On the letters page in this week's new issue of Criminal: The Sinners, Ed Brubaker mentions "family health issues" in explaining the short delay. I for one appreciate his occasional note acknowledging that not every issue comes out precisely as scheduled, but there are far more important things than the timely release of a comic book, even when the book as is consistently enjoyable as this one.

We hope that the health issue is nothing serious, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Brubaker family this Thanksgiving.

Bullets: New Criminal and Incognito Trade This Week, and More.

A quick list of bullets for the week of Thanksgiving.

• New Releases This Week. The big fall quarter is wrapping up this week, with only a few minor delays from the schedule I assembled a few months back. I've checked my two regular sources for weekly release info -- San Francisco's Comix Experience and my local shop, Great Escape Comics in Marietta, Georgia -- and at least the West Coast shop confirms the arrival of two books for fans of Brubaker and Phillips. It's not yet clear that the books will make East Coast stores before the holiday.
  
  UPDATE, NOVEMBER 24. A quick call to Great Escape this afternoon confirmed the new arrivals, which appear to be available nationwide this week.
  
  Available in at least some stores this week, and everywhere next week, is the trade paperback collection for Incognito and the second issue of Criminal: The Sinners. Comic Book Resources has a five-page preview of the new issue, featuring the return of Jen Waters, who we last saw in "Coward." While the military begins to close in on the AWOL Tracy Lawless, it seems that he'll have a run-in with Jen, as they both investigate the same crime scene, for crime boss Sebastian Hyde and for the city police, respectively.
  
  Next month is shaping up to be pretty quiet, but late in December we should see the third issue of "The Sinners."
  
  
• Criminal: The Deluxe Edition in the NY Times. Looking back to this month's biggest release, Ed Brubaker links to the New York Times' Christmas gift guide. Its list of graphic novels includes Criminal: The Deluxe Edition, which is in stores now.
  
  
• Sinners Finale in February Solicitations. Looking ahead, Newsarama has posted Marvel's full solicitations for February, 2010. The listings include Criminal: The Sinners #5, scheduled for a February 24th release.

  It’s the action-packed and twist-filled finale of THE SINNERS as TRACY LAWLESS finds himself trapped between hardened killers who want to torture and kill him, and a tough Military Investigator who wants to bring him back to the Army in chains.
  
  All the intrigue you’ve come to expect from Criminal, plus more exclusive back-up features and interviews.

  My guess is that we can expect anything with the ending, except for a happy ending.
  
  
• Miscellany Regarding Other Comics. Earlier this month, Newsarama also featured an interview with Ed Brubaker, about Captain America Reborn...
  
  Fans of the pulp universe in Incognito should check out this month's Batman / Doc Savage Special, which introduces DC's pulp universe and features preview sketches that are also found at DC's blog...
  
  And fans of Criminal and other noir comics should check out this month's debut issue of Stumptown by Gotham Central co-creator Greg Rucka, who also wrote Whiteout and Queen & Country, and who's currently making waves with Batwoman in Detective Comics. 4thletter! has a good review of the first issue, describing the title as the law-and-order flipside of Criminal. CBR's first review makes comparisons to Gotham Central's artist Michael Lark and to The Big Sleep; and a new column focusing on women in comics debuts with a review that applauds both the writing and the artwork. Ed Brubaker strongly recommends the book: "Go buy it, people. Great work from Rucka and Southworth."

Here's hoping that everyone has a good Thanksgiving -- a far happier and safer holiday than the typical Criminal storyline.

CRIMINAL: DELUXE IN STORES THIS WEEK.

Big news: Over at the Savage Critic(s), Brian Hibbs reports that Criminal: The Deluxe Edition will be arriving in San Francisco's Comix Experience this week. By glancing at the upcoming titles at their website and making a quick phone call, I confirmed that my local shop -- Great Escape Comics in Marietta, Georgia -- received the hardcover this afternoon, to go on-sale tomorrow.

For Criminal fans, Christmas comes early, as pretty much everything we've reported so far -- from its first official confirmation and solicitation in June, to the Amazon.com description we noted last week -- suggests that the 432-page hardcover will be worth every penny of its $49.99 MSRP.