Here we are. The end of the first arc of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s “Sex Criminals”. Things are going to get messy. No, not that kind of messy, you sick freak. Oh, forget it, just read the review already.
Written by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by Chip Zdarsky
The best part of a new relationship is the first three weeks, right? The rush of the new, the gravitational pull of the sudden other-ness in your life, the almost-illicit charge of nothing else mattering…and then it’s time to pay the bills. Well, the honeymoon is over for the SEX CRIMINALS. Can Jon and Suzie survive Jon and Suzie?
“Sex Criminals” is one of those books where, at some point, you assume the other shoe has to drop. The the pitch perfect writing from Matt Fraction and the astounding and hilarious art from Chip Zdarsky will finally hit a wall and the book will into the later seasons of [insert show here]. Except, even though we are only 5 issues in, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. Fraction and Zdarsky seem to have found a book so utterly suited to their talents as creators that not only could no one else in the world pull off this book like they can, but they seem to be able to capture the lightning in a bottle feeling of that first issue with every single issue after. This one is no exception as we come to the end of the first story arc and catch up to the flashforwards of Jon and Suzie post-bank robbery.
Perhaps one of the best parts of this issue is the fact that Fraction and Zdarsky have slowly and subtly introduced real stakes and genuine drama to the story without sacrificing the comedy and heart that built the success of the series. With the gradual reveal of what happened after the attempted bank robbery and the introduction of antagonists in the form of the sex police, there is a sense of drama and consequence that enters the book with this issue. This works because it gives this issue and the story going forward a sense of dread thanks to the now looming force of the sex police, but also because the book now lives up to it’s title. Jon and Suzie are now sex criminals and Fraction really seems to be putting an emphasis on exploring the consequences of their actions.
Thankfully, that doesn’t mean that Fraction or Zdarsky will be dropping the comedic qualities that make this book what it is. Nor will they be eschewing the heart with which they create this book. For a book with a plot point involving a vibrator disguised as a handgun, you wouldn’t necessarily expect there to be a scene extolling the virtues a library nor would you expect to work, but it does here. This is a book with many layers, with the crude humour serving to mask a very deep emotionality and drama to the book that explores not only the nature of relationships, but also how we experience the world around us. It has all that and dick jokes. Honestly, what more could you ask for from a comic?
In just five issues it is rather astounding to see just how much Chip Zdarsky’s art has evolved. His storytelling is a lot more measured and controlled and this issue really allows him to slow the pace of a page down and explore the characters of the story. The use of a lot of reactionary panels, using multiple panels in a row of ostensibly the same shot, but showing the evolving reactions of the characters across those panels, really allows Zdarsky to slow down the meter of the page and focus on the characters. Between that and Fraction’s practically perfect dialogue that sounds both completely naturalistic and yet entirely like Fraction himself (if you’ve ever heard him speak, you know what I mean), the focus of the characters of the story, particularly Jon and Suzie, is really what makes “Sex Criminals” so engaging as a story.
Not only has has Zdarsky’s control of the page improved over the course of the five issues of the series, so too has his design sensibilities continued to make the scenes within the Quiet some of the most interesting pages of the issues. The use of colour and the abstract design of the waves that permeate each panel as well as the uniforms of the sex police make those scenes some of the most unique in comics. They are simply a joy to read not only because of how vibrant the use of colours is, but because Zdarsky’s continued improvement over the control of the page has lead to the Quiet really living up to it’s name. Scenes in the quiet feel isolated and methodical, really making them a stand out part of the issue.
There’s no other way to put it: “Sex Criminals” just keeps getting better and better. It should be impossible for a series to have such exponential improvement with each issue as the story begins to come together and evolve and the creative team settle in to creating the series with a greater ease, but Fraction and Zdarsky have pulled it off. “Sex Criminals” could stop at the end of this first arc and it could still be counted among the greatest comics ever published, that’s how good the writing from Fraction is and that’s how good the art from Zdarsky is.
Final Verdict: 9.9 – That’s right, it’s that good.
