Comic legends Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips return in September for their first new Criminal story in almost 5 years—The Knives!
Names in comics don’t get much bigger than Ed Brubaker. The writer and cartoonist has won five best writer Eisner and Harvey Awards in the last decade. Similarly, Sean Phillips is an Eisner-winning artist, known for his work across numerous publishers including Marvel and DC. Their interconnected crime anthology series, Criminal, has been an ongoing success since is inception back in 2006.
Almost 5 years after the last major story arc, Cruel Summer, publisher Image Comics has announced that the duo will return to the series later this year for The Knives. Check out the synopsis:
Cartoonist Jacob Kurtz goes to Hollywood in the era of peak TV to work on an adaptation of his comic strip, only to find himself caught up in the life of his aging aunt and the vultures circling her estate. Angie was raised at the Undertow, but now everything she loves has been taken from her. She’s on the streets with vengeance on her mind, her eyes set on the city’s kingpin. And finally, Tracy Lawless is home from the Special Forces, finally a civilian again, but he’s in bad shape and this city has always brought out the worst in him. These three tales collide in The Knives, a breathtaking noir story about greed, ambition, heartbreak, and blood ties.
“A few years ago someone reached out to me to return some of my uncle’s lost possessions, after his family estate had been plundered, and bizarrely, that sparked the inspiration for what I hope is the biggest and best Criminal book yet. A crime story about one generation growing up in the life, another growing older and trying to get out of it, and Hollywood, somehow, too,” Brubaker said in a statement. “This book is an epic, the longest original graphic novel we’ve ever done, and it’s been a joy to return to this series and these characters, especially after spending most of the last three years watching them come to life on set and screen. I can’t wait to get this book into readers’ hands.”
The Criminal comics will soon see a television adaptation at Prime Video starring Emilia Clarke, in which Brubaker serves as showrunner. The future is exciting, for sure!
Criminal: The Knives hits shelves on September 9.
