Sex Criminals #6

The Good

SEX CRIMINALS is back, and it's getting real. It's an ongoing, after all, and we get to start exploring some of the depth beyond banging and bank robberies. It's still a funny book with plenty of sex jokes (and we get to learn about the technology used by the Sex Police), but it's also a sincere exploration of Jon' and Suzie's relationship.

The excitement of the robbery is gone. Life is back. Problems are back. Brimpers, things are getting real. There are tears, there's isolation, there are mood swings. But Fraction and Zdarsky handle it with aplomb, infusing the heavier stuff with jokes that make you remember why you started reading this book, and building out the world into something more meaningful.

It's also ramping up to a new kind of excitement, in the form of paranoia about the reach and knowledge of the Sex Police, and a brewing storm in Jon's mind. There's an entirely new depth to The Quiet when one thinks about spying, secret messages, and all sorts of harm that could be done when the rest of the world isn't paying attention -- stuff that makes a little bank robbery seem like child's play.

Stick around for the letters column. Not only do Fraction and Zdarsky answer fanmail, but there's a new column from sex nerd extraordinaire, Dr. Emily Nagorski. SEX CRIMINALS is getting educational, you guys.

The Bad

The book definitely gets more serious than it's been so far. The serious part isn't bad -- in fact, there's some really honest emotional exploration, and it's one of my favorite things about the book -- but I'm noting it here as a hey-this-might-make-you-uncomfortable-if-you've-ever-been-in-that-place kind of flag. Jon's got a lot going on, and he's playing medication tango, and for some readers, that might be difficult.

The Verdict

Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky have won fans' hearts (and maybe some other organs, based on the letters) with the first volume of SEX CRIMINALS, and now they're back for round two. Things take a more serious tone for this issue, but it's good; this issue sets up plenty of conflicts to resolve over the course of the next arc, and the war on the Sex Police gets off to a heated start.

Good review. The way the last volume ended I was kind of expecting a more serious tone for the next arc.

I'm never going to be able to take anything that happens in this book as serious...is what I used to say...then issue #6 came out and I was floored a little.

I LOVED this issue, but I agreed with the letter in the back.

I sort of feel as though people need to afford more respect to the good things that medication can do. Meds don't turn everyone into depressive, zombified drones. Still, that aside, a very welcome return.

This book should be pitched to Hollywood as a television series.