Sean PhillipsRezensionen

Story of a all-around thief with a knack for planning heists in a great detail and always finding the way to keep himself out of the prison. Main protagonist is a good man but destined to remain in the criminal underworld due to the nature of his life and experiences and being surrounded by crime since very earl age. It is the only milieu he knows.

Everything about him is as if he came from the old country song "Coward of the county" - respected by few but maltreated by the rest because of their preconception of who he truly is.

And this is where twist lies, and it truly surprised me.

Art is rather spartan (I read Lawless 2 the very same day and level of details on each panel of that comic is .... amazing to say the least), characters and their actions are main focus, everything else (surroundings, traffic) that does not play any role in the story plot is removed or shown in the broad strokes, like a blur. Shading and coloring truly bring up the atmosphere of the criminal underworld where you do not know what waits behind the corner and who to trust. I would truly like to see this comic in black-and-white version.

Highly recommended for all fans of crime stories.

A bleak, ultra-violent crime noir filled with criminals, femme fatales, corrupted innocents, and an antihero trying to solve a murder mystery to pay off a crime boss. Well written with evocative art.

Classic Brubaker. Another gritty noir masterpiece in his Criminal series.

A dudes rock midlife crisis Fight Club-esque romp through the drugs, sex, and violence of an American's fantasy of the Parisian night with less social commentary.

I am not a fan of star ratings of talking about the minutia of awarding them, but it feels pertinent this once as the rating I was going to give this has changed dramatically from the reading, the moment I finished, and during the process of writing this review. There was a level of enjoyment and urge to continue and finish I felt while reading it that evaporated upon finishing. I thought I was going to give this a four, but as soon as I was finished it was three, and upon reflection it became two. So...it actually fell to one.

The art is genuinely great and the writing is decent enough, the whole thing seems entirely unoriginal, which isn't an issue if there is something new or unique, but if it's there I'm not seeing it. It also appears to be a particularly vapid and even more white cisheteronormative fantasy example of this kind of nihilistic, breaking out of your buttoned-down life. A life with a well-paid job, including travel, a loving partner and children...which don't always mean a happy life, but he is happy? Is he 'just' mentally ill? A throwaway line suggests this, which also is a kinda simplistic and harmful way to include mental health in a story like this, right?

(It was at this point that sidhe realised fey actually really, really didn't like this comic, so it's a one star)

All art is subjective. If people enjoy this, I don't want to yuck their yum. For me, I don't see the point in it. It's mildly harmful and gross. And I can't imagine a big publisher picking this up if it weren't for the name attached.

Just not my cup of tea.

I loved this pulpy throw back crime comic. For two reasons. 1.) Brubaker has created a very relatable protagonist 2.) Sean Phillip's art is phenomenal. Reckless focuses on Ethan Reckless. A damaged person who believes he’s living out the last days of mankind, Ethan Reckless is that amazing sort of pulp hero who has a “certain set of skills” that he makes available to the people that no one else will help. Have a problem that the police can’t or won’t solve? Need someone to cut through the red tape? Forget the A-Team, call Reckless. Ethan is everything we want in a protagonist; he’s broken down from his time working for the man, and is just trying to get through another day. He’ll take jobs to keep the lights on in his home (a functional but closed to the public movie theater), but deep down in his core is a heart of gold that can’t handle seeing the little guy get screwed. Ethan is living a pretty boring existence when he gets a message from a woman, Rainy Livingston, with who he fell in love while being an undercover agent in the 1970s. Now, he has to confront his past, and figure out why Rainy is back in his life.

This is an AMAZING crime fiction story. If you're a fan of Joe Lansdale, Cormac McCarthy, or the Coen Brothers, check this one out.

Pure. Reckless. Bliss.

“We weren’t heroes. We were killers. That’s the reason we survived so long… Because this world belongs to monsters. It shouldn’t.”

What an absolutely amazing graphic novel. What an amazing story

Pulp is a deep crime noir/western with complex characters. And Pulp is a great depiction of a man whose best days are long behind him. The setting: 1939 New York City, the world is dealing with the rise of Nazism. The story follows an ex-bandit/outlaw (Max) who is now an old man who writes pulp tales converting his frontier and Wild West past into quick stories for a bit of cash. When a man from Max's past arrives in New York and offers him a heist job - stealing from the local New York Nazis - Max finds himself thinking like an outlaw again. Once he starts down that path, however, there may be no way back.

While reading you really get a feel for Max and the pain he feels. This is a story about the lies we tell ourselves, the process of aging, and it is also about the nature of retribution, and the nature of hate. The art is outstanding. The story superb.

Check this one out.

A devastating story that focuses on the themes of drugs, crime, and hopelessness. I did not see the twist coming. The story and art was very impressive. If you're a fan of noir and crime stories, read this one.

Cool, noir story — essentially riffing on Archie comics. Dark, but a lot of fun.

The story never really got off the ground for me and centering it around a shell of a character made it even worst. The story truly suffers when the focus is on Ellie/Angela or whatever her name is because much of what is being depicted are treated as minor details. Much of the important details of her life were mostly rushed,glossed over and very generic. The beginning/ending was underwhelming. I guess I was looking for something that wasn't there.

¿Quién eres realmente? ¿Eres el autor de tus actos o la persona que habita en tu mente?

De viaje de negocios en Europa, a Jonathan Webb le resulta imposible dormir. En lugar de eso, acaba deambulando por las calles de esta extraña ciudad extranjera con un nuevo amigo como guía, el misterioso y violento Rainer. Este le muestra a Jonathan el mundo oculto de la noche, un mundo sin reglas ni límites. Pero cuando la diversión se vuelve peligrosa, Jonathan podría verse atrapado para siempre en la oscuridad.

Night Fever es una historia a lo Dr. Jekyll y Mr. Hyde sobre un hombre enfrentado a su propia oscuridad interior y un thriller noir trepidante que nos trae el tándem magistral formado por Ed Brubaker y Sean Phillips, los autores superventas de Criminal, Reckless, Pulp, The Fade Out y Kill or Be Killed.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips try to spice up a midlife crisis by setting it in the 1970s during a business trip to Lyon, France, stuffed with dream sequences, a drug trip, murder, and a homage to Eyes Wide Shut, but at heart it's still just a schmuck whining about how unhappy he is with his middle-class life.

I just can't care.

This was a hell of a thing to pick off my tbr when I couldn’t sleep. I hadn’t read the description; the cover pulled me in and once I saw the creative team it was a done deal. I like what I’ve read of Brubaker and Phillips and I’ve got more of their work on my list.

Going in blind I was a bit concerned at the start that we were going to have a very violent midlife crisis on out hands. And while that isn’t entirely untrue it also doesn’t capture just what the story is about.

Jonathan Webb can’t sleep. On an ill-timed expedition for… we’ll call them sleeping pills — he follows a domino-masked couple into an underground speakeasy for the very rich and gets saved by a manic pixie dreamboat with a violent streak that makes me think I probably should have read/watched Fight Club.

Things get progressively more interesting and convoluted as our storytellers slip into their familiar mashup of spy noir and the reader os left just as confused about the reality if the situation as Webb himself.

I was pleasantly surprised by how it all wrapped up and I look forward, as always, to seeing more work from Brubaker and Phillips.

Note: I received access to read this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Night Fever is perfectly paced, appropriately mysterious, and frenetic. It's straightforward, but it's constantly lunging for the throat. One of the best Ed Brubaker/ Sean Phillips duo's work.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in order to give it a review that is free from excessive bias.

I like the way that color is used in this comic: It feels noir and the pastels of California don't actually take away from that, but rather, add a melancholic touch. Nothing gets over-explained and the plot runs on "vibes". If you're still onboard with that then prepare yourself for a well done version of that.

Super fun old-school noir in graphic novel form along with some horror too. I’m intrigued enough to want to read the next one.

Totally digging this series.

How does one fill sleepless nights away from home? Jonathan found himself at a club wearing someone else’s mask and name. The alluring Rainer introduced Johnathan to the thrills of the night. Darkness threatens to engulf Johnathan as adventures become increasingly fatal.

The reader is instantly entranced by the cover of Night Fever. The contrast between the white and shadows captivates the mind and sparks curiosity, daring the reader to pick it up. Then put it down. Then pick it up. Then put it down. Suddenly, Night Fever is at home, seducing the reader. The mystery is kept alive through by teasing the reader’s inferencing skills through imagery and writing. There is new information found with every reread of Night Fever.

I’m not sure what it is about this story that I found so engrossing. It’s a pretty straightforward vigilante story, Brubaker and Phillips work so well together. Together they create a voice all their own so that almost any story they tell gives you that feeling of being in good hands.

788

942

1066

1508

1507

1775

1773