A Criminal Blog: Bullets: News on Upcoming Releases, &c.

The second issue of Criminal: The Sinners was originally solicited to be released this week, and it is currently delayed only by a couple weeks, to November 18th. The mini-series should still be on track for a December release for issue #3, and a January release for issue #4 -- about which I have more to say, shortly.

Update on Incognito "Bookplate" Edition. As I relayed in an update to the previous entry, I confirmed that the limited "bookplate" edition of Incognito will be available to customers outside the UK. For more details, see the blog for Gosh! Comics in London.
IGN Review of The Sinners #1. In addition to CBR's excellent review, we have stumbled across a review at IGN, here, for the first issue of Criminal: The Sinners. I frankly agree with its assessment that, compared to earlier arcs, the new story "just doesn't burst out of the gates" with its first issue, but Dan Phillips is right that -- between the story and the extra content -- the series continues to be "the best bang for your buck out of any monthly on the stands."
January Solicitations. The next two issues should be out before the end of the year, but after that? Newsarama has published Marvel's January solicitations, which includes Criminal: The Sinners #4. The description reads as follows:
The Award-Winning crime series continues! Tracy Lawless is getting close to finding the killers he's been searching for... but before he can put all the pieces together, he finds himself in their crosshairs in Chinatown, with enemies all around him. This can't end well, or wouldn't be an issue of Criminal, would it?
The issue is scheduled for a January 27th release.
Cover Art for The Sinners #5. Meanwhile, Sean Phillips is already posting cover art previews for Criminal: The Sinners #5. Along with interior art, presumably of the next issue, in various stages of completion, Sean has posted the sketch, the inks, and the final artwork for the brutal, moody cover -- where things aren't looking good for Tracy Lawless.
Criminal Hardcover, at the Printers. The hardcover collection is also on its way, and over on his Twitter page, Ed Brubaker reports that Criminal: The Deluxe Edition is now apparently being published. He's seen a printed copy, "and it looks great."

Brubaker links to Amazon's listing for the book -- blog readers are welcome to visit Amazon through our links -- and the listing includes the first detailed description I've seen.
A fantastically-designed and printed book showcasing the Eisner and Harvey Award-Winning crime comics from the creators of Sleeper and Incognito, this oversized, deluxe hardback edition features Criminal books 1 thru 3 - Cowards, Lawless, and The Dead and the Dying. Also features many extras, including a Criminal short story and the never-before-printed five page "movie trailer in comics form" that Brubaker and Phillips created to announce the series online, plus illustrations, selected articles, behind-the-scenes glimpses, painted covers, and much more! Features an introduction by comics legend and Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons. Collects Criminal (2006) #1-10 and Criminal (2008) #1-7.
We reported earlier that it appears the "selected articles" are only ones that Brubaker himself wrote.

The "Criminal short story" might be "No One Rides for Free" from Liberty Comics #1, or it could the prose story for the very first issue, or the hardcover may well include both.

And, strictly speaking, the "movie trailer in comics form" was previously published, in Walking Dead #30, which our own Alan David Doane predicts will become "the Holy Grail" for Criminal fans.

The page also has a publication date of December 2nd, when the book was solicited for November, but I'm not sure that that date reflects when the book will reach the direct market.
More Details about DC's Pulp Comics. Finally, in an update to earlier news about a new DC Comics continuity for pulp heroes like Doc Savage and "The" Batman, Dan DiDio provided a few more details to Newsarama: after November's (The) Batman/Doc Savage Special, the universe will be kick-started in March with a mini-series now officially titled First Wave.

After that, we'll see new ongoing titles for Doc Savage and The Spirit, with a title for The Batman "under consideration." The Spirit monthly will be a genuinely new ongoing title, to be written by Mark Shultz, to replace the series that apparently concluded in August.

This collection of new titles might not be as interesting as Incognito, but -- as with Marvel's reimagined Noir books for its mainstream superheroes -- a successful pulp line from DC might really help broaden the base for Brubaker and Phillips' creator-owned projects.