painted covers are gorgeous to behold. The man does noir like no other and conveys action so perfectly it seems to the reader as if the panels are moving.
The "Criminal" series is an utterly involving and brilliant comic book series that is surely ripe for the Hollywood treatment any day now. Meanwhile, we have the comic books themselves which are nothing short of master-classes in comics art. "Bad Night" is another triumphant addition to the series and well worth a read for fans of both comics and crime thrillers.
Brubaker's writing is as taut as ever and the plot whirls quickly throughout the book. The strength of the “Criminal” series has always been that each character develops into a deeper person. The cartoonist is in fact a minor character from Book 2 but Brubaker has plucked him from a sub-plot back then and given him an entire book here. It shows the true skill and imagination Brubaker has to do this.
Sean Phillips' artwork is nothing short of masterful, as always, but his painted covers are gorgeous to behold. The man does noir like no other and conveys action so perfectly it seems to the reader as if the panels are moving.
The "Criminal" series is an utterly involving and brilliant comic book series that is surely ripe for the Hollywood treatment any day now. Meanwhile, we have the comic books themselves which are nothing short of master-classes in comics art. "Bad Night" is another triumphant addition to the series and well worth a read for fans of both comics and crime thrillers.
March 22, 2016
This really surprised me
And knocked me for 6!
Wow, I really wasn't expecting this story. It was like watching fight club for the first, complete head fuck and then wham!!
Unforgettable.
I just wish I had read it years ago.
And knocked me for 6!
Wow, I really wasn't expecting this story. It was like watching fight club for the first, complete head fuck and then wham!!
Unforgettable.
I just wish I had read it years ago.
November 2, 2017
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Τέλη Απριλίου διάβασα και απόλαυσα τον τρίτο τόμο της φοβερής αυτής σειράς και η αλήθεια είναι ότι μου έλειψε η όλη μαυρίλα και η παλπ αισθητική της. Φυσικά υπάρχει ένας λόγος που διαβάζω με το πάσο μου την σειρά αυτή: Δεν θέλω να τελειώσει. Δηλαδή, θέλω, αλλά και δεν θέλω. Καταλάβατε. Έχω ακόμα τρεις τόμους μπροστά μου και μετά θα ακολουθήσουν και οι υπόλοιπες ενδιαφέρουσες σειρές του τρομερού διδύμου Brubaker/Phillips.
Πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας είναι ο Jake, πρώην πλαστογράφος και νυν σχεδιαστής κόμικ στριπς σε μια εφημερίδα, ο οποίος ζει μια ήσυχη και μοναχική ζωή, έχοντας ένα αρκετά σκοτεινό και τραυματικό παρελθόν. Σε μια από τις νυχτερινές του περιπλανήσεις, όντας... μαλωμένος με τον ύπνο, θα γνωρίσει μια πανέμορφη κοκκινομάλλα. Αυτή η γνωριμία θα τον μπλέξει σε μια επικίνδυνη ιστορία, με φόνους, βρώμικο χρήμα δολοπλοκίες να συνθέτουν το παζλ.
Εντάξει, όλα τα καλούδια των προηγούμενων τόμων, μπορεί να τα απολαύσει κανείς και σ'αυτόν: Η πλοκή είναι καλογραμμένη και σφιχτοδεμένη, γεμάτη με δράση, βία, αγωνία και αρκετές εκπλήξεις, η ατμόσφαιρα είναι αρκούντως σκοτεινή και πιο-νουάρ-πεθαίνεις, οι χαρακτήρες μαύροι και πολύ καλοδουλεμένοι, ενώ το σχέδιο παραμένει έντονο και αρκετά ιδιαίτερο, με τα χρώματα να ταιριάζουν απόλυτα με την μαυρίλα της ιστορίας και των χαρακτήρων. Δεν υπάρχει καμία περίπτωση οι λάτρεις της συγκεκριμένης σειράς, αλλά και γενικά οι λάτρεις των σκληρών νουάρ, να μην απολαύσουν και αυτόν τον τόμο. Από του χρόνου θα προχωρήσω στον επόμενο.
Τέλη Απριλίου διάβασα και απόλαυσα τον τρίτο τόμο της φοβερής αυτής σειράς και η αλήθεια είναι ότι μου έλειψε η όλη μαυρίλα και η παλπ αισθητική της. Φυσικά υπάρχει ένας λόγος που διαβάζω με το πάσο μου την σειρά αυτή: Δεν θέλω να τελειώσει. Δηλαδή, θέλω, αλλά και δεν θέλω. Καταλάβατε. Έχω ακόμα τρεις τόμους μπροστά μου και μετά θα ακολουθήσουν και οι υπόλοιπες ενδιαφέρουσες σειρές του τρομερού διδύμου Brubaker/Phillips.
Πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας είναι ο Jake, πρώην πλαστογράφος και νυν σχεδιαστής κόμικ στριπς σε μια εφημερίδα, ο οποίος ζει μια ήσυχη και μοναχική ζωή, έχοντας ένα αρκετά σκοτεινό και τραυματικό παρελθόν. Σε μια από τις νυχτερινές του περιπλανήσεις, όντας... μαλωμένος με τον ύπνο, θα γνωρίσει μια πανέμορφη κοκκινομάλλα. Αυτή η γνωριμία θα τον μπλέξει σε μια επικίνδυνη ιστορία, με φόνους, βρώμικο χρήμα δολοπλοκίες να συνθέτουν το παζλ.
Εντάξει, όλα τα καλούδια των προηγούμενων τόμων, μπορεί να τα απολαύσει κανείς και σ'αυτόν: Η πλοκή είναι καλογραμμένη και σφιχτοδεμένη, γεμάτη με δράση, βία, αγωνία και αρκετές εκπλήξεις, η ατμόσφαιρα είναι αρκούντως σκοτεινή και πιο-νουάρ-πεθαίνεις, οι χαρακτήρες μαύροι και πολύ καλοδουλεμένοι, ενώ το σχέδιο παραμένει έντονο και αρκετά ιδιαίτερο, με τα χρώματα να ταιριάζουν απόλυτα με την μαυρίλα της ιστορίας και των χαρακτήρων. Δεν υπάρχει καμία περίπτωση οι λάτρεις της συγκεκριμένης σειράς, αλλά και γενικά οι λάτρεις των σκληρών νουάρ, να μην απολαύσουν και αυτόν τον τόμο. Από του χρόνου θα προχωρήσω στον επόμενο.
October 19, 2015
I loved reading Bad Night more than the first three volumes. I did not expect the plot twist in the middle of the story, considering that the first three are too predictble.
The story is considerable less connected with the world built by the volumes one to three, limited only to character mentions and cameos. You just know that it is part of the Criminal world. Brubaker made it more noir by including am imagimary character, and Sean Phillips did a fine job with drawing him Darwyn Cooke style in order to separate him from the real world in the comics.
The story is considerable less connected with the world built by the volumes one to three, limited only to character mentions and cameos. You just know that it is part of the Criminal world. Brubaker made it more noir by including am imagimary character, and Sean Phillips did a fine job with drawing him Darwyn Cooke style in order to separate him from the real world in the comics.
March 29, 2019
Look, why are you even reading the review? It's Criminal, for crying out loud! Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips do the best comics noir around. Go read it already.
Jacob’s awake most nights, working on his comics strip, the Dick Tracy-esque Frank Kafka, P.I. Taking a break for a trip to his favorite all-night diner, he stumbles upon what seems to be a lovers’ quarrel. And that's how Iris walks into his life. Before he knows it, he's in over his head, and areas of his past that he thought long dead and buried are rising up to haunt him.
If you’ve been reading Criminal for a while, you’ll definitely spot callbacks to previous volumes. This story definitely stands just fine on its own though. If you start reading the series with this volume, nothing will be spoiled for you. All you're missing is that extra spark of recognition. “Oh! I know exactly who they're talking about in that panel.” That kind of thing. The Criminal books all tie together, but it's not (so far) necessary to read them in order. Start wherever you can, and experience the joys of this series yourself. Highly recommended!
Jacob’s awake most nights, working on his comics strip, the Dick Tracy-esque Frank Kafka, P.I. Taking a break for a trip to his favorite all-night diner, he stumbles upon what seems to be a lovers’ quarrel. And that's how Iris walks into his life. Before he knows it, he's in over his head, and areas of his past that he thought long dead and buried are rising up to haunt him.
If you’ve been reading Criminal for a while, you’ll definitely spot callbacks to previous volumes. This story definitely stands just fine on its own though. If you start reading the series with this volume, nothing will be spoiled for you. All you're missing is that extra spark of recognition. “Oh! I know exactly who they're talking about in that panel.” That kind of thing. The Criminal books all tie together, but it's not (so far) necessary to read them in order. Start wherever you can, and experience the joys of this series yourself. Highly recommended!
January 21, 2021
This would easily be my favorite book of the series. If, you know, it weren't for all the others.
I love that Brubaker's femmes fatale aren't clones. Sure, they're all beautiful and always mysterious at first, but sooner or later they're good, sinister, strong, broken, ambitious, frightened, indomitable, doomed. You can take nothing for granted.
I love that Brubaker's femmes fatale aren't clones. Sure, they're all beautiful and always mysterious at first, but sooner or later they're good, sinister, strong, broken, ambitious, frightened, indomitable, doomed. You can take nothing for granted.
January 28, 2019
Jacob the counterfeiter from book 2 is back and gets caught up in a messy night. Twist after twist. This is definitely the best one yet.
October 31, 2019
With Bad night we return to Jacob the (former) counterfeiter. And we will witness his whole life story. The story is great, there is a big deal of classic schemes (some, as with the cop in later part, could be maybe too obvious, but what the hell...) and gentle twists and it has the right tempo. I was a bit letdown with art here - it somehow didn't work for me as with the previous two books. I blame the colouring, though. I don't know what is the exact issue, maybe colour scheme and how it is used, but in comparison with lawless it's more disturbing than boosting the atmosphere. And that's a shame because Jacob's story is a great - dark, gritty and super thrilling thing to read.
August 8, 2020
Pretty good volume. Jacob ( I believe he’s from the Bad Weekend book ) sees this girl, Iris, at a diner. He runs into her later hitch hiking and he picks her up. She’s been drinking and passes out in the car so Jacob takes her to his house and puts her on the couch. She wakes up later and comes after Jacob and they hook up. After, she notices a big printer and Jacob tells her how he use to do some counterfeiting. Bad move. Iris tells this to her crazy boyfriend who’s comes to Jacobs place and demands he makes him some fake FBI credentials. I don’t want to go any further as to not spoil the book but there is some betrayals and crazy plot twists afterwards. Another enjoyable volume.
July 22, 2010
Certainly well written, however I'm sick of authors using the trite character archetype of the female temptress. Not to give away too much, but Iris (the only female in the book) was undeniably written to be the untrustworthy harlot that uses her sexuality to manipulate and destroy men. Sorry, but no, this is not empowering, and I'm kind of sick of seeing crime noir depend so heavily on such shitty gender dynamics. I don't want to write it off as a genre, but I'm close to it.
January 10, 2018
A very good volume in this series. Like a slightly more grounded version of Sin City.
May 4, 2025
Bad Night might be the bleakest Criminal story yet—and that’s saying something. It follows Jacob, a washed-up cartoonist with a haunted past, who gets pulled into a nightmare after falling for the wrong woman. What starts off almost romantic turns into a slow-burn collapse that’s more psychological thriller than crime caper. This one really got under my skin. Brubaker digs deep into loneliness, obsession, and regret, and Sean Phillips’ moody art makes every page feel heavy with dread. It’s a tough, tragic read—but absolutely gripping.
August 24, 2024
(Zero spoiler review) 3.5/5
I'm still not vibing this series as much as I thought I would. Brubaker's writing just isn't dragging me into these dark, unsettling underworlds the way he has on his later and longer works at Image. Again, it's good and its certainly and enjoyable read for the most part. Perhaps it was the expectations I went into this series with, having been told in no uncertain terms that this is his and Philip's magnum opus, but its not. It's just not, and as I'm basically at the halfway point, it's gonna have to pick up pretty damn quick in order to salvage itself enough to be considered his best work. Worthwhile, but not wonderful. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
I'm still not vibing this series as much as I thought I would. Brubaker's writing just isn't dragging me into these dark, unsettling underworlds the way he has on his later and longer works at Image. Again, it's good and its certainly and enjoyable read for the most part. Perhaps it was the expectations I went into this series with, having been told in no uncertain terms that this is his and Philip's magnum opus, but its not. It's just not, and as I'm basically at the halfway point, it's gonna have to pick up pretty damn quick in order to salvage itself enough to be considered his best work. Worthwhile, but not wonderful. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
September 7, 2018
Brubaker and Phillips can’t make a bad book, can they?
What’s it about?
This volume follows a troubled cartoonist. One night/early morning he is at a dinner where he sees a male and female couple getting into a crazy fight. The woman is hitchhiking afterwards and the cartoonist ends up picking her up. They seem to get into each other which leads to the cartoonist telling the woman things he shouldn’t in an attempt to impress her. To explain more without spoiling a good book would be difficult so let’s move on.
Pros:
The story is interesting. I have yet to read anything from Brubaker that I dislike. There’s always a gripping and gritty crime story to find with the Criminal series!
The art is fantastic. Phillips is one of my favorite artists and this volume does a fantastic job showing his art range. Especially the panels that mix 2 art styles which sounds awful but Phillips makes it work!
The characters are interesting.
Lots of gritty, well drawn, well written and exciting action!
This one is suspenseful, just like previous additions to the series. You never know what will happen next in this series.
The narrative is well written.
Cons:
I was surprised that the dialogue was poorly done. Normally Brubaker writes fantastic dialogue for his characters. It’s still not awful but in many of the lines I found myself cringing.
Another unpleasant surprise was how poorly written the sexual stuff is. I often mention when this comes up that I don’t mind this stuff but it’s often poorly executed. Brubaker usually does a decent job writing this stuff (it’s one of the themes of Fatale which is one of my favorites of all time), but he doesn’t do a great job here. Example: Characters screaming at each other with extreme anger and fucking 2 panels later. That’s what annoyed me.
Overall:
Good book. Criminal continues to be an amazing series with a duo that is the peanut butter and chocolate of comics! This volume while having a couple of minor issues is still great and I highly recommend this to almost anyone who is capable of reading.
4/5
What’s it about?
This volume follows a troubled cartoonist. One night/early morning he is at a dinner where he sees a male and female couple getting into a crazy fight. The woman is hitchhiking afterwards and the cartoonist ends up picking her up. They seem to get into each other which leads to the cartoonist telling the woman things he shouldn’t in an attempt to impress her. To explain more without spoiling a good book would be difficult so let’s move on.
Pros:
The story is interesting. I have yet to read anything from Brubaker that I dislike. There’s always a gripping and gritty crime story to find with the Criminal series!
The art is fantastic. Phillips is one of my favorite artists and this volume does a fantastic job showing his art range. Especially the panels that mix 2 art styles which sounds awful but Phillips makes it work!
The characters are interesting.
Lots of gritty, well drawn, well written and exciting action!
This one is suspenseful, just like previous additions to the series. You never know what will happen next in this series.
The narrative is well written.
Cons:
I was surprised that the dialogue was poorly done. Normally Brubaker writes fantastic dialogue for his characters. It’s still not awful but in many of the lines I found myself cringing.
Another unpleasant surprise was how poorly written the sexual stuff is. I often mention when this comes up that I don’t mind this stuff but it’s often poorly executed. Brubaker usually does a decent job writing this stuff (it’s one of the themes of Fatale which is one of my favorites of all time), but he doesn’t do a great job here. Example: Characters screaming at each other with extreme anger and fucking 2 panels later. That’s what annoyed me.
Overall:
Good book. Criminal continues to be an amazing series with a duo that is the peanut butter and chocolate of comics! This volume while having a couple of minor issues is still great and I highly recommend this to almost anyone who is capable of reading.
4/5
February 1, 2013
This was probably my least favorite of the Criminal books to date. It takes quite some time for the story to ramp up, and I took such an instant dislike to the viewpoint character that it was too long for me. And while the cover character, Iris, is the very image of a classic femme fatale, she was a little lacking in depth for me. All that said, once the story does pick up, it gets very interesting, very fast. And that ending... Wow. It certainly isn't the best thing Brubaker's done, but it ends up being a riveting read despite a slow start.
July 27, 2015
A great arc that was let down a bit by a kind of confusing ending. I didn't quite get what was revealed at the end about the main character here. And, yes, furthermore, the treatment of Iris as a character was pretty mysogynistic. I know that Brubaker is not a mysogynist, and I know that he has a whole other series deconstructing the femme fatale noir image, and then there is the whole unreliable narrator thing going on, so I won't hold this against the story. But it is a pretty disturbing detail.
March 22, 2016
This series continues its twisted, violent greatness.
August 19, 2017
Writer Brubaker and artist Phillips just rock these noir crime stories. This one combines a femme fatale with a cartoonist on a downward spiral.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
April 8, 2020
3.5 stars, Bad Night is more good, fun, crime noir pulp, but it spins way out of control towards the end.
December 13, 2023
Vou começar essa review com uma frase da sinopse da HQ, que acredito que resume bem o que acontece de maneira geral na trama. "... e começa a trilhar, aos tropeços, um caminho tortuoso que vai do sexo selvagem ao sequestro, passando por roubo e assassinato."
Como a frase citada acima, esse volume 4 da série Criminal, envolve diversos elementos, os quais são trabalhados com maestria por Ed Brubaker e Sean Phillips.
Jacob é um homem viúvo, que possui uma ligação com o submundo do crime, por conta de seu trabalho antigo, e por conta da família de sua ex esposa. No entanto, atualmente, Jacob vive uma vida pacata como quadrinista, e com deficiências no seu andar (algo que será explicado durante a história)
Porém, em uma noite, Jacob está presente durante uma discussão entre um casal em um restaurante, e mal sabia ele que toda sua vida mudaria a partir desse dia. Ele passa a ter amizade e se relacionar com a mulher chamada Iris, e por conta desse relacionamento, sua vida vira de cabeça para baixo, pois a mulher possuía um passado conturbado, e ligações com inimigos da vida de Jacob.
É difícil falar algo sobre a trama sem dar spoilers, pois ela é muito bem construída, com diálogos e acontecimentos marcantes, que impactam o leitor e se conectam com pontos da história que são impressionantes, desenvolvendo assim uma história muito coesa e bem feita.
Como a frase citada acima, esse volume 4 da série Criminal, envolve diversos elementos, os quais são trabalhados com maestria por Ed Brubaker e Sean Phillips.
Jacob é um homem viúvo, que possui uma ligação com o submundo do crime, por conta de seu trabalho antigo, e por conta da família de sua ex esposa. No entanto, atualmente, Jacob vive uma vida pacata como quadrinista, e com deficiências no seu andar (algo que será explicado durante a história)
Porém, em uma noite, Jacob está presente durante uma discussão entre um casal em um restaurante, e mal sabia ele que toda sua vida mudaria a partir desse dia. Ele passa a ter amizade e se relacionar com a mulher chamada Iris, e por conta desse relacionamento, sua vida vira de cabeça para baixo, pois a mulher possuía um passado conturbado, e ligações com inimigos da vida de Jacob.
É difícil falar algo sobre a trama sem dar spoilers, pois ela é muito bem construída, com diálogos e acontecimentos marcantes, que impactam o leitor e se conectam com pontos da história que são impressionantes, desenvolvendo assim uma história muito coesa e bem feita.
September 5, 2020
"Criminal volume 4: Bad Night"
Jacob is an artist and he makes the "Frank Kafka PI" newspaper strips. He used to be a counterfeiter. Some years ago his wife died and until her body was found, two years after her death, everybody thought he killed her. Because of that, his wife's uncle paid some people to beat him up and he ended up in the hospital. Then he also had a metal breakdown and he lost his mind for years. When he was proven to be innocent he started making the newspaper strips and in there he made a character named Detective Wrong, based on the detective that wanted to prove he killed his wife. One day he sees a couple fight in a cafe and when he looks at the woman, the guy gets very angry and he wants to bit him up, but he is stopped by someone working in the cafe. Meanwhile the woman leaves. When Jacob leaves as well he sees her hitchhiking in the road. He takes and she's so drunk that she passes out in his car. He takes her in his house and he puts her in the couch. She wakes up and they sleep together. In the morning her boyfriend comes in Jacob's home and he bits him up until he passes out. When he wakes up he is tied up in his own basement and the guy with his girlfriend want him to make for them a fake FBI ID for a heist.
This might be the best volume of criminal so far. I really loved it. Ed Brubaker's writing is perfect. The characters are very well written. They are relatable, they have understandable motives and they are rounded. The story is also great and there are some totally unexpected plot twists. Like in every Brubaker comic, the narration is my favorite thing in it. Sean Philips' artwork is really great. It gets better with every volume. The coloring by Val Staples is great as well. I hated his coloring in the first volume, but in this volume he is great.
Jacob is an artist and he makes the "Frank Kafka PI" newspaper strips. He used to be a counterfeiter. Some years ago his wife died and until her body was found, two years after her death, everybody thought he killed her. Because of that, his wife's uncle paid some people to beat him up and he ended up in the hospital. Then he also had a metal breakdown and he lost his mind for years. When he was proven to be innocent he started making the newspaper strips and in there he made a character named Detective Wrong, based on the detective that wanted to prove he killed his wife. One day he sees a couple fight in a cafe and when he looks at the woman, the guy gets very angry and he wants to bit him up, but he is stopped by someone working in the cafe. Meanwhile the woman leaves. When Jacob leaves as well he sees her hitchhiking in the road. He takes and she's so drunk that she passes out in his car. He takes her in his house and he puts her in the couch. She wakes up and they sleep together. In the morning her boyfriend comes in Jacob's home and he bits him up until he passes out. When he wakes up he is tied up in his own basement and the guy with his girlfriend want him to make for them a fake FBI ID for a heist.
This might be the best volume of criminal so far. I really loved it. Ed Brubaker's writing is perfect. The characters are very well written. They are relatable, they have understandable motives and they are rounded. The story is also great and there are some totally unexpected plot twists. Like in every Brubaker comic, the narration is my favorite thing in it. Sean Philips' artwork is really great. It gets better with every volume. The coloring by Val Staples is great as well. I hated his coloring in the first volume, but in this volume he is great.
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