Are you reading CRIMINAL? (Issue #2 on sale 4/9/2008 - Maybe?)

jkylefulton

If you are, great! If you aren't, you should be! Awesome crime drama from Brubaker and Phillips! Here's some information:

February Solicitations wrote:

That’s right, the most acclaimed crime comic in the industry is giving readers and retailers a second chance to get onboard as we relaunch with a new format, featuring more pages, longer main stories, and an expanded magazine section! “Second Chance In Hell” begins the first of three standalone issues, this one focusing on Gnarly the bartenders and telling the story of the last days of his life as a boxer and revealing how the Undertow bar came into his hands. It’s a hard-hitting period-piece, set in the grimy early 70s, where crime, seduction and betrayal go hand-in-hand. And on top of this longer-than-usual length main story, CRIMINAL now features an expanded back-pages section, as well – with articles by Brubaker and other top crime writers, from novelists to screenwriters to comic writers. These noir articles have become a popular piece of the CRIMINAL package, and are something that can only be found in the comics, not in any collections. So please take this SECOND CHANCE IN HELL to find out what everyone’s been talking about!
Mature Content …$3.50

Brubaker, on the JINXWorld forums wrote:

The first trade has sold pretty well so far, and we got good advance orders for the second one, still waiting for my first quarterly report on reorders and such.

But to give you a rough breakdown, we'd need to sell 25 thousand or so trades right out of the gate (and I'm just thinking off the top of my head here) to be able to afford to do the book if monthly sales didn't support it. We're nowhere close to selling that many of the first trade, even.

Trades is a long-view publishing plan, and we will eventually sell a lot of them on this book, I'm sure, but since we don't get page rates and no publisher is financing this series, it only exists because of the people who buy the monthlies and the retailers who order them. It's those people who make the book happen, and who make those trades possible to exist.

That's why there are extras in the comics to reward those who support the series. Also, they would make no sense in the trades. It's articles about the noir genre and movie reviews and stuff. It's for the Criminal magazine.

If this book dies because people trade-wait, I'm going to lose my mind.

Crimsondude

If people trade-wait, they are losing out as Brubaker has said repeatedly.

One of the points of the second series is to expand the back pages, which are purposefully left out of the trades, since they had to increase price anyway.

Anyway, if you have to ask if I read it you haven't been paying attention.

jkylefulton

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12567

An interview with Brubaker, with preview pages and a bunch of other things? Wow, you should totally click that link and check it out!

Servo

the back matter in criminal alone would be worth buying every month, even if the comic wasn't kickin' ass

wwtMask

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Criminal is almost universally loved around here. I know I've picked it up since issue 1. I was under the impression that it was doing pretty good though, at least better than they expected.

jkylefulton

wwtMask wrote: »

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Criminal is almost universally loved around here. I know I've picked it up since issue 1. I was under the impression that it was doing pretty good though, at least better than they expected.

See, I thought so as well (on both counts), but it never hurts to get the word out and make sure, y'know?

So....if you like IMMORTAL IRON FIST, or CASANOVA, or the current runs on CAPTAIN AMERICA or DAREDEVIL, or maybe you dig crime noir books like TORSO and JINX, I think you should give CRIMINAL a shot.

Crimsondude

Oh, definitely. Plus it inspired my newfound appreciation for Charlie Huston's prose work and Moon Knight, as well as all non-Marvel things Bru (especially Sleeper and Point Blank, which were awesome at mixing supers and espionage/crime. Speaking of crime, it's a crime I didn't fall into Casanova earlier).

jkylefulton

Look here - a five page trailer for the first TPB:







And here, another interview with Brubaker!

http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Criminal/Ed_Criminal.html

jkylefulton

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=144764

Gigantic interview (part 1 of 2) posted today on Newsarama. The CRIMINAL information will be in part 2, but it's still a huge interview, and a nice look into what makes Brubaker tick. It's worth checking out (if you haven't already).

wwtMask

Christ, that's basically a perfect hook for Criminal. I read that and imagined a real movie trailer.

Crimsondude

Some of the art inside and on the covers of those first issues is taken or inspired by images from Heat.

If you like that movie, and movies like it, you'd really enjoy Coward. Lawless is like one of those 70s movies, even some blaxploitation, where a Delta commando learns his brother was murdered, goes AWOL and hunts down the murderer.

jkylefulton

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=144909

Part 2 of the gigantic Newsarama interview, including information on CRIMINAL, IMMORTAL IRON FIST, and more!

Brubaker wrote:

We've done well enough to keep doing it. But it's one of those things where the market is very hostile to non-superhero stuff. We've gotten really lucky in that Sean and I have a pretty solid fan base. People ask me why I promote Criminal so much and not my other books and much. For one thing, I own Criminal. And also, if Daredevil were only selling 20,000 copies, I'd probably be pushing Daredevil a lot more. But Daredevil's selling 50,000 copies.

It's one of those things where I remind people not to wait for the trade, and I feel a little like a douchebag doing that, but I know the inside numbers crunching. And people who are waiting for the trade to read books are actually hurting those books. It's hurting their chances of longevity. It's a real hard thing. That's why we do so much in Criminal, doing the articles in the back -- making it a cool package of its own. I keep getting flack for not putting those things in the trade, but Criminal: The Magazine has all these bonuses, and the reason they're there is because it's a reward for the people who make that book possible.

People think that because we're coming out of Marvel, that somehow that makes it successful. But it doesn't work that way. It really is based on sales. If the book doesn't sell, Sean and [colorist] Val [Staples] don't get paid. I mean, I still have not taken a dime on Criminal. I've either given it all to those guys or set it aside in, like, a rainy day fund for anytime the book doesn't make enough money to pay them. I just want the book to exist. I'm happy to write it for free.

But yeah, we wanted to try these one-shots to get people on board with the book and be able to see what it's all about. That's the hope. And we're changing the package to give them a little bit more book and a little bit more story for not much more money. I can't figure out how to get retailers who aren't ordering the book to order the book. And I'm hoping this will do it.

Crimsondude

Brubaker wrote:

People think that because we're coming out of Marvel, that somehow that makes it successful. But it doesn't work that way. It really is based on sales. If the book doesn't sell, Sean and [colorist] Val [Staples] don't get paid. I mean, I still have not taken a dime on Criminal. I've either given it all to those guys or set it aside in, like, a rainy day fund for anytime the book doesn't make enough money to pay them. I just want the book to exist. I'm happy to write it for free.

For emphasis.

wwtMask

People who don't buy Criminal are the reason we don't have good things, and I despise them.

Caveman Paws

You're breakin' my balls here guys, breakin' my balls here.

Who can resist a hook like that? Who?

*Starts looking around his one room apartment for things to sell*

I guess I don't "need" a fridge, it is winter right?

jkylefulton

New Wordballoon podcast by Brubaker, with information on CAPTAIN AMERICA #34 and CRIMINAL.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/wordballoon/WBbrubakercap34spoilers_.mp3

grim123

I found a couple of issues at my LCS but its by another publisher.
I'm confused is Criminal put out my marvel or someone else?

jkylefulton

It's under the Marvel ICON imprint - if it has Brubaker and Phillips listed as the creators, it's the book you're looking for!

ZombieAsuma

Is there an over-arcing story in this book or is it just a series of one-shots/two-three parters about criminal activity?

jkylefulton

Well, there have only been ten issues so far, but there's a definite overarching backstory to be found (which I think Brubaker has said he'll continue to explore as the series grows).

ZombieAsuma

Hmmm alright. I was going to get Black Cat Vol. 10-12 this weekend but Brubaker's pitch hooked me in...I think I'll be buying a Criminal trade instead.

Crimsondude

It's all part of one big story about the criminal underworld of ... the city it's set in (which I cannot for the life of me recall at the moment). The first five-issue arc was about a pickpocket/tactician who planned robberies, and had some pretty dark secrets relating to ... Tracy Lawless, who was the protagonist in the next arc, who came home to find out who murdered his brother, a criminal who followed in the footsteps of ... Teeg Lawless, who was a badass criminal (he once took Tracy on a cross-country spree when Tracy was like 14), but was himself murdered like his son (Leo's father is in prison for murdering Teeg Lawless). It's about all of these men and women who live lives of crime, whose families live lives of crime, and as a result all of their stories interweave.

The relaunch starts with three one-shots: Gnarly, the owner of the Undertow (the criminal bar); Teeg Lawless himself; and the femme fatale who has ties to Gnarly and Teeg and, well, everyone; and . There is also an interesting dynamic involving the crime boss in the city, Sebastian Hyde, and how his life has threads from these other families (Gnarly's father was his father's bodyguard and right-hand man, so he and Gnarly grew up together).

As Bru has described it, he could do 50 issues (10 arcs) just telling these peoples' stories, and they are all related.

ZombieAsuma

Wow you just made it sound even MORE interesting. I might have to buy a trade and singles!

jkylefulton

Spoilered for size:

http://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Vol-Coward-Ed-Brubaker/dp/078512439X/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201833959&sr=8-1

That's the first trade.

Spoilered for size:

http://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Vol-Lawless-Ed-Brubaker/dp/0785128166/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201833959&sr=8-2

That's the second trade.

But remember - BUY THE FLOPPIES! You get extra stuff, AND you get the warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing that you're supporting a great book.

Crimsondude

Well, it's definitely Brubaker's style. Look at Captain America. The current arc is part two of an overall story that began in #1 and ends around issue #50 (Act three begins in April, #37).

Crimsondude

Dude, you may want to consider resizing or putting those images in Spoiler tags.

jkylefulton

Done and done. Sorry about that, fellas.

ZombieAsuma

Well I prefer singles over trades so I may go the singles route if possible. The shop I go to has plenty last I saw.

Crimsondude

No problem.

Oh, shit. I just saw this on CBR: "Criminal" Hijacks MySpace in Bold New Promotion

http://www.myspace.com/comicbooks

I love the badges. I was thinking about making a couple myself, but I could never do it justice compared to this.



This is Teeg, btw.

jkylefulton

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=92159514&blogID=353102285

You can read the first chapter of the first trade, COWARD, at that link.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=92159514&blogID=353411232

You can read the first chapter of the second trade, LAWLESS, at that link. Thanks, Crimson!

jkylefulton

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=92159514&blogID=355054301

A ten-page preview of CRIMINAL #1, Vol. 2, in stores February 27th!

Crimsondude

Fuck YEAH!

Crimsondude

I was skimming through the CBR threads, and I noticed Ed Brubaker pimping Criminal there. And I wonder why he isn't pimping it here. And that sucks.

jkylefulton

Just a reminder that CRIMINAL Vol 2 #1 is on sale tomorrow!

Crimsondude

I think I'm going to leave you all for Jinxworld. There I can kiss his ass without the indefinable middle-man.

wwtMask

Just tell Ed that there are scores of mouths here willing (dare I say salivating?) to fellate him, in addition to the ass kissing that you mention. That's gotta at least give him pause to think about coming around here.

jkylefulton

See if you can get Fraction posting here as well.

jkylefulton

And see if maybe you can convince David Aja to start selling his IRON FIST art - he's hoarding it.

Crimsondude

Fuck it. That board is just muddled shit.

However, he did post some badges a long fucking time ago that are still up.

jkylefulton

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=13160

New Sean Phillips interview, including lettered previews of the first four pages of issue #2 (on sale March 26th).

mugginns

I'm gonna pick up #1 of this series tommorrow. Looks pretty cool. If it is good I'll set it on my pull list