As it turns out, Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky are really good at making comics. They’re good within their respective purview, but when they come together, they are one of the heaviest hitting duos in the industry. Matt writes pretty words. Chip draws spectacular images. But good comics aren’t just images next to words, they’re something that’s more than the sum of their parts.
Written by Matt FractionCover by Chip Zdarsky
Illustrated by Chip ZdarskyEND OF STORY ARC All good things, like sex, crime, and this arc of SEX CRIMINALS, come to an end. And this one ends with CHARACTERS doing THINGS and making CHOICES that CHANGE EVERYTHING! In terms of, y’know, the SEX CRIMINALS comic book. Everything’s still the same over in, like, Batman or whatever.
Take a look at the scene between Dr. Glass and Dr. Kincaid. It’s a three page sequence of two characters talking. In the hands of novice creators, it could still get the message across, but Fraction and Zdarsky don’t play. Glass is going down on Dr. Kincaid, but isn’t able to get her off. When he expresses remorse, she goes off on him and accuses him of selfishly trying to live out his fantasy of sexually conquering a former porn star. “Wanting is sexy,” Kincaid says. “Needing is . . . needy and gross and sad. Needy is never about someone else. It’s about the holes in you, not in me, that’s for damn sure.”
That’s good writing. The conversation was thought provoking; it certainly stuck with me. It also managed to work in an above average double entendre, so extra points for that. What really impressed me though, was how even the conversation felt. Even though Kincaid is speaking from her years of experience as a former sex worker, she’s not just a vessel for Matt Fraction to deliver a message. She has feelings, a lot of them. So does Dr. Glass, and despite being in the wrong, he gets a chance to stick up for himself.
All of this is taken to the next level by Chip. Every page is split into nine panels of different sizes, selling the rhythm of the conversation. Angles change cinematically, even zooming in on Dr. Glass’s embarrassing tattoo. The characters have body language that re-contextualizes their words. Kincaid may be insulting Glass, but the way she tenderly touches his face lets you know that she’s teasing, or maybe that she’s still frustrated with him but cares for him. There are moments when each of them put on their glasses that are treated like action beats.
Then there’s the final panel of the sequence. Kincaid asks Glass, “How many of us are in the room with you right now?” He never answers but the panel is filled with ghosts of a younger Kincaid in her various porn parody costumes. It’s funny and sad and poignant, which is where Sex Criminals lives. It’s the book that gets you thinking melancholy thoughts about relationships while looking at a drawing of a naked lady (barely) dressed like the Bride from Kill Bill.
That’s a lot of time spent scrutinizing one sequence, but the entire issue is that worthy of scrutiny. The next page is a six panel spread of Raquelle, every panel showing her bedroom from identical angles, placing the focus on her movements. After that is a big two page spread of Suzie remembering times she’s spent with Jon through thought balloons shaped like his head. A few pages later, Jon meanders through town, following a cartoonishly rendered dotted-line. A good comics series will deploy an idea like these once an issue. Sex Criminals has four memorable sequences in ten pages.
That’s all just the micro. In the macro, Sex Criminals #20 juggles multiple character threads, and the overall plot. Suzie and Jon are on the rocks, and their relationship status isn’t exactly clear. We also get major developments with the Sex Police. Some (but not all) threads are coming together. Jon is ready to confront his boss, and the Sex Police is ready to make a move on him. I have no idea how far we are in the series as a whole, but you can feel change in the air. The story is about to hit a tilt, and shake up the status quo in a big way, on both the romance front and the crime story.
Both Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky have become heavy hitters in the comics scene in their own right. As they create more work, it becomes increasingly fascinating to come back to Sex Criminals, and to figure out who is responsible for what. Some visual flourishes looks like they’re taken right out of Hawkeye. Some narrative presentation sounds like Chip’s narration in Jughead. Comics are a collaborative medium, and great collaborations often create the best comics. Sex Criminals is fated to be remembered as one of the great comics collaborations.
Final Verdict: 9.3 – Fraction and Zdarsky nail the issue, the characters nail each other.
