Criminal Previews... and a Brubaker/Phillips Rarity.

We're moving ever closer to the return of our favorite crime comic, as Sean Phillips has begun posting preview images from Criminal: The Last of the Innocent. The almost invisible narration from the first preview reminds this reader of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren."

There are things in this city...
...that pull me in..
...like a siren...
...calling to a sailor...
...lost at sea.

And, the most recent image shows us a little more of the nostalgic, Archie-esque style that was briefly seen in the two-page teaser.

The July solicitations are already out, and Marvel's list includes the second issue, complete with cover art, reprinted above. The solicitation, also available at Sean's blog, mentions murder and a double cross -- would we expect anything less? -- and Marvel lists a July 6th release date.

Last Tuesday, Ed Brubaker wrote a bit about how fans may be getting too much information, too soon (e.g., here), but on the other hand, the Friday before he let drop this little tidbit.

Got a page from @seanpphillips today, and it had Teeg Lawless on it.

With Teeg in the picture, we know things are gonna get ugly.

And, on the subject of solicitations, there's a quite happy coincidence with Jason's excellent blog entry from earlier today. In DC's July solicitations we see a "DC Presents" reprint of Brubaker and Phillips' Batman: Gotham Noir, scheduled to be released on July 13th.

Originally published as a prestige-format comic, the story has NEVER been reprinted and isn't the easiest book to find. Not counting his inkwork on Michael Lark's pencils for most of the issues of Scene of the Cirme, the 2001 comic marks the very first collaboration between Brubaker and Phillips.

The reprint includes a single issue (#604) from Brubaker's Batman run, which hasn't seen many reprints beyond the recent "DC Presents" comics. Even without this bonus issue, the comic is a must-have for Criminal fans.