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#52 Criminal: The Dead and the Dying by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips


The structure changes in the third volume of Criminal, The Dead and the Dying. We follow three stories, each with a different protagonist, yet connected, though not always knowingly or willingly. That is the first shift in the famous Brubaker–Phillips series, but not the only one. Other elements are just as easy to notice and worth paying attention to.

In Second Chance in Hell we meet Jake, a boxer and a survivor, a tough man who knows how to endure hardships. Unfortunately, he ends up becoming a victim. You could argue that everyone here is a victim in one way or another, but Jake is singled out even more, and what sets him apart is that he still tries to hold on to a sense of morality, as much as that is possible in this bleak world.

In A Wolf Among Wolves, Teeg is a monster. He wasn’t always one, but the war transformed him. Whatever he might have wanted to do or to give, it all drowned in the mire of violence, power, and drugs.

Danica appears in The Female of the Species, which closes this volume, a very clever choice in my view. By then we already know her fate, but this addition lets us see the details the creative duo is willing to reveal, and there are many. Beware: whether or not you can stomach such stories, what you’ll find here will leave you numb. There is a particular sequence that ends with a line from Danica that is utterly heartbreaking.

So far, in my revisit of Criminal, I find this to be by far the most substantial and mature work of Brubaker and Phillips.

Now, a few more specific notes.

In the second story, there is a brutally direct scene where one character tells another, “Bend down, please, and grab my cigarettes from the glove compartment.” As the other man leans forward, he pulls a knife, slits his throat, and dumps the body next to a trash bin. The writer feels more ferocious here, though perhaps it is only my impression. Still, the stories of Criminal are becoming denser with meaning, as every time the underworld is described, new details emerge from it.

In another scene, a character watches two children playing with their toys, and the sounds they make echo his own traumas. The panel then goes black, a jump in time, and in the next scene he stares at himself in the mirror, smashes it, and later falls into intimacy, closing the sequence in a way that struck me with its raw honesty. It looks directly into the hero’s soul and lays it bare for the reader. Terrifyingly intrusive, if you think about it.

And here comes the question: why has the narrative turned more violent, more introspective, more disarmingly realistic? Was it because the character appeared in Brubaker’s imagination at that moment and guided him? Or did the writer need to express himself in this way, using the hero as a vessel? Sometimes, you know, the creator does not choose the work, it comes to find him, and everything unfolds almost automatically. The answer probably lies somewhere in between, but I am very drawn to the first possibility. It is remarkable when that happens, this communication between execution and imagination, where everything flows so organically that before you realize it, you have unearthed a story as unique as a snowflake.

I also don’t know how they manage this throughout their career, but every time they deliver something, it feels as if it could be their last. So passionate, so precise, so full of substance, with clarity and discipline. Without that level of dedication, The Dead and the Dying could never exist in our hands. You can tell they took the time to absorb concepts, test expression, and always keep rhythm, escalation, and suspense in mind. A very difficult task, but for them it almost seems effortless. Considering how many years they have done this with such success, they are an extraordinary team. A deep bow of respect.

Until next time — be well, and keep reading.

It’s important!

 

Accompanying Notes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCORXBfRcNo


https://currentreadings25.blogspot.com/2025/07/16-criminal-lawless-by-ed-brubaker-and.html

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