Tor.com Looks at Criminal Vol. 1: Coward

Tor.com's Stephen Aryan has posted a review of Criminal Vol. 1: Coward.

The creators of this comic are huge noir fans and the writer, Ed Brubaker, knows all of the character archetypes and storytelling techniques that are common to the genre. He takes these elements and uses them to create something new, interesting and most of all unpredictable that leaves you guessing right up to the end. You don’t have to be a fan of noir or crime films to enjoy the comic, but if you generally like gritty crime stories then I think Criminal will definitely appeal. Recent TV touchstones in the same style include The Shield, The Wire, and The Sopranos. Criminal shares common elements with these shows, including organized crime, crooked cops, and uncompromising storytelling.

Much more in the link.

Incognito Out This Week (and More Soon), and Interesting Links.

Both Great Escape Comics in Marietta, Georgia, and San Francisco's Comix Experience confirm that Incognito: Bad Influences #3 is in stores tomorrow, February 9th.

Ed Brubaker has relayed the same news, adding that Issue #4 is already at the printers.

And, along with more sketches for the following issues, Sean Phillips has posted a two-page preview of tomorrow's release. Frankly, it's the best two pages I've seen from this mini-series, and I can't wait for the new issue.

But wait we must, and while we do, Brubaker's Twitter page has highlighted a couple worthwhile destinations on the World Wide Web.

PopMatters features a review of "Bad Influences." I think it stretches credibility to tie the appeal of pulp to a particular decade's political context, but Michael Stewart is right to note that the heroes in the Incognito universe are presented as consistently brutal and cynical, all the way back to the older generation's origins. Unlike the mainstream books, here we have a super-powered universe with depth and history, but we see no softening from being subjected to the now-defunct Comics Code.

Over on Vimeo, we have two trailers for In the Dark, a short film written and directed by Brubaker and starring Wil Wheaton. The film is a production of "Basement Gang, Inc.," Brubaker's company that also owns the rights to Incognito. (Check the copyright.) This is the same short film that premiered at last year's Seattle International Film Festival.

Finally, Eric Skillman, the graphic designer for the Criterion Collection, highlights the process for creating the cover to Sweet Smell of Success. As we reported in November, Sean Phillips created the cover art, and Skillman's blog post features quite a bit of Phillips' work. We find sketches, partial work, the complete and unadorned painting, and one of two bonus paintings to be included in the February 22nd release.