Image Comics; $24.99 

In a collaboration that has spanned decades, writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips have created (in roughly chronological order) two Sleeper, two Incognito mini-series, Fatale, The Fade Out, Kill or Be Killed, Pulp, the Reckless original graphic novel series, Night Fever, Where The Body Was, and Houses of the Unholy. 

In addition to a general noir atmosphere and treating crime as a character study instead of an event requiring a solution, their stories have consistently featured elements of cinematic pacing and the illusion of natural dialogue (no small feat in a comic book format). They've also often focused on central characters who were situationally or morally compromised. 

In none of their works was this more the case than in Criminal, a number of comic book series and original graphic novels they've produced since 2006. Their release is Five Gears in Reverse, recently published by Image Comics. 

First, a bit of background: the original 10-issue Criminal (2006), a second, seven-issue Criminal (2008) series, five issues of Criminal: The Sinners (2009), and the four-issue Criminal: The Last of the Innocent (2011) were published under Marvel's Icon imprint for creator-owned material. There were trade paperback collections and two omnibus format hardcover collections. 

After they moved their projects to Image Comics, these were followed by Criminal: Special Edition (2015) and Criminal: 10th Anniversary Special (2016), later collected as Criminal: Wrong Time, Wrong Place (2016). My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies (2018) debuted as an original graphic novel. It was followed by a new 12-issue Criminal series (2019). 

Bad Weekend (2019) was issued as a graphic novel. It collected Criminal (2019) #2-3 with expanded story content. Cruel Summer (2020) collected #1 and #5-12 from that series. These two collections solidified the duo's move away (for the most part) from individual issues to the graphic novel format. The original graphic novel The Knives (2025) and the one-shot comic book Giant Size Criminal (2025) immediately preceded their newest offering. 

Five Gears in Reverse (it's Criminal: Five Gears in Reverse in the indicia) offers a great entry point for new readers, including those who might discover it through the upcoming Amazon Prime TV series, but it's also a tremendous payoff for longtime readers. 

While we've mostly known Ricky Lawless from the stories about Tracy Lawless and Teeg Lawless, now we finally get to see what he's all about. Longtime readers already know where Ricky ends up, but here's a chance to see what he's all about. Charming, quick-thinking, and every bit as flawed as his kin. It's a deep level character study wrapped by a compelling story. 

Brubaker and Phillips (and colorist Jacob Phillips) are usually in a groove, but here they kicked it up a notch. This is easily one of my favorites from one of my favorite series. It's only been out a couple weeks, and apparently I'm not the only one that thinks it's fantastic. 

The Library Journal said "This gritty, tragic, and sharply crafted entry in the series underscores why Brubaker and Phillips continue to set the standard for modern crime comics, and The Comics Beat called it "one of the best entries in an already-brilliant series" and it's hard to argue with that.  

If you haven't checked out Criminal and you've heard about the TV series, this is a great one to check out. If you're already a fan, this is can't-miss stuff. 

– J.C. Vaughn