I feel like the writer just wanted to make something "deep", but in their pursuit of depth they created a shallow story, with uninteresting characters and a brief sex scene which just feels completely gratuitous and out-of-place.The art is good and easily understandable. But aside from this and some good writing, it's difficult to really praise anything about Criminal. The comic doesn't seem to say anything, or speak in any volumes about anything. It's just "here are some characters, this is what they do." Even more difficult than to specifically say anything good or bad about it, is to just say something about it. It's hard to say things about a comic that doesn't say anything, and Criminal is so flat and lifeless it feels like a day at Keira Knightley's acting academy. 1/5 stars. Read Full Review

Brubaker and Phillips start their longstanding criminal noir relationship out on a high note in Criminal, enough so that they have made, what, FOUR more noir series together? with Kill or be Killed making their newest outing coming soon? this first issue is great art, and tight writing, with some really beautiful, vintage comic book art used as a means to transition scenes in the story. things start off really dark, and just keep that darkness about them throughout. this is not a story for kids, even though it is about a kid and his dad on a road trip. but not ANY road trip, they’re hunting down a criminal who would implicate the young man’s father in crimes he and his boss have committed. we learn a lot about him and his father, and see them doing all sorts of criminal activity. we see that the boy watches and learns a lot from his father, but that he is still not ready to dive headlong into the criminal world his father inhabits. it seems like things are very lonely for his father, and that he does all sorts of terrible, unspeakable things to achieve his endgame. but what does that leave him? probably just another road trip to do more of the same, or defending himself against someone else who wants to put his body in a trunk and dump it in a lake...
the kung-fu werewolf comic is really funny and weird, it definitely feels accurate for how the kid describes it “a kids comic pretending to be for grown ups”. this book is decidedly adult- only for grown-ups not kids, at all. it is dark, and creepy, and violent and showcases the underbelly of society in a really engaging and unique way. the end of the issue is really a heart wrenching turn, and one i didn’t expect. i love this story, and even though I’ve never read a criminal book before (i started reading brubaker and phillips’ work with Fatale) and can’t wait to read more of this and to continue on with Kill or be Killed. these two have a great chemistry, and it is obvious. this is a great book, and more