Note: “Sex Criminals” is a comic book for mature audiences. It deals heavily with sexual themes and contains very occasional nudity. Alright, on with the review:
Whoa. Okay.
It took 32 pages for me to understand the point of “Sex Criminals,” but now that I do I’m actually excited to find out what happens next.
Up until that point though, it’s a strange ride. We’re introduced to Suzy and Jon right from the beginning, and don’t see them together again for quite a while. There’s a reason for that though, it’s very much Suzy’s story – specifically about how she deals with grief. And let me tell you, she has quite the method.
One of the more interesting things about the comic is how it deals with flashbacks. Present Day Suzy fills you in on her life from a traumatic event in her childhood through to where you find her as the story begins. Except that Present Day Suzy makes her way into the flashbacks, an ever present ghost and guide for the reader, looking back at her past. I’m sure other comics and mediums have done this before – and have probably done it a little better – Suzy’s use of tense makes things a little confusing, she talks about things you know must have happened in the past sound like they’re happening right now. I’d give the writer credit for taking a realistic approach to memory, since important things in our lives can feel like they’re happening all over again when we remember them, but Suzy makes a couple slips back into past tense, so I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case.
The art is nice, never under detailed, never gets in your face. It finds a good line between cartoony and realistic and rides it out the whole way through. I will say that I was impressed with the use of color and shapes during Suzy’s moments of “Silence,” I won’t spoil what that means here, but I think the way the images on the page are presented communicate very well what Suzy’s feeling during those moments.
The only other complaint I have, and it too is minor, is the layout. The first issue never takes any risks with how the panels are put together. It’s a very straight forward few rows of three or four squares on nearly every page. Which is okay, but I feel “Sex Criminals” would have benefited from doing something different, especially in a story about a woman searching for answers after finding herself lost and confused in the world. It’s a very non-uniform way for a character to feel in a very uniform comic.
All and all, I did enjoy it though. I haven’t read a lot of comic books dealing with this kind of subject matter, so it was a nice change of pace. And the more I think about it, the more I love the twist at the end. It takes an element of the story and changes it from symbolic to something that could have a lot more power and presence as the story continues. It also gives the comic some staying power from what could have been a one-shot adventure. Or I could be reading too much into it. Whatever the case, the first issue of “Sex Criminals” did a good job establishing its main character, giving her purpose, and gave me reason to come back for the next one. I’d call that a win.