Broken Frontier

Brubaker and Phillips go into the back story of Danica, the woman who tore Sebastian and Jake apart. Her slow descent into selfish depravity is chronicled, warts and all.

In a recent discussion I had about why I love Fables so much I realized something. *Gasp* Is Lee starting off a meditation on one book by talking about another? Yeah, I am, stay with me for a second though. It’s relevant, I promise. I could never quite put my finger on the reason that book is so revered by myself and the revealed secret explained so much of why I love certain books over others. The simple fact is that Willingham has created a very believable and well thought out world. It is why I gravitate to Tolkien and Herbert, these guys did their homework and made worlds. Certainly, Brubaker can’t be mad at me for favorably comparing him to those three great writers.

That’s what has been so awesome about this new volume of Criminal. It’s not that the writing is better than the first, although it is. It’s not that Phillips seems to get better with each issue, although he does. It is the fact that in three done and one issues, Brubaker has explored the nooks and crannies of this world he has created. He is showing us how complete his vision is. He is showing us how everything and everyone is connected. This allows for beautiful things in writing. Just as in Hadamard’s Butterfly Theory, you get the idea that the smallest detail might have large consequences later on. For example, take this issue, now that we have seen Paul more than once, how important will his role be? What story is under Brubaker’s sleeves for this man who has been done wrong?

This issue, by the nature of Danica’s role in past issues, of course shows us new and important things about how she affects this world. What is incredible here though, is Brubaker’s ability to take this very iconic 70's type character (come on, you know you want to see a twenty-something Pam Grier play Danica) and breathe new life in her. Instead of a very two dimensional stereotype, Bru gives us a character that feels very real. It is the kind of characterization that would assist other attempts at the same kind of character. How much would people complain about the girls in the beginning of Death Proof if we knew why they were as damaged as they were? Of course, it helps that the scribe here has a more deft control of dialogue than the much celebrated Quentin Tarantino. In fact, one kind of wonders if Q.T. would be able to surpass the brilliance that is Jackie Brown if the director were to team up with the current writer of Daredevil.

For those that have read the back material in the books, you know that Brubaker is really creating the equivalent of a comic book version of a Tarantino script. He is playing on all of his influences. In fact, so much so, that he is comfortable writing essays on the works that inspired this trip into the underworld. Writing it for Icon on his terms allows him the ability to one-up the innovative film auteur by allowing him to do all of this rich world building. It is what allows him to break our hearts this issue and still leave us wanting.

Phillips is a master. To be honest, because of the nature of my reading habits, explained in detail other places- email me, I’ll be glad to talk about - the first time I saw his art was in Marvel Zombies. While I very much enjoyed that first mini, the art was never the real draw for me, so I am afraid I missed out. Here though it is impossible to miss. The shading and attention to detail are superb while the colors by Staples only enhance the whole package.

Criminal embarks on its next arc with the next issue. I would be dishonest if I said that I wasn’t a little worried. Thing is, this book has leapt up my reading pile with the last three issues. Don’t let the tardiness of this review mislead you, it is only late because of my hectic life. Mostly, the advanced hour of this review has to do with me struggling with doing the book justice. Ed discusses how hard these last three issues have been to write in the closing essay - don’t worry, man; the effort was worth it, this book gets better by the issue and now that I have completely fallen in love with the book, I can throw that worry to the curb and bask in the next great chapter of this saga. If any book has a chance of overtaking the top spot on my reading list, that goliath known as Fables, Mr. Brubaker... this is the one!