Image Comics; $24.99

Locke & Key creator Joe Hill has this to say about writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips’ recent collaboration: “Reckless is an absolute rush: on the same level as golden age Travis McGee novels and the hardest-hitting Richard Stark stories. This one comes at you as fast as Steve McQueen in a souped-up Mustang and as hard as Charles Bronson with a baseball bat. You gotta have it.”

During their long-running collaboration, Brubaker and Phillips have of course produced Criminal, Incognito, Fatale, Kill Or Be Killed, and Pulp. Now they’ve turned their attention to a series of original graphic novels featuring a new character, Ethan Reckless. “Your trouble is his business, for the right price.”

A new Brubaker and Phillips release is always cause for a celebration, and this one’s no exception. It was in fact my favorite graphic novel of 2020.

Firmly ensconced in their noir wheelhouse, it is powerful, evocative, creative, and entertaining. It has led, thus far, to four subsequent original graphic novels: Friend of the Devil, Destroy All Monsters, The Ghost In You, and Follow Me Down, all of which are definitely worth your time.

It’s also exciting that we only have to wait until April for the next original graphic novel in this series.

– J.C. Vaughn