By: Matt Fraction (writer), Chip Zdarsky (art)
The Story: GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!
The Review: After two issues investigating our protagonists’ sexual awakenings, Sex Criminals is finally approaching the present moment. This is great news for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s almost time for the last half of that title to actually come into play. And secondly, it means that this is that moment where ‘nothing could possibly go wrong.’
This issue is pure wish-fulfillment. Where issue #1 was a dark comedy spotlight on the struggles of an adolescent girl, this issue is about the nervous glow of a new relationship, with the pain of its titular “sexual errors and misfortunes” lessened by hindsight.
Fraction continues to write a wonderfully real and honest relationship between Suzie and Jon. He captures not only the nervousness of not knowing where you stand but also the intoxicating disconnection from what others might think of you. A visit to Cumworld – the store not the dimensional anomaly – provides the perfect setting to highlight the fun that this series can provide and you can feel the joy from all parties; Suzie, Jon, Fraction, and Zdarsky.
There’s also a bizarrely awesome musical number. No, not a musical scene, a scene that belongs in a musical! As ever the key word here is honesty, because Image couldn’t procure the rights to the song and this issue turns that into a giant win.
For all the talk in this issue about the physical realities of sex, the story really focuses on the connection and intimacy, especially the non-sexual intimacy, of its two leads. While the story functions perfectly well on face value, it’s hard to ignore the simple strength of two people who thought they were alone finding someone like them. That beautiful crazy chemistry, caught somewhere between serendipity and the character’s overwhelming need for this to work, makes this book tick.
Best of all is the creeping hints that Jon is not as perfect as he seems. His growing frustration with his job, the carefully written strength of his loneliness, his near idolization of freedom, there’s something deep and tragic in his character that’s slowly coming to the fore. Both characters are dealing with the feeling of belonging for the first time in years, but wonderful as it is, that feeling leads to many of the worst decisions that we make in life.
While the characterization is as fine as anything you’ll find on the shelves today, the pacing of the story is quite slow. Several of the ideas in this issue take up a lot of space and, while they’re often some of the best that the series has produced, I could see some readers who aren’t amused finding it somewhat tiresome slogging through four pages of non-musical or another four waiting for someone to text. For better or worse, it’s pretty ballsy to include such lengthy segments in a twenty page comic.
There’s also the fact that since Jon and Suzie entered the Quiet in issue one maybe two minutes have passed. Fraction admitted that he’s already thinking about the trade in this issue, and nowhere is that clearer than in the pacing of the series. If you’re not a patient reader, this may not be the book for you.
Chip Zdarksky’s art has the lovely flat aesthetic that’s been the staple of this series from its inception and his work is almost universally best when you can see the blank yet emotive eyes of his characters. Part of that is the surprising level of expression that Zdarsky imbues these simply designed characters with and part of it is that the art starts losing definition once we begin dealing in medium-long shots.
We also get a lot of repetitive panels in this issue, as Zdarksky steps back and lets Fraction do his thing. That’s not always a bad thing, often times it adds to the humor of the scene to have that uncomfortable sense of stagnation that comes from not having a cut-away – also known as the human condition – but there are a lot of sequences where only the poses change, or even only the subtleties in the expressions.
That said, when Zdarsky is let loose, he runs – nay – gallops! Much of the humor of the issue really is Zdarsky’s doing. I mean take a look around the fantastic porn store he’s created. Wouldn’t you want your adult video store to have an entire section devoted to socialist and medical themed pornos labeled “Obamacore”? Gags like this abound, especially if you’re looking carefully. And that sort of thing can carry a page; while there are a couple of cute novelties hidden about the store, the final page in Cumworld is basically ‘how much fun can you draw them having”. And don’t even get me started on ‘Esteban.’
The Conclusion: Sex Criminals #3 is a rich and multifaceted story, gifted with some fine art, but it makes its aspirations to be an exceptional chapter of a trade paperback painfully clear. Fraction’s juxtaposition of Suzie’s hard-fought joy and Jon’s desperate frustration is incredible, but, as exciting as the hints in this issue may be, they remain merely hints.
It’s hard to put into words what holds this issue back from greatness, but probably the best I can manage is that the highs don’t bring the story with them. Add to that the fact that nothing essential really happens in this issue that you hadn’t assumed since issue #1 and that it depends on lengthy gags that may not be to every taste and you’ve got an extremely mixed issue.
Sex Criminals #3 is the best issue of this series by a fairly wide margin. Fraction and Zdarsky both have moments that make it clear why people were excited about this series, but for such a controversial comic it lacks the vital kick it would need to be exceptional or a missed opportunity.
Grade: B-
Some Thoughts
- Is it just me or does Lady Sex Cop – clearly her name – look astonishingly like David Bowie in this issue.
- The recap page for this issue states that humans evolved from dinosaurs. While I desperately wish this were so, the paleontology nerd in me will not allow this to stand. Also, as we all know, extensive research (read: viewings of Super Mario Bros.) has conclusively proven that dinosaurs evolved into Goombas.
– Noah Sharma