Reviewed by Eric Switzer. “Criminal: Coward” is the first arc of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (“Fatale”, “The Fade Out”) 2006 series first published by Marvel’s Icon imprint. This new print at Image doesn’t deliver new content aside from the original covers, but if you just started “The Fade Out” or if you are completely unfamiliar with this rockstar team of noir masterminds, “Coward” is unequivocally the place to start.
WRITTEN BY: Ed Brubaker
ART BY: Sean Phillips
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $14.99
Release: January 28, 2015
Reviewing “Coward” is sort of like giving Casablanca two thumbs up. This is where it all began for this writer-artist team that has come to be known as the kings of crime fiction. “Criminal” arcs are typically 5 issues and are compartmentalized, meaning each arc is its own story with its own cast. “Coward”, the first story in the “Criminal” series, is the story of a diamond-heist-gone-wrong, and stars a tragically flawed pickpocket in way over his head.
Leo learned how to steal growing up from his dad and his Uncle Ivan. As an adult he found he had a particular talent for orchestrating large scale heists utilizing a set up rules developed over a life of crime developed to meet one goal: never get caught. After a particularly botched bank job, Leo leaves the business and reserves himself to take care of his elderly Uncle Ivan, who’s overcome by Alzheimers and addicted to heroin. Now Leo is being pulled back in by the prospects of a job too good to refuse: a single police armored vehicle transporting millions of dollars in blood diamonds to a high profile trial. Things quickly get out of hand, no one is exactly who they appear to be, and by the end of it you’ll be absolutely winded having held your breath for 148 pages.
Like all of Brubaker’s work, “Coward” the kind of meaty plot not common to the medium, and is so densely packed with style, form, and theme, so finely polished and meticulously constructed, this is crime-fiction perfection rivaling any Lehane, Harris, or Chandler novel out there. “Coward” is on narrative-nitrous, delivering breakneck twists and turns as any classic noir would, but it is not without its quiet moments, and delivers some intensely emotional scenes, filled with pathos and desperation and just so much god damn grit. Leo has a well paced and satisfying character arc, the larger-than-life villain is entertainly outrageous yet genre appropriate, and the dialogue/narration is so perfectly ripped from the time period you will be completely swept away by the entirety of the experience.
It is really fun to look back and see the evolution of Sean Phillips work. His panels are so subtly expressionistic when they need to be without betraying the hard-edged style dictated by the genre. Phillips, better than any artist I know of, has emotive characters that compliment Brubaker’s sharp dialogue. There is a particular scene depicting a character who is struggling against a certain elicit temptation that has stuck with ever since I first saw it back in 2006. This girl alone in a tiny bathroom is probably the loudest moment in the entire story, and showcases just how exquisitely talented Phillips is as a story teller. This is ground zero for the best crime comics out there. If you haven’t read it yet, this is the perfect opportunity to get your hands on it.
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Eric Switzer is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles. His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality. He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.