Tag Archives: ed brubaker

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips return to the world of Criminal this September with The Knives

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Multiple Eisner award-winning team Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips will bring an all new Criminal graphic novel to shelves this September from Image Comics with The Knives.

It has been nearly five years since fans had an opportunity to revel in new Criminal material and this highly anticipated new story promises to be the darkest and most ambitious installment in the critically lauded, contemporary classic yet.

Cartoonist Jacob Kurtz goes to Hollywood in the era of peak TV to work on an adaptation of his comic strip, only to find himself caught up in the life of his aging aunt and the vultures circling her estate. Angie was raised at the Undertow, but now everything she loves has been taken from her. She’s on the streets with vengeance on her mind, her eyes set on the city’s kingpin. And finally, Tracy Lawless is home from the Special Forces, finally a civilian again, but he’s in bad shape and this city has always brought out the worst in him. These three tales collide in The Knives, a breathtaking noir story about greed, ambition, heartbreak, and blood ties.

Further excitement surrounding Criminal has amped up since news hit that the television adaptation of this iconic series was in production last year with Brubaker serving as show runner, and is coming soon to Amazon Prime. The adaptation will star A-listers Charlie Hunnam, Luke Evans, and Emilia Clarke and the first season of the TV show will cover the first two story arcs of the comic book series, Criminal, Volume One: Coward and Criminal, Volume Two: Lawless.

Originally published in 2007, Criminal follows a cast of characters connected through a shared criminal history. For readers looking to catch up on the Criminal series, volumes 1-8 are available in “new edition” trade paperbacks, which feature new cover designs by Phillips, as well as in oversized, deluxe hardcover editions, Books 1-3. They can be found at comic book shops, independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones.

The Knives hardcover (ISBN: 9781534355590, Lunar Code 0525IM280) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, August 27 and independent bookstores, Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, September 9.

The Knives 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes to the Marvel Premier Collection and it’s still so good

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Writer Ed Brubaker pushes the Captain America mythos headlong into the future with high adventure and full-throttle action. For more than fifty years, the Soviets employed an undercover agent — an unstoppable, untraceable killer known as the Winter Soldier — to assassinate key political figures in the West. His suspected identity? Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s one-time partner, thought to have been murdered in the closing days of World War II.

Now the Winter Soldier is back, working under the command of the ruthless General Lukin — who has obtained a functional Cosmic Cube, a weapon of limitless power that can bend reality itself. Vowing to end Lukin’s reign of terror and destruction, Captain America relentlessly tracks the Cube — only to find himself face-to-face with the Winter Soldier. Will Cap be forced to battle his resurrected partner so soon after finally learning the astonishing truth?

Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Steve Epting, Michael Lark, John Paul Leon
Finishers: Steve Epting with Mike Perkins
Color: Frank D’Armata
Ink: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Randy Gentile, Chris Eliopoulos, Joe Caramagna

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal returns with new printings

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The bestselling, fan-favorite Criminal series by multiple award-winning team Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips will get a glow up this year with trade paperback reprints featuring new cover art and design from Phillips and published by Image Comics.

A television adaptation of this iconic series was in production most of 2024 with Brubaker serving as showrunner, and is coming to Amazon Prime later this year, starring Charlie Hunnam, Luke Evans, and Emilia Clarke. The first season of the TV show will cover the first two story arcs of the comic book series, Criminal, Volume One: Coward and Criminal, Volume Two: Lawless.

In the first installment of the bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning crime noir series, Criminal, Volume 1: Coward, readers meet Leo, a world-class pickpocket who is pressed into helping the cops pull off a heist. But when the job goes terribly wrong, Leo must go into hiding, his dire situation escalates, forcing the thief to put his skills to the test.

Criminal, Volume 2: Lawless is a story of brotherly love and hate, as Tracy Lawless returns home to find out who murdered his kid brother, and how much their family history has doomed them both. This is where Brubaker and Phillips take the world they created in volume one and begin stretching the boundaries of what crime comics can be.

Originally published in 2007, Criminal, Volume 1 and  Criminal, Volume 2 are just the beginning of the critically acclaimed comic book series that follows a cast of characters connected through a shared criminal history.

Criminal, Volume 1: Coward trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534370906, Lunar Code 1124IM265) and Criminal, Volume 2: Lawless trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534385078, Lunar Code 1124IM266) will be available at local comic book shops later this month on Wednesday, January 22 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, February 4. 

Criminal, Volume 3: The Dead and The Dying trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534341869, Lunar Code 1224IM389) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, February 19 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, March 4.

Criminal, Volume 4: Bad Night trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534374003, Lunar Code 0125IM471) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, March 19 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, April 1.

Criminal, Volume 5: The Sinners trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534347281) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, April 23 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, May 6.

Criminal, Volume 6: Last of the Innocent trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534357617) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, May 21 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, June 3.

Criminal, Volume 7: Wrong Place Wrong Time trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534353619) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, June 18 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, July 1.

Criminal, Volume 8: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies trade paperback new edition (ISBN: 9781534350670) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, July 23 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, August 5.

Houses of the Unholy is solid by not Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ best

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In this new tale, an FBI agent from the cult crime beat and a woman with a past linked to the Satanic Panic are drawn into a terrifying hunt for an insane killer hiding in the shadows of the underworld.

Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Sean Phillips
Color: Jacob Phillips

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Marvel highlights its definitive must-read stories with the Marvel Premier Collection

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At New York Comic Con, Marvel Comics unveiled its all-new publishing line, the Marvel Premier Collection, featuring Marvel’s most celebrated and prestigious storylines and creators from its entire comic book legacy. The Marvel Premier Collection will launch in 2025, starting with Daredevil, Black Panther, Captain America, and Fantastic Four titles.

The Marvel Premier Collection is designed for anyone looking for the perfect entry point into the Marvel Universe or for the most definitive and quintessential stories behind Marvel’s most popular characters. Curated in honor of the groundbreaking stories and creative forces from the House of Ideas, the Marvel Premier Collection packs Marvel’s iconic stories into a sleek, high-quality, and highly readable format to make Marvel’s stories more accessible than ever before—ideal for Marvel fans across comics, film, television, games, and beyond, both old and new.

Starting with Daredevil: Born Again in February, the Marvel Premier Collection will launch with one of the most quintessential and gripping runs for Daredevil in its history. The story dives into the core of who Matt Murdock is and acts as a perfect introduction to his character and the world around him. The collection will also feature an exclusive new foreword by Frank Miller and afterword by Charlie Cox.

Releasing simultaneously, Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet will collect the saga of National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ character-and-world-defining story in one single paperback for the first time. Offering a profound look at Wakanda and Afrofuturism, the story is one of the must-reads for any Marvel fan. More details about this title will be announced at a later date.

The Marvel Premier Collection will begin with four titles next year, including:

  • Daredevil: Born Again, collecting the definitive Daredevil run as the perfect companion to story to read ahead of the new upcoming Daredevil show! Written by Frank Miller and drawn by David Mazzucchelli.
  • Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, collecting the full saga in one trade paperback for the first time! Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and drawn by Brian Stelfreeze and Chris Sprouse.
  • Captain America: Winter Soldier, collecting one of the most influential stories to shape the Marvel Universe! Written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Steve Epting.
  • Fantastic Four: Solve Everything, collecting an all-new, streamlined version of the seminal Fantastic Four run for the first time, personally curated by author Jonathan Hickman! Written by Hickman and drawn by Dale Eaglesham, Neil Edwards, and Steve Epting.

Don’t miss the first titles of the Marvel Premier Collection hit shelves starting in February 2025, wherever books are sold!

Daredevil: Born Again

From the powerhouse pairing of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli comes the definitive Daredevil tale. Daredevil’s identity as attorney Matt Murdock is exposed by his former lover Karen Page at her lowest point.

Now the blind hero must find all the strength he can muster as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, wastes no time crushing the man behind the mask. As he’s nursed back to health, Matt discovers a shocking family secret that will change him forever. Can he piece his life back together and survive a battle against a brutal Super-Soldier named Nuke?

Written by FRANK MILLER with DENNIS O’NEIL
Art by DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI
Cover Art by DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI
Collects Daredevil (1964) #226-233
ISBN: 9781302965983
Trim Size: 6” x 9”
$14.99
On sale February 4, 2025

Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet

As esteemed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates brings his considerable talents to Marvel, will he usher in a new age of glory for Wakanda and its king, T’Challa, A.K.A. the Black Panther? Or will he enter the proud kingdom into its final days? The high-tech African nation has been ravaged by outside forces, its queen has fallen and the people have turned against their king. As dissidents seek violent change, two of T’Challa’s own Dora Milaje forge their own brave path. And while outside forces pour fuel on the fire, the Black Panther recruits his own crew to aid in the struggle.

Meanwhile, on the spiritual plane, a journey of transformation begins. This is a story of a king who must find a new way to lead. Of a queen whose tale is not yet fully told. Of angels fighting for change and devils fomenting chaos. Of allies and enemies, friends and foes, love and hate. This is the story of Wakanda.

Written by TA-NEHISI COATES
Art by BRIAN STELFREEZE & CHRIS SPROUSE
Cover Art by BRIAN STELFREEZE
Collects Black Panther (2016) #1-12
ISBN: 9781302964856
Trim Size: 6” x 9”
MSRP $14.99
On sale February 4, 2025

Captain America: Winter Soldier

Writer Ed Brubaker pushes the Captain America mythos headlong into the future with high adventure and full-throttle action. For more than fifty years, the Soviets employed an undercover agent — an unstoppable, untraceable killer known as the Winter Soldier — to assassinate key political figures in the West. His suspected identity? Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s one-time partner, thought to have been murdered in the closing days of World War II.

Now the Winter Soldier is back, working under the command of the ruthless General Lukin — who has obtained a functional Cosmic Cube, a weapon of limitless power that can bend reality itself. Vowing to end Lukin’s reign of terror and destruction, Captain America relentlessly tracks the Cube — only to find himself face-to-face with the Winter Soldier. Will Cap be forced to battle his resurrected partner so soon after finally learning the astonishing truth?

Written by ED BRUBAKER
Art by STEVE EPTING, MICHAEL LARK & JOHN PAUL LEON
Cover Art by STEVE EPTING
Collects Captain America (2004) #1-9, 11-14
ISBN: 9781302964863
Trim Size: 6” x 9”
$14.99
On sale April 1, 2025

Fantastic Four: Solve Everything

Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman revamps and redefines Marvel’s First Family in a sweeping and epic saga that crosses time, space and reality — but still finds its themes in family. And it all begins when Mister Fantastic decides to solve everything!

A series of amazing revelations come together in quick succession: The Old Kingdom of Atlantis is discovered under thick Antarctic ice. Alien “Inhumans” from throughout the galaxy converge on Earth. A race of super-intelligent underground dwellers takes possession of a high-tech laboratory. And a religious cult in Manhattan threatens to cause an interdimensional invasion.

Fate will play an awful hand in tying these disparate events together in a gripping drama that tests the fortitude of Marvel’s First Family like never before.

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by DALE EAGLESHAM, NEIL EDWARDS & STEVE EPTING
Cover Art by JOE QUESADA
Collects material from Fantastic Four (1998) #570-588
ISBN: 9781302964870
Trim Size: 6” x 9”
$14.99
On sale June 17, 2025

Batman: Caped Crusader with Leslie Lee III of Struggle Session

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“Batman spends more time fighting the cops than helping them” – Leslie Lee III

“The most corrupt Gotham Police Department of any Batman media” — Me…and I am here for that! 

Animated Batman is some of the best Batman. Does this new series from legends like Paul Dini, Ed Brubaker, and Greg Rucka deliver?

Leslie Lee III of the leftist culture podcast Sruggle Session returns to talk about Batman Caped Crusader‘s aesthetics, politics and reinventions. 

Looking for ways to volunteer this election? There’s https://keyboards.forkamala.fyi/  for keyboard warrior and I’m happy to connect folks to virtual phone banking or text banking opportunities –especialy ones supporting grassroots orgs, fighting voter suppression or working on local races. You an ping me https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social or even (for this purpose) https://x.com/Elana_Brooklyn  We all can do something to fight fascism (even if you’re reading this after the election). 

Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman is absolutely amazing a must get as part of DC Compact Comics

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Graphic novels to read anywhere: DC Compact Comics collect DC’s bestselling, most iconic stories in a new size! Get Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman for just $9.99!

For years, Selina Kyle has prowled the skyline of Gotham City as its most famous thief, Catwoman. But when word spreads of Catwoman’s demise, Selina decides to leave the costumed world behind and continue her trade cloaked in the shadows.

Unable to enjoy her newfound anonymity for too long though, Selina decides that she must return to her infamous persona. Donning a new costume and attitude, Catwoman returns to the streets and sets her sights on the serial killer that has been preying upon the people she calls friends.

Collects Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score, Catwoman #1-9, and backup stories from Detective Comics #759-762.

Story: Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke
Art: Darwyn Cooke, Cameron Stewart, Michael Allred, Brad Rader, Rick Burchett
Color: Matt Hollingsworth, Lee Loughridge, Giulia Brusci
Letterer: Sean Konot, Willie Schubert

Get your copy in comic shops! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Preview: Houses of the Unholy

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Houses of the Unholy

(W) Ed Brubaker (A) Jacob Phillips (A/CA) Sean Phillips
In Shops: Aug 14, 2024
SRP: $24.99

An FBI agent from the cult crime beat and a woman with a past linked to the Satanic Panic are drawn into a terrifying hunt for an insane killer hiding in the shadows of the underworld. Can you ever escape your past, or are all your bad decisions just more ghosts to haunt you, wherever you go? Houses of the Unholy is a riveting horror thrill ride from bestselling creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the award-winning team behind Criminal, Reckless, Night Fever, and Where the Body Was.

Houses of the Unholy

The Friday finale is available now on Panel Syndicate!

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After four years, the ninth and final chapter of Friday, by Ed Brubaker, Marcos Martin, and Muntsa Vicente, is now available on Panel Syndicate.

Will Friday make it back from the past? What is the White Lady’s secret plan for Kings Hill back in the present time? And what future awaits our heroes… if any? All will finally be revealed in this monster sized 54 page final chapter!

You can find the conclusion to the series at Panel Syndicate for whatever price you want to pay, including zero. 

Underrated: Incognito

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This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Incognito

My local comic shop recently got the hardcover edition of Incognito in, and it last all of ten minutes on the table where it was in line for pricing as I picked it up and read what amounted to half the first issue before scooping it up before it ever actually made it to the shelf.

Written by Ed Brubaker, with art by Sean Phillips and colours by Val Staples, the hardcover collects both Incognito and the sequel Incognito: Bad Influences within its 360-odd pages as well an essay, a series cover gallery and some interesting process pieces. If you’ve read any of Brubaker and Phillips other work together, such as Criminal, Fatale or Kill Or Be Killed, then you probably have an idea what you’re in for. If you don’t… well, let’s just say you’re in for a very compelling story that you’ll probably want to read multiple times.

If you want to read the series’ synopsis, it’s below. If you don’t… well, skip the next paragraph, I guess. Either way, you’ll find the core premise of the comic below.

What if you were an ex-super villain hiding out in Witness Protection… but all you could think about were the days when the rules didn’t apply to you? Could you be a humdrum office clerk after being the best at years of leaving destruction in your wake? And what if you couldn’t stand it? What would you do then? 

This story is steeped in the pulp fiction of the 30’s and 40’s, stories that undeniably inspired the superhero fiction of today. Brubaker takes those early influences and fills out a world that has descended from them; there’s a very clear path in Incognito back to characters like the Shadow and the Spider (or rather Brubaker’s version thereof), and it gives the reader the sense that we’re barely scratching the surface with the characters and history revealed through the course of the hardcover’s 360-odd pages.

I was immediately taken in by the story as we learned more about Zack Overkill and how he went from a heavy hitting super villain to a lowly file clerk barely noticed by his coworkers. We see flashes of his mandated psychiatric appointments, the oh-so-real struggles he’s facing in a life that he’s not accustomed too. If you remove the super powered aspect from the opening part of the story, you can see a man struggling with his mental health amidst an unfulfilling life of boredom and depression. Is it any wonder that he eventually turns to drugs in order to find an escape?

Zach Overkill is an oddly likable guy despite never hiding (at least from us) what kind of man he used to be; whether this story is about his trying to find redemption, or a larger tale about whether a leopard can truly change its spots is one of the best parts about this book. Brubaker asks you not whether you can change for the better after making a horrible series of life choices, but whether others can accept your change. Whether they truly believe it, or if once they’ve labelled you a villain then that’s how they will always see you.

I should have expected good stuff from this book, but I wasn’t quite prepared with just how good it would be.

In a story that can be so much to so many, we’re left asking ourselves who we really are; are you really the person you think you are, or are you just a product of what this world has made you?

Join us next week where there will doubtless be another movie, series, comic or comic related thing discussed that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

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