Criminal Vol. 2 #3

This week saw the release of the third issue of this series. There was a long gap between issues two and three which Brubaker explains was because of Philips' who lay sick on a hospital bed and still drew this issue. And it still looks sexy as hell. Maybe he used all that pain to good use.

This is third in a series of one-shots that focus on a particular character, and this time we have Danica's story. Danica has been a player in the last two issues as well, and now that I look back it seems natural that this was an inevitable story. Brubaker non-linearly brings us to this point, with the first issue telling us about Danica at the very beginning, but also at the end, while the second issue told us what inevitably lead to that end. This issue tells us of the events leading up to the story in the second issue. And that is where my sole problem with this book lies. It is very obvious that Brubaker wants us to read the singles, but these issues are much more satisfying when read together, as the dots Brubaker puts in there, are so much more satisfying when connected.

That aside, I believe this issue would still have been very satisfying for anyone who decided to pick it up, without having read anything before. Even I didn't remember most of what had happened in the past issues, and had to go back and read the past issues to discover the connections. And yet it was beautifully written as a stand alone story. It opens with Danica in a car going somewhere with a man, who is the everyday average man, with non average fantasies. The story is mostly a flash back as we go through her past and her many tragedies. And Brubaker excels when dealing with shades of gray.

The main character is by no means, an angel. She's, as cliches go, molded by circumstances. And yet there are parts of her that aren't black. She still has some kindness in her, the realisation of which leads to the inevitable conclusion of this chapter, as revenge becomes everything for her. And we wait with baited breath for tragedy speeding towards her. The last one. And when it comes to tragedies and noir, count on Brubaker and Philips to deliver.