What do you think?
Rate this book
The Last Days of American Crime
With one week until the end of all crime in the United States, can the last heist in American history be pulled off? In the not-too-distant future as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards. Enter: Graham Brick. A career criminal never quite able to hit the big score, Graham intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country, and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life. But the media has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live, and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the crime of the century into the last crime in American history.
162 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2010
19 people are currently reading
508 people want to read
About the author
Rick Remender
1,253 books1,428 followersRick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
January 28, 2026
(C+) 67% | Almost Satisfactory
Notes: One long, disjointed red-band trailer: it’s a pain to follow, hard-boiled but hollow, with not much egg within its shell.
*Progress update
Notes: One long, disjointed red-band trailer: it’s a pain to follow, hard-boiled but hollow, with not much egg within its shell.
*Progress update
November 16, 2024
Remender's weird plot and Tocchini's terrible art made this one a big NO for me.
Thought I was getting a noir crime comic, and it turned out I was reading some kind of nonsense that used graphic violence and sex to cover up a poorly thought-out dystopian plot.
Graham is the underdog criminal looking to make one last score that will get his ailing mother and himself across the Mexican border before America makes crime un-doable.
Yes.
The government is getting ready to broadcast some kind of radio frequency that will make everyone unable to do anything that they know is against the law.
My first thought was what the fuck am I reading, but I thought if I give it a chance, it might turn out to be cool.
No, wait. I lied.
My first thought was what toddler drew this?, then I thought what the fuck am I reading, then I decided that it might turn out to be cool.
The short version is that it did not.
The longer version is that there were too many things going on in this for any of them to land.
Graham teams up with the sexpot Shelby and her psycho boyfriend, Kevin, to hack a bank thing during the switchover that will then feed them digital $$ into an account. Whatever they are doing will ensure that if they make it across the border with their little hacked box, they'll be set up for life.
Also, Shelby seduces Graham and they have disgusting bathroom sex before he realizes who she is. So now they have this weird little secret. And then Kevin has a secret or two.
And Shelby might be playing both of them.
Then again...maybe not.
And Graham's mom has Alzheimer's and thinks he's his brother...or something?
And all I could think was WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS MIND CONTROL BROADCAST AND WHY IS THAT NOT THE STORY?
This part of the ending was so stupid -
Remender's dialogue is readable which is why I'm not 1-starring it, but the plot was just fucking wonky and I really didn't care for the artwork at all.
Thought I was getting a noir crime comic, and it turned out I was reading some kind of nonsense that used graphic violence and sex to cover up a poorly thought-out dystopian plot.
Graham is the underdog criminal looking to make one last score that will get his ailing mother and himself across the Mexican border before America makes crime un-doable.
Yes.
The government is getting ready to broadcast some kind of radio frequency that will make everyone unable to do anything that they know is against the law.
My first thought was what the fuck am I reading, but I thought if I give it a chance, it might turn out to be cool.
No, wait. I lied.
My first thought was what toddler drew this?, then I thought what the fuck am I reading, then I decided that it might turn out to be cool.
The short version is that it did not.
The longer version is that there were too many things going on in this for any of them to land.
Graham teams up with the sexpot Shelby and her psycho boyfriend, Kevin, to hack a bank thing during the switchover that will then feed them digital $$ into an account. Whatever they are doing will ensure that if they make it across the border with their little hacked box, they'll be set up for life.
Also, Shelby seduces Graham and they have disgusting bathroom sex before he realizes who she is. So now they have this weird little secret. And then Kevin has a secret or two.
And Shelby might be playing both of them.
Then again...maybe not.
And Graham's mom has Alzheimer's and thinks he's his brother...or something?
And all I could think was WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS MIND CONTROL BROADCAST AND WHY IS THAT NOT THE STORY?
This part of the ending was so stupid -
Remender's dialogue is readable which is why I'm not 1-starring it, but the plot was just fucking wonky and I really didn't care for the artwork at all.
March 24, 2016
Surveillance with an Apolitical Bent?
Advertised as pulpy sci-fi noir, The Last Days of American Crime is actually, at its core, a very masculine tough-guy-on-a-mission story, with some female eye candy thrown in for good measure. Page after page is filled with tough talk, fighting, shooting, explosions, murder, blood, gore, lots of band aids, bandages, etc. Competently done, yes, but a little more context or depth would not hurt.
The story's noir element finds expression in the fact that - as our hero puts it - the "world's turnin' into a big butthole," and the sci-fi element is represented by the U.S. government's new-found ability to make it physically impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. Sounds interesting enough, but unfortunately all of this remains unexplored and merely serves as an excuse for the protagonist to "cut loose," that is, fight, shoot, blow stuff up...
How does the government define "unlawful acts"? Is it really only interested in "fighting terrorism" as it claims, or could it possibly have other, less agreeable, hidden motifs? Does any of this have anything to do with the aforementioned wretched state of the world? The exploration of questions such as these could have turned The Last Days of American Crime into an intriguing and very relevant political thriller, but all we get is still more tough talk and explosions.
Writer Rick Remender himself describes the story as "hardcore crime with an apolitical bent." You have to wonder, though, whether it is really possible to tell an "apolitical" story on topics such as privacy and surveillance. Or on any topic, for that matter. After all, the refusal to ask critical questions is hardly apolitical.
Advertised as pulpy sci-fi noir, The Last Days of American Crime is actually, at its core, a very masculine tough-guy-on-a-mission story, with some female eye candy thrown in for good measure. Page after page is filled with tough talk, fighting, shooting, explosions, murder, blood, gore, lots of band aids, bandages, etc. Competently done, yes, but a little more context or depth would not hurt.
The story's noir element finds expression in the fact that - as our hero puts it - the "world's turnin' into a big butthole," and the sci-fi element is represented by the U.S. government's new-found ability to make it physically impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. Sounds interesting enough, but unfortunately all of this remains unexplored and merely serves as an excuse for the protagonist to "cut loose," that is, fight, shoot, blow stuff up...
How does the government define "unlawful acts"? Is it really only interested in "fighting terrorism" as it claims, or could it possibly have other, less agreeable, hidden motifs? Does any of this have anything to do with the aforementioned wretched state of the world? The exploration of questions such as these could have turned The Last Days of American Crime into an intriguing and very relevant political thriller, but all we get is still more tough talk and explosions.
Writer Rick Remender himself describes the story as "hardcore crime with an apolitical bent." You have to wonder, though, whether it is really possible to tell an "apolitical" story on topics such as privacy and surveillance. Or on any topic, for that matter. After all, the refusal to ask critical questions is hardly apolitical.
June 16, 2020
Greg Tocchini's art in this book is awful. His use of color is so muddy and dark it's hard to differentiate between the characters and the action portrayed in each panel. It completely ruined the book.
April 18, 2018
Well, I dunno. This would appear to be a kind of dystopian sci fi noir series, very, very bloody and violent, with a little femme fatale flesh thrown in here and there like splashes of color in the darkness. It’s noir, with a focus on the crime rather than the futuristic political situation, which has it that crime will soon become physically impossible thanks to some kind of neuro-inhibitor (?) called the American Peace Initiative. And as we await the broadcast of this initiative, all we get is crime, crime, all the time, on every page, and I’m not sure why. But sometimes seedy has its own logic. It just is.
The anti-hero main character, Graham Bricke, is built like a brick on testosterone in the Sin City fashion, but drawn in a sketchier, muddier style by Gregg Tocchini. I liked some of the dark sketchiness, initially, when it has a bit of a glossy feel, but later he takes the gloss off and things get muddier and grittier as the action gets faster and wilder. This approach sounds like it has potential, I know, but increasingly, one finds it difficult to differentiate the characters. Lucky the femme fatale girl has star tattoos, because otherwise she looks like all the other women.
I lost interest pretty quickly in the plot, such as it is, but this is a common occurrence for me with Remender’s work, that I am underwhelmed by the ideas that are underdeveloped. I didn’t like their Low series, either. But if you like dead bodies in your stories, there’s dead bodies just everywhere in almost every panel, in the buildings, on the streets. It’s America out of control, but without any real commentary.
Maybe this could have been interesting if it dealt with terrorism or the police state or surveillance in a serious way, but there is no indication of anything like that happening here. Sci fi devoid of ideas makes for an empty story. Noir devoid of character study is pretty boring. But if crime actually becomes impossible, as the premise indicates may happen, this series is dead, because without the blood and sex they got nuttin’!
I dunno, maybe 2.5 stars, somewhere in there between 2 and 3 stars.
The anti-hero main character, Graham Bricke, is built like a brick on testosterone in the Sin City fashion, but drawn in a sketchier, muddier style by Gregg Tocchini. I liked some of the dark sketchiness, initially, when it has a bit of a glossy feel, but later he takes the gloss off and things get muddier and grittier as the action gets faster and wilder. This approach sounds like it has potential, I know, but increasingly, one finds it difficult to differentiate the characters. Lucky the femme fatale girl has star tattoos, because otherwise she looks like all the other women.
I lost interest pretty quickly in the plot, such as it is, but this is a common occurrence for me with Remender’s work, that I am underwhelmed by the ideas that are underdeveloped. I didn’t like their Low series, either. But if you like dead bodies in your stories, there’s dead bodies just everywhere in almost every panel, in the buildings, on the streets. It’s America out of control, but without any real commentary.
Maybe this could have been interesting if it dealt with terrorism or the police state or surveillance in a serious way, but there is no indication of anything like that happening here. Sci fi devoid of ideas makes for an empty story. Noir devoid of character study is pretty boring. But if crime actually becomes impossible, as the premise indicates may happen, this series is dead, because without the blood and sex they got nuttin’!
I dunno, maybe 2.5 stars, somewhere in there between 2 and 3 stars.
July 6, 2017
★★1/2
This is the case of an otherwise decent graphic novel being nearly ruined by its artwork. It has a great concept in the premise of the country essentially making street crime obsolete, making paper money worthless and switching to electronic money, and the group of old-school criminals trying to hit the one last score that can set them up for life after the switch-over.
The book had a lot of double-crosses and some bits of great dialogue as well but I kept getting taken out of the story my the mushy artwork by Greg Tocchini. I had a difficult time telling the difference between characters because of the lack of recognizable facial detail, and I thought that the action scenes were terribly rendered. I kinda wish that the cover artist Alex Maleev worked on the whole book! I've been curious about Remender's LOW series but I'm having second thoughts because Tocchini draws that one as well.
This is the case of an otherwise decent graphic novel being nearly ruined by its artwork. It has a great concept in the premise of the country essentially making street crime obsolete, making paper money worthless and switching to electronic money, and the group of old-school criminals trying to hit the one last score that can set them up for life after the switch-over.
The book had a lot of double-crosses and some bits of great dialogue as well but I kept getting taken out of the story my the mushy artwork by Greg Tocchini. I had a difficult time telling the difference between characters because of the lack of recognizable facial detail, and I thought that the action scenes were terribly rendered. I kinda wish that the cover artist Alex Maleev worked on the whole book! I've been curious about Remender's LOW series but I'm having second thoughts because Tocchini draws that one as well.
September 27, 2015
What's this I keep hearing about Remender going soft because he's getting therapy and becoming a cheery fellow? Not seeing that here man. But I am worried he's losing his writer's edge.
Interesting story - America is going to prevent all crime, and at the same time convert all cash to digital (which makes all crime traceable). Tell a tale from a third-rate tough-guy crook, how he's gonna make good on that last score. Uh-huh.
The dialogue's tight - so tight I'm having to concentrate more than usual to fight back against my ADHD to follow who's who.
Compound that with the beautiful art - rich colours and amazing fluid lines - but hellacious on the recognition factor, making it all but impossible to know who's who. The only reason I keep connecting the action to our presumed protagonist is because the character model has a round cap of white hair that no one else sports.
Decent little caper story tho. Angles being pursued, and not knowing who to trust...the usual stuff. Diggle did it better with Ratcatcher, but this wasn't bad. (Ending seemed a bit dissatisfying. Maybe I'm just jaded after seeing enough of these stories. Maybe I'm getting grizzled. Maybe I should be sent on Logan's Run. Or Logan's Rum. Yeah. The rum-run would be much more fun - see how many miles you can do with only bottles of Jamaican to keep you hydrated and fueled. Maybe that wouldn't be fun for the runner, but it would be sociopathically hilarious for the spectators. Maybe that becomes the plot to a Running Man remake, with some lead actor going all method for us and nearly dying, thus winning the Oscar for their brave stupidity. OK, enough schadenfreude fantasies.)
Go read this book if you like colours, grizzled old losers and hot chicks making them feel like they aren't in command of their faculties.
Interesting story - America is going to prevent all crime, and at the same time convert all cash to digital (which makes all crime traceable). Tell a tale from a third-rate tough-guy crook, how he's gonna make good on that last score. Uh-huh.
The dialogue's tight - so tight I'm having to concentrate more than usual to fight back against my ADHD to follow who's who.
Compound that with the beautiful art - rich colours and amazing fluid lines - but hellacious on the recognition factor, making it all but impossible to know who's who. The only reason I keep connecting the action to our presumed protagonist is because the character model has a round cap of white hair that no one else sports.
Decent little caper story tho. Angles being pursued, and not knowing who to trust...the usual stuff. Diggle did it better with Ratcatcher, but this wasn't bad. (Ending seemed a bit dissatisfying. Maybe I'm just jaded after seeing enough of these stories. Maybe I'm getting grizzled. Maybe I should be sent on Logan's Run. Or Logan's Rum. Yeah. The rum-run would be much more fun - see how many miles you can do with only bottles of Jamaican to keep you hydrated and fueled. Maybe that wouldn't be fun for the runner, but it would be sociopathically hilarious for the spectators. Maybe that becomes the plot to a Running Man remake, with some lead actor going all method for us and nearly dying, thus winning the Oscar for their brave stupidity. OK, enough schadenfreude fantasies.)
Go read this book if you like colours, grizzled old losers and hot chicks making them feel like they aren't in command of their faculties.
October 8, 2017
A cliché crime story sandwiched between muddy artwork and the absurd, convenient premise that crime will become impossible.
December 24, 2017
Well Rick always knows how to depress you that's for sure.
This is very similar to titles like Criminals from Ed Brubaker. Everyone is a piece of shit. Everyone is flawed in some ways. There's no clear "good" or "bad" guy here. This is mainly focused on 3 people trying to pull off a job. Of course they're all insane in their own way, betraying people left and right, and tons of blood and gore to fill the pages. When you got three people who don't trust each other what happens when they must work together? Well...that be spoilers!
Good: I enjoyed the art style for the most part. Some shots are downright wonderful, and the action is super fucked up. The dialog is pretty solid, though sometimes forced (Rick sometimes puts odd dialog in there) it still flows well. I enjoyed the first 2/3rds of it a lot and thought the pacing was solid there. Also the fight scenes, woooow.
Bad: The pacing kind of tips off at the last act. I thought the third issue was a little to cliche. All the twist I've seen before. Yes, nothing can be super original now days with all the crime movies/tv shows and comics but still. I just felt like I saw it all coming. I also thought the ending didn't fit the feel of it, but I guess we have to be a little happy, right?
Overall this was pretty fun. Rick Remender really writes some good dark shit and this is no exception. I'd probably get it around a 3.5 but that ending just kind if dipped it for me. So I'll still say 3.5 out of 5 but I'ma give this one a 3 stars on here.
This is very similar to titles like Criminals from Ed Brubaker. Everyone is a piece of shit. Everyone is flawed in some ways. There's no clear "good" or "bad" guy here. This is mainly focused on 3 people trying to pull off a job. Of course they're all insane in their own way, betraying people left and right, and tons of blood and gore to fill the pages. When you got three people who don't trust each other what happens when they must work together? Well...that be spoilers!
Good: I enjoyed the art style for the most part. Some shots are downright wonderful, and the action is super fucked up. The dialog is pretty solid, though sometimes forced (Rick sometimes puts odd dialog in there) it still flows well. I enjoyed the first 2/3rds of it a lot and thought the pacing was solid there. Also the fight scenes, woooow.
Bad: The pacing kind of tips off at the last act. I thought the third issue was a little to cliche. All the twist I've seen before. Yes, nothing can be super original now days with all the crime movies/tv shows and comics but still. I just felt like I saw it all coming. I also thought the ending didn't fit the feel of it, but I guess we have to be a little happy, right?
Overall this was pretty fun. Rick Remender really writes some good dark shit and this is no exception. I'd probably get it around a 3.5 but that ending just kind if dipped it for me. So I'll still say 3.5 out of 5 but I'ma give this one a 3 stars on here.
September 24, 2015
Remender and Toccini are an amazing team, with Toccini's loose linework and moody color palette/shading expertly capturing Remender's gritty, smutty, pulp noir tale. I wanted to like this more, but it dragged a lithe bit for me, and I found the perspective switching to be somewhat confusing. I think that I also would've enjoyed it more if the ratio of time spent on the heist versus time spent on building the horrible, violent, dystopian background were larger.
Enjoyable in the way that Mark Wahlberg heist action movies are.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.
Enjoyable in the way that Mark Wahlberg heist action movies are.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.
November 8, 2017
I saw Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini and jumped on board with no hesitation. I don't know what this book thinks it wants to be, but I only made it about a 1/3 of the way through before I couldn't do it any more. Seriously disappointing. It may make more sense if you get further through it, but it really grated on me. The characters, their "language" (both dialogue & manner of speaking) and the over zealousness of being R-rated... just not for me. Going back to re-read X-Force to feel better.
March 12, 2021
Sin-City-grade plot. Pretty good graphics. Might just turn into a movie one of these days. Recommended.
August 9, 2023
Interesting bit of world-building: America is days away from broadcasting a signal that will make it impossible for people to break the law (hence the title). Remender engages in a bit of debate about the ethics of law enforcement via mind control: it'll save lives and prevent billions of dollars of economic loss to crime, but at what cost to the human spirit? Will the choice to do good be at all meaningful anymore? But this is squeezed into the background as an argument on a soap opera and then dropped. I'd dearly love to have had this conflict explored in depth.
Anyway, the incipient anti-crime signal shapes the world in which antihero Brick is putting together a crew for One Last Score. There follow riots, fear of the unknown, mass emigration, and rampant last-chance crime. Brick coordinates with an unknown safecracker and his hacker femme fatale girlfriend (what game are they running? can they be trusted?)
It's a little bit noir, a little bit The Score : everyone has secrets, loyalties keep shifting, we don't know who can be trusted, and the whole thing is an exercise to see who comes out on top.
I had much the same experience with Greg Tocchini's art that I did with his work on Low. It's absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful colors, light on detail, highlighted by the large pages and big panels. And it's extremely hard to tell the characters apart. I think Tocchini knows it too, since he gave his hacker-chick character some helpfully distinctive sexy tattoos.
(Incidentally, it turns out that the signal only works on 'normal' people. Sociopaths are unaffected. Which puts me in mind of the NRA argument that gun control ensures that only the criminally inclined will be armed. I found the parallel interesting. Another missed opportunity for exploration.)
Anyway, the incipient anti-crime signal shapes the world in which antihero Brick is putting together a crew for One Last Score. There follow riots, fear of the unknown, mass emigration, and rampant last-chance crime. Brick coordinates with an unknown safecracker and his hacker femme fatale girlfriend (what game are they running? can they be trusted?)
It's a little bit noir, a little bit The Score : everyone has secrets, loyalties keep shifting, we don't know who can be trusted, and the whole thing is an exercise to see who comes out on top.
I had much the same experience with Greg Tocchini's art that I did with his work on Low. It's absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful colors, light on detail, highlighted by the large pages and big panels. And it's extremely hard to tell the characters apart. I think Tocchini knows it too, since he gave his hacker-chick character some helpfully distinctive sexy tattoos.
(Incidentally, it turns out that the signal only works on 'normal' people. Sociopaths are unaffected. Which puts me in mind of the NRA argument that gun control ensures that only the criminally inclined will be armed. I found the parallel interesting. Another missed opportunity for exploration.)
July 30, 2016
Great story concept well executed!
In the future, maybe just around the corner, the US has conceived a plan to broadcast a neuro-inhibitor that will make it impossible to commit crime. At the same time they are going to phase out paper money and replace it will completely traceable digitized charge cards.
Set against these frantic last days of crime, we follow a career criminal as he desperately tries to commit one last big crime; theft of a charge machine for the new currency that will let him live out the rest of his life in comfort overseas. To do so he needs the help of two young and batshite crazy safe crackers. The three of them work their crazy way to the major crime of their lives complemented with the delightful artwork of Greg Tocchini and Alex Maleev.
An offbeat, frenetic and very enjoyable TP.
In the future, maybe just around the corner, the US has conceived a plan to broadcast a neuro-inhibitor that will make it impossible to commit crime. At the same time they are going to phase out paper money and replace it will completely traceable digitized charge cards.
Set against these frantic last days of crime, we follow a career criminal as he desperately tries to commit one last big crime; theft of a charge machine for the new currency that will let him live out the rest of his life in comfort overseas. To do so he needs the help of two young and batshite crazy safe crackers. The three of them work their crazy way to the major crime of their lives complemented with the delightful artwork of Greg Tocchini and Alex Maleev.
An offbeat, frenetic and very enjoyable TP.
September 4, 2021
This one was hard to rate for me. On one hand it's a great concept and a gritty crime story. On the other hand, it's overly complicated and the art is muddy at times. It was still a good read but just seemed like it either had too much or too little of something, and I'm not sure exactly what.
If you like gritty crime drama with a dystopian edge, you may enjoy this one. But keep in mind it's not quite as good as it sounds.
If you like gritty crime drama with a dystopian edge, you may enjoy this one. But keep in mind it's not quite as good as it sounds.
October 21, 2018
Quality neo-noir comic. All the grit you could possibly ask for.
January 3, 2016
'The Last Days of American Crime' by Rick Remender tells of a future where the US decides to eliminate crime, but the story is pure, old-fashioned crime noir all the way.
Graham Bricke is a down and out criminal with a good enough reason to make a last score. He's got an inside scoop and a plan on a heist that will make the folks clever enough to pull it off wealthy. He just needs to find people he can trust with the skills he needs. The problem is that the younger couple he finds may have plans of their own, including stabbing Graham in the back and taking it all for themselves. Adding to the tension is the fact that the new anti-crime signal has been leaked that it's going live, so Graham and company need to act fast.
Graham is a likeable enough anti-hero who finds himself getting beat up or shot on a regular basis. Kevin Cash is a twisted psychopath in designer clothing, but I liked his character too. The only character that felt a little flat is the femme fatale, Shinee Dupree, which is interesting considering how much time they spent drawing her and putting her on all the covers. The story is crime fiction at its best, and the art by Alex Maleev is definitely the right tone and color for the book. A decent all around read.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Graham Bricke is a down and out criminal with a good enough reason to make a last score. He's got an inside scoop and a plan on a heist that will make the folks clever enough to pull it off wealthy. He just needs to find people he can trust with the skills he needs. The problem is that the younger couple he finds may have plans of their own, including stabbing Graham in the back and taking it all for themselves. Adding to the tension is the fact that the new anti-crime signal has been leaked that it's going live, so Graham and company need to act fast.
Graham is a likeable enough anti-hero who finds himself getting beat up or shot on a regular basis. Kevin Cash is a twisted psychopath in designer clothing, but I liked his character too. The only character that felt a little flat is the femme fatale, Shinee Dupree, which is interesting considering how much time they spent drawing her and putting her on all the covers. The story is crime fiction at its best, and the art by Alex Maleev is definitely the right tone and color for the book. A decent all around read.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
February 8, 2018
Dystopian pulp crime noir heist tale with great art. I like.
December 15, 2017
Every single strip in this graphic novel is like a work of art, the style is so visually striking and effortless, a “rough” impressionistic blacksad!
For me, that was the only redeeming thing; the story line is jolty, flowing awkwardly, I never got to know anything about any of the characters. When dialogue is used it’s mainly unnecessary swearing, so it essentially boils down to people swearing and shooting at each other.
None of the storyline will stick with me nor will any of the characters, overall quite a disappointing read, but the illustrators work is stunning; shame the narrative completely lets it down.
Edit:
I read the reviews after I posted mine and people felt the opposite to me loved the story hated the artwork? Completely disagree, so interesting that people found the opposite.
For me, that was the only redeeming thing; the story line is jolty, flowing awkwardly, I never got to know anything about any of the characters. When dialogue is used it’s mainly unnecessary swearing, so it essentially boils down to people swearing and shooting at each other.
None of the storyline will stick with me nor will any of the characters, overall quite a disappointing read, but the illustrators work is stunning; shame the narrative completely lets it down.
Edit:
I read the reviews after I posted mine and people felt the opposite to me loved the story hated the artwork? Completely disagree, so interesting that people found the opposite.
June 30, 2019
(This review was originally published by GraphicNovelReporter on April 12, 2011)
Following the death of millions in terrorist attacks across the nation, the US government is readying the American Peace Initiative, a broadcast signal that interrupts the brain's synapses and makes it impossible for anyone to perform an illegal act. Graham Bricke has 14 days before the API goes live, 14 days to pull of the last perfect crime.
The Last Days of American Crime by Rick Remender is a near-future, hardboiled crime book, perfectly peopled with the staples of crime fiction. Bricke is an aging con man, an ex-drug addict looking to pull off the perfect score one last time. He's an old-school thief, aided by Shelby, a tattooed seductress, and her fiancé, Kevin Cash. Both are young, technologically savvy thieves, and each has their own share of problems that could undo Bricke's careful planning.
In addition to unveiling the API, the government is converting its currency system from cash to credit. Graham works as a security guard at one of the banks responsible for taking in paper money and converting it into electronic currency via a machine that charges cash cards with funds. Graham wants to steal one of these machines, which, if hacked correctly, could create an unlimited source of wealth. The only problem is, Graham offended a Mexican gang member by setting him on fire, and now the entire gang wants him dead.
Remender's script hits all the right notes. He brings the reader deep inside this den of thieves and killers as they plot America's very last bank heist. It's a dark, brutal affair rife with sex and violence. Major American cities are in revolt, consumed by riots. Mexico and Canada have begun using lethal force to defend their borders from the mass exodus of US citizens seeking asylum. The political undercurrent strikes a timely chord given the safety-versus-privacy concerns post-9/11, particularly amidst the recent controversy surrounding the TSA body scanners and pat-down regulations. While never an overt subject in the book, these political themes beautifully inform the story and its characters, giving them a powerful motivation to find some measure of security in the death throes of democracy.
Greg Tocchini's art is a gritty affair. Stylistic and painterly, it has a very cinematic feel to it. It's rapid fire, punchy, and not a panel feels wasted. There is a very strong sense of motion in the book's illustrations, which push the reader along as the hours tick down toward America's last crime. This job—this perfect, final score—is the last hope Bricke and his accomplices have. It's a strong tonal foundation for the book, and Tocchini's coloring matches it well. His colors are nicely subdued given the book's tone, as if America, in its darkest hours, has desaturated the world with its grimness.
The Last Days of American Crime is a terrific genre-blending work, punching up the traditional crime book with a very plausible take on tomorrow's technology. With Graham and Shelby, Rick Remender has created a very likeable set of antiheroes to root for, each bringing their own share of damaged goods to a nicely constructed plot filled with double-crosses and sleight-of-hand. It's a well-written, beautifully illustrated heist novel that's as cool as Ocean's Eleven or Elmore Leonard's finest works, if not darker, bloodier, and more brutal than either.
Following the death of millions in terrorist attacks across the nation, the US government is readying the American Peace Initiative, a broadcast signal that interrupts the brain's synapses and makes it impossible for anyone to perform an illegal act. Graham Bricke has 14 days before the API goes live, 14 days to pull of the last perfect crime.
The Last Days of American Crime by Rick Remender is a near-future, hardboiled crime book, perfectly peopled with the staples of crime fiction. Bricke is an aging con man, an ex-drug addict looking to pull off the perfect score one last time. He's an old-school thief, aided by Shelby, a tattooed seductress, and her fiancé, Kevin Cash. Both are young, technologically savvy thieves, and each has their own share of problems that could undo Bricke's careful planning.
In addition to unveiling the API, the government is converting its currency system from cash to credit. Graham works as a security guard at one of the banks responsible for taking in paper money and converting it into electronic currency via a machine that charges cash cards with funds. Graham wants to steal one of these machines, which, if hacked correctly, could create an unlimited source of wealth. The only problem is, Graham offended a Mexican gang member by setting him on fire, and now the entire gang wants him dead.
Remender's script hits all the right notes. He brings the reader deep inside this den of thieves and killers as they plot America's very last bank heist. It's a dark, brutal affair rife with sex and violence. Major American cities are in revolt, consumed by riots. Mexico and Canada have begun using lethal force to defend their borders from the mass exodus of US citizens seeking asylum. The political undercurrent strikes a timely chord given the safety-versus-privacy concerns post-9/11, particularly amidst the recent controversy surrounding the TSA body scanners and pat-down regulations. While never an overt subject in the book, these political themes beautifully inform the story and its characters, giving them a powerful motivation to find some measure of security in the death throes of democracy.
Greg Tocchini's art is a gritty affair. Stylistic and painterly, it has a very cinematic feel to it. It's rapid fire, punchy, and not a panel feels wasted. There is a very strong sense of motion in the book's illustrations, which push the reader along as the hours tick down toward America's last crime. This job—this perfect, final score—is the last hope Bricke and his accomplices have. It's a strong tonal foundation for the book, and Tocchini's coloring matches it well. His colors are nicely subdued given the book's tone, as if America, in its darkest hours, has desaturated the world with its grimness.
The Last Days of American Crime is a terrific genre-blending work, punching up the traditional crime book with a very plausible take on tomorrow's technology. With Graham and Shelby, Rick Remender has created a very likeable set of antiheroes to root for, each bringing their own share of damaged goods to a nicely constructed plot filled with double-crosses and sleight-of-hand. It's a well-written, beautifully illustrated heist novel that's as cool as Ocean's Eleven or Elmore Leonard's finest works, if not darker, bloodier, and more brutal than either.
October 13, 2011
The first fight I ever saw up close and in person nearly made me piss in my pants. I felt all the blood rush right down to my toes and I could've fainted right then and there. I was seven. Fast-forward three years and it was me doing the fighting. In a blind rage. Not a single fear and all that scared shitless stuff was gone because the violence became pretty fucking routine after awhile.
Maybe that's why I'm drawn to these sorts of books. These crime novels with all of their brutality and their cynicism and their violence. Maybe its because like most of the characters, I confuse love with lust, and love with violence, and that I know deep down that love is violent. Because now, here I am, a married man who writes and reads about these things that were old hat for so many years of my life.
And then again, maybe its all just catharsis.
In 'The Last Days of American Crime', Rick Remender tries to write the book he has always wanted to write but never got the chance because he was stuck writing for comic books like The Punisher and X-Force. It looks like it'll be his magnum opus, in all honesty. But that's saying very little when we get right down to it.
With dialogue that seems to fade in and out between punchy and pathetic, with one-too-many plot twist, and with zero understanding of local vernacular, it seems that Remender dropped the ball. Not all his fault. I can see that this may have wound up being a rush-job because it has that feel to it. Something that would have gone down in the history books of graphic novel crime right alongside "Jinx".
That said, the book isn't trash. Its trashy, sure, but that's exactly what you want out of it. Every character is a lowlife. Every character is a brutalized barbarian. Every character is someone you do not want to fuck with. Think its being overdone? It isn't. Its perfect. The story may not have all the answers, but it gets you where you want to be. It puts you in the perect mood and pulls you right down into its rat-infested streets and makes you chew the broken glass of the asphalt.
On the other hand, there's the artwork by Tocchini that nearly ruins it all. For as good as this man is with composition (which is masterful) and color (which is perfect), the work looks like someone trying to figure out how to use a drawing pad from the instruction booklet. It doesn't feel crisp or refined and the lines are sloppy where they should be clear cut. I don't care if someone wants to argue the vagueries of this type of literature and the blurred moral lines. That is a facile explanation at best. As the book progresses, the style becomes even more confused. It felt as if the artist was trying to find himself, experimenting on us, searching out a style, while we read panel to panel. I will say though, that if he gets his shit together, he'll be nothing short of genius. His work already is reminiscent of Paul Pope and Ashley Wood.
When we get down to the heart of the matter, I may be too focused on what bothered me about the book than what I liked about it. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't the best either. It gets huge points for trying somethign different, not flinching from its own visceral styling and for being a non-stop joyride.
Grade: C+
Maybe that's why I'm drawn to these sorts of books. These crime novels with all of their brutality and their cynicism and their violence. Maybe its because like most of the characters, I confuse love with lust, and love with violence, and that I know deep down that love is violent. Because now, here I am, a married man who writes and reads about these things that were old hat for so many years of my life.
And then again, maybe its all just catharsis.
In 'The Last Days of American Crime', Rick Remender tries to write the book he has always wanted to write but never got the chance because he was stuck writing for comic books like The Punisher and X-Force. It looks like it'll be his magnum opus, in all honesty. But that's saying very little when we get right down to it.
With dialogue that seems to fade in and out between punchy and pathetic, with one-too-many plot twist, and with zero understanding of local vernacular, it seems that Remender dropped the ball. Not all his fault. I can see that this may have wound up being a rush-job because it has that feel to it. Something that would have gone down in the history books of graphic novel crime right alongside "Jinx".
That said, the book isn't trash. Its trashy, sure, but that's exactly what you want out of it. Every character is a lowlife. Every character is a brutalized barbarian. Every character is someone you do not want to fuck with. Think its being overdone? It isn't. Its perfect. The story may not have all the answers, but it gets you where you want to be. It puts you in the perect mood and pulls you right down into its rat-infested streets and makes you chew the broken glass of the asphalt.
On the other hand, there's the artwork by Tocchini that nearly ruins it all. For as good as this man is with composition (which is masterful) and color (which is perfect), the work looks like someone trying to figure out how to use a drawing pad from the instruction booklet. It doesn't feel crisp or refined and the lines are sloppy where they should be clear cut. I don't care if someone wants to argue the vagueries of this type of literature and the blurred moral lines. That is a facile explanation at best. As the book progresses, the style becomes even more confused. It felt as if the artist was trying to find himself, experimenting on us, searching out a style, while we read panel to panel. I will say though, that if he gets his shit together, he'll be nothing short of genius. His work already is reminiscent of Paul Pope and Ashley Wood.
When we get down to the heart of the matter, I may be too focused on what bothered me about the book than what I liked about it. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't the best either. It gets huge points for trying somethign different, not flinching from its own visceral styling and for being a non-stop joyride.
Grade: C+
September 3, 2015
This is raw and violent, but also gritty and addictive right to the very end.
The American government has found a solution to crime and has created a signal which when broadcast will make it impossible for anyone to commit crime. The country is in uproar with mindless violence on the streets, hundreds of Americans are seeking asylum at the borders of Canada and Mexico, and the bad guys are planning a final heist. They are planning the last American crime.
The story reminds me of The Losers series by Andy Diggle. It is a story about bad guys being bad guys but the odd thing is that as a reader you find yourself cheering the bad guys on and you want them to succeed. The art and the words draw you in until the bad guys become the heroes and their crime becomes a heroic quest.
The government is also planning to install a new currency system to distract people from the anti-crime signal and Graham Brick (a bad guy) is planning to steal one of the charging stations for the new currency and live off the money but he needs to do this before the anti crime signal is broadcast. He pulls together a small team of other bad guys/gal but he has badder guys on his tail, bad guys who have gone legit, and a race against time.
Can he do it?
The art work conveys the noir feel that the story has and there is lots of violence which is portrayed but not in a shocking way. Some of the violent scenes - shootings, dead bodies etc are drawn in a way that is muted way so that the reader needs to look really closely to understand the depth of the violence. It makes the story more shocking and the 'quest' becomes highly improbable.
The plotting and planning of the bad guys is just so bold and daring, but at the same time they leave a trail of destruction behind them. Surprisingly there may be some honour amongst thieves as they work together to pull off the last heist and last crime in America but how much honour and which thieves?
There are twists and turns, sleight of hand and action, action, action, right to the very end.
It is a gripping comic with a fast pace and a crescendo ending and enjoyable if you don't mind a wild ride with the bad guys.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The American government has found a solution to crime and has created a signal which when broadcast will make it impossible for anyone to commit crime. The country is in uproar with mindless violence on the streets, hundreds of Americans are seeking asylum at the borders of Canada and Mexico, and the bad guys are planning a final heist. They are planning the last American crime.
The story reminds me of The Losers series by Andy Diggle. It is a story about bad guys being bad guys but the odd thing is that as a reader you find yourself cheering the bad guys on and you want them to succeed. The art and the words draw you in until the bad guys become the heroes and their crime becomes a heroic quest.
The government is also planning to install a new currency system to distract people from the anti-crime signal and Graham Brick (a bad guy) is planning to steal one of the charging stations for the new currency and live off the money but he needs to do this before the anti crime signal is broadcast. He pulls together a small team of other bad guys/gal but he has badder guys on his tail, bad guys who have gone legit, and a race against time.
Can he do it?
The art work conveys the noir feel that the story has and there is lots of violence which is portrayed but not in a shocking way. Some of the violent scenes - shootings, dead bodies etc are drawn in a way that is muted way so that the reader needs to look really closely to understand the depth of the violence. It makes the story more shocking and the 'quest' becomes highly improbable.
The plotting and planning of the bad guys is just so bold and daring, but at the same time they leave a trail of destruction behind them. Surprisingly there may be some honour amongst thieves as they work together to pull off the last heist and last crime in America but how much honour and which thieves?
There are twists and turns, sleight of hand and action, action, action, right to the very end.
It is a gripping comic with a fast pace and a crescendo ending and enjoyable if you don't mind a wild ride with the bad guys.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 18, 2011
This one's basically a heist story set in the near future. The American Government is about to start broadcasting a secret signal that will make it impossible for any American citizen to commit a crime. Remender deliberately ignores even trying to explain how it's going to work. Small time grifter Graham Bricke doesn't know, so we don't need to know either. Anyhow, the secret signal doesn't stay secret for long, the info gets leaked and chaos ensues. Everybody either riots, goes on a lawbreaking bender or tries to get the hell out of Dodge, to such a degree that the Canadian and Mexican border guards get the shoot to kill order. Graham Bricke has a plan. He's going to carry out the last great American crime. The book starts off with Bricke about to get his brains splattered all over the floor - he's bloody, beaten and resigned to being the next dead man on the road to Hell but thinking of his personal Heaven. But this is crime noir so you shouldn't be too surprised to be dragged back two weeks on the next page. Truth be told, initially I couldn't care less if he lived or died. He's just another scumbucket... isn't he. It takes a while to learn the whole story as Bricke assembles his crew.
Greg Tocchini's blood spattered art is great on the first issue. He's always looking for new angles to liven up the scenes. Sometimes it's like we're spectating through a hole in the ceiling, next were peering up from a littered floor. He does the whole shebang too, keying the colouring into the tone or the mood. As we go through the issues though the quality and care start to decline. Compare the art in issue one to the final issue. Deadline pressure? Who knows. I don't know much about the production history on this one. The story pays off though. It's brutal in places, filled with some seriously twisted characters most folk wouldn't lose sleep over burying them in cement but Remender and Tocchini won me over in the end.
If you think a 3 issue book is too short... well, don't worry too much. These were published by Radical. If you've had any of their comics you will know that their standard issue length is more than double the industry standard. Now that isn't a crime.
Greg Tocchini's blood spattered art is great on the first issue. He's always looking for new angles to liven up the scenes. Sometimes it's like we're spectating through a hole in the ceiling, next were peering up from a littered floor. He does the whole shebang too, keying the colouring into the tone or the mood. As we go through the issues though the quality and care start to decline. Compare the art in issue one to the final issue. Deadline pressure? Who knows. I don't know much about the production history on this one. The story pays off though. It's brutal in places, filled with some seriously twisted characters most folk wouldn't lose sleep over burying them in cement but Remender and Tocchini won me over in the end.
If you think a 3 issue book is too short... well, don't worry too much. These were published by Radical. If you've had any of their comics you will know that their standard issue length is more than double the industry standard. Now that isn't a crime.
February 3, 2019
The Last Days of American Crime reads like an amped-up Sin City, gritty for gritty's sake. Sex and non-PC language galore for no real purpose other than shock value. The far-fetched framing is unique at least: Graham Brick has to pull off one last crime before the American government sends out some kind of radio wave that prevents people from performing criminal acts. But by the time the heist is in action, the countdown to no-crime-time doesn't seem to have been an issue. You really could have placed this story in any dystopian future and been just fine.
Graham is kind of a non-character, a generically unlikable hunk of human who grumbles through scenes and vaguely takes care of his Alzheimer's-struck mother. The two other criminals are similarly one-note: sexpot schemer and angry hipster trying to get back at a cruel father. They perform their one-note roles adequately, at least. Rick Remender is, as ever, skilled at plotting a dynamic story that keeps you engaged, even if the twists and turns aren't up to his usual standards. I might have grumbled over the sometimes unnecessary violence, but then was thrilled on the next page by an over-the-top, gross-out action scene. I guess I'm a man of many minds?
Greg Tocchini's art is a sight to behold, but it's also exceedingly divisive. Either you love the washed out characters and detailed world-building or you hate that you can barely tell who's who or what's going on from panel to panel. I fall in the former camp, although I certainly struggled to parse a few scenes. Remender wasn't always a help with his occasionally baffling dialogue. I don't know. I guess what I've been trying to say all along is that The Last Days of American Crime is a wildly mixed bag. Enter with caution.
Graham is kind of a non-character, a generically unlikable hunk of human who grumbles through scenes and vaguely takes care of his Alzheimer's-struck mother. The two other criminals are similarly one-note: sexpot schemer and angry hipster trying to get back at a cruel father. They perform their one-note roles adequately, at least. Rick Remender is, as ever, skilled at plotting a dynamic story that keeps you engaged, even if the twists and turns aren't up to his usual standards. I might have grumbled over the sometimes unnecessary violence, but then was thrilled on the next page by an over-the-top, gross-out action scene. I guess I'm a man of many minds?
Greg Tocchini's art is a sight to behold, but it's also exceedingly divisive. Either you love the washed out characters and detailed world-building or you hate that you can barely tell who's who or what's going on from panel to panel. I fall in the former camp, although I certainly struggled to parse a few scenes. Remender wasn't always a help with his occasionally baffling dialogue. I don't know. I guess what I've been trying to say all along is that The Last Days of American Crime is a wildly mixed bag. Enter with caution.
September 18, 2018
Really liked this book. Though it presents itself as a story about a country, the United States to be exact and the mind control fixtures and currency exchange mechanisms being put in place over it's citizens to regain control at it's heart it is a crime story. A story with lots of complications, double crosses, sex, avenging old slights. dysfunctional families and bad guy out of control violence. The violence was a little much for my taste and each panel contained blood spatter in the background even when there was no real violence but the story was gritty and the twist and turns held my interest so i give it a 4.
December 25, 2015
I liked it..it has a nice end
November 11, 2019
It was a decent read. I wasn't a huge fan of the art and the story seemed like it might have missed a little more substance for my liking.
February 23, 2019
The super-talented team behind LOW has put together a mega-fun, stand alone, sci-fi crime adventure. Rick Remender takes the crime noir, cliches and all, and drops it in a too realistic near future where America has become so crime-ridden and ungovernable that the federal government has decided to resort to mass mind control to pacify the population. The Last Days of American Crime detail just that: one last, big score before the anti-crime broadcast makes wrong-doing impossible. Dramatis personae include Graham Bricke, the career criminal still stuck making small scores, but with big-time ambition and a fool-proof plan; Shelby Dupree, femme fatale, as smart as she is sexy and just as dangerous; Kevin Cash, a criminally insane son of a gangster, a man with connections and zero conscience; these and a supporting cast of White power skinheads, Mexican gangsters, whores, pimps, and junkies round out this noir tale.
The book is fast-paced, and almost too much so, because I kept turning pages until I hit the back cover and all I wanted was more. The art is beautiful and dreamlike with some seriously glorious gore and violence. Greg Tocchini tends toward heavy use of computer effects, giving this polished art the feel of watercolors and an visually confusing inking made of layered coloring, beautiful if not a little jarring. My only serious complaint it that I wish this was a serial, so I could anticipate the next installment. We’ll just have to do with this one-shot.
Get The Last Days of American Crime from the Denver Public Library
- Mikel
The book is fast-paced, and almost too much so, because I kept turning pages until I hit the back cover and all I wanted was more. The art is beautiful and dreamlike with some seriously glorious gore and violence. Greg Tocchini tends toward heavy use of computer effects, giving this polished art the feel of watercolors and an visually confusing inking made of layered coloring, beautiful if not a little jarring. My only serious complaint it that I wish this was a serial, so I could anticipate the next installment. We’ll just have to do with this one-shot.
Get The Last Days of American Crime from the Denver Public Library
- Mikel
August 20, 2024
«Останні дні американської злочинності» Ріка Ремендера — це поєднання кримінального нуару та зруйнованого антиутопічного американського майбутнього. Комікс одночасно гострий, брутальний, жорстокий, насильницький і сексуальний. Це кримінальна історія, яка просякнута паруючою хтивістю і кров’ю. А ще малюнок Ґреґа Токіні, який, наче, навіть пасує отому всьому антиутопічному безладу. Та не все так добре особисто для мене, як виглядає зі слів вище.
Після спалаху внутрішньої терористичної активності Сполучені Штати вирішили покласти цьому край, впроваджуючи систему, яка передаватиме «сигнал», що перешкоджатиме свідомому вчиненню злочинів будь-якою людиною. Уряд також переводить усі фінанси на цифрові картки, роблячи паперові гроші та монети непотрібними. До того, як нововведення набуде чинності, залишається лише тиждень. Ґрем Брік — досвідчений злочинець, який мріє здійснити своє останнє велике пограбування. Він планує напасти на одну з нових цифрових зарядних станцій, щоб викрасти стільки цифрових активів, скільки вистачить на безбідне життя десь далеко за межами Сполучених Штатів. У нього залишається лише тиждень до запуску анти кримінальної системи, щоб здійснити «пограбування століття». Кевін Кеш і Шелбі Дюпрі — пара молодих злочинців, яких Ґрем завербував для пограбування. Але в обох є таємниці, які можуть перешкодити виконанню місії. Кевін має родинні зв’язки, які можуть поставити під загрозу всіх, а Шелбі просто не можна довіряти.
Головний герой, Ґрем Брік, виглядає, як брутальний персонаж у стилі «Міста гріхів», але виконаний у більш грубому, ескізному стилі, який притаманний роботам Ґреґа Токіні. Спочатку мені сподобалась ця темна ескізність, яка додає ефектності такому світу. Та я пам’ятав це оманливе відчуття ще із часу прочитання серії коміксів «Дно» тієї ж авторської команди. Тому з розвитком сюжету все стає більш каламутним, а коли потрапляємо на сторінки із динамічними сценами, то все стає ще більш хаотичною. Такий стиль має свій шарм, але поступово важко розрізняти персонажів. На щастя, у головної героїні є характерні татуювання із зірками, інакше вона зливалася б із рештою жіночих образів. Що не скажеш про інших персонажів коміксу.
Я досить швидко втратив цікавість до сюжету, як такого. Тут було досить цікавих діалогів та сцен, але читати було все рівно нудно. І, мабуть, одним із додаткових факторів — задовгі випуски у цій серії. Загалом тут їх лише три. Кожен раз, коли сідав читати черговий випуск у збірці, то вже за якихось п’ятнадцять сторінок, думав, коли вже кінець, щоб відкласти комікс на полицю та відпочити від нього. І через збільшені випуски, і важкий для сприйняття малюнок Токіні, і перевантаження жорстокими сценами, і не завжди цікавими діалогами, — усе зіграло свою негативну роль для мене.
Проте, якщо вам подобаються велика кількість жорстокості, вбивств, сексу в сюжетах, то тут вони просто скрізь, практично на кожному кадрі, чергуючись один з одним. Так що, ви знаєте, що чекає на вас в цьому коміксі й самі вирішуйте чи бажаєте влазити в це лайно.
Після спалаху внутрішньої терористичної активності Сполучені Штати вирішили покласти цьому край, впроваджуючи систему, яка передаватиме «сигнал», що перешкоджатиме свідомому вчиненню злочинів будь-якою людиною. Уряд також переводить усі фінанси на цифрові картки, роблячи паперові гроші та монети непотрібними. До того, як нововведення набуде чинності, залишається лише тиждень. Ґрем Брік — досвідчений злочинець, який мріє здійснити своє останнє велике пограбування. Він планує напасти на одну з нових цифрових зарядних станцій, щоб викрасти стільки цифрових активів, скільки вистачить на безбідне життя десь далеко за межами Сполучених Штатів. У нього залишається лише тиждень до запуску анти кримінальної системи, щоб здійснити «пограбування століття». Кевін Кеш і Шелбі Дюпрі — пара молодих злочинців, яких Ґрем завербував для пограбування. Але в обох є таємниці, які можуть перешкодити виконанню місії. Кевін має родинні зв’язки, які можуть поставити під загрозу всіх, а Шелбі просто не можна довіряти.
Головний герой, Ґрем Брік, виглядає, як брутальний персонаж у стилі «Міста гріхів», але виконаний у більш грубому, ескізному стилі, який притаманний роботам Ґреґа Токіні. Спочатку мені сподобалась ця темна ескізність, яка додає ефектності такому світу. Та я пам’ятав це оманливе відчуття ще із часу прочитання серії коміксів «Дно» тієї ж авторської команди. Тому з розвитком сюжету все стає більш каламутним, а коли потрапляємо на сторінки із динамічними сценами, то все стає ще більш хаотичною. Такий стиль має свій шарм, але поступово важко розрізняти персонажів. На щастя, у головної героїні є характерні татуювання із зірками, інакше вона зливалася б із рештою жіночих образів. Що не скажеш про інших персонажів коміксу.
Я досить швидко втратив цікавість до сюжету, як такого. Тут було досить цікавих діалогів та сцен, але читати було все рівно нудно. І, мабуть, одним із додаткових факторів — задовгі випуски у цій серії. Загалом тут їх лише три. Кожен раз, коли сідав читати черговий випуск у збірці, то вже за якихось п’ятнадцять сторінок, думав, коли вже кінець, щоб відкласти комікс на полицю та відпочити від нього. І через збільшені випуски, і важкий для сприйняття малюнок Токіні, і перевантаження жорстокими сценами, і не завжди цікавими діалогами, — усе зіграло свою негативну роль для мене.
Проте, якщо вам подобаються велика кількість жорстокості, вбивств, сексу в сюжетах, то тут вони просто скрізь, практично на кожному кадрі, чергуючись один з одним. Так що, ви знаєте, що чекає на вас в цьому коміксі й самі вирішуйте чи бажаєте влазити в це лайно.
June 20, 2020
This comic suffers a bit from the artwork that can be too sketchy for the reader to figure out what he or she is seeing on the pages. The story isn’t perfect but it contains a lot of memorable scenes. It was quite an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews