How To Read Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

3 weeks ago 9

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There is no better duo of crime comics than Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. For over 20 years, the pair have crafted a variety of crime noir and adjacent projects that highlight the seedy criminal underworld and the detestable side of human behaviour.

While it’s hard to pick a favourite, it wouldn’t be controversial to say that Criminal is one of their best. Since 2006, the two creators have chronicled the lives of the Lawless family and other felons through a series of stories that meditate on crime and noir genre clichés. The series has won multiple Eisner Awards and will soon be an Amazon Prime series showrun, written, and executive produced by comic-writer Ed Brubaker.

Have you gravitated towards Criminal due to either its reputation or the upcoming Amazon Prime series? This guide will help you start reading the acclaimed series, explaining the recommended reading order and the different formats it’s available in. With it, you’ll soon be able to dive into this despicable world and see what all the fuss is about.

Who publishes Criminal?

Two publishers have been the home of Criminal.

The material from 2006-2011 was originally published by Icon Comics. Icon Comics was a small imprint of Marvel Comics which allowed specific creators to explore creator-owned ideas without leaving the Marvel publishing ecosystem. A large portion of Criminal was published through this imprint.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips found a new home for their projects at Image Comics in 2012, where they would publish Fatale, The Fade Out, and signed an exclusivity agreement in 2014. Image Comics reprinted the existing Criminal material in 2015 and since then has been the home of any new material – such as the 2019 Criminal series and the All My Heroes Are Junkies graphic novel. (The pair have also created several other series excellent comics too through Image.)

You may encounter one of the Icon trade paperback editions. However, it’s more likely that you’ll come across an edition published by Image Comics. This is due to it being in higher volumes and going through multiple printings. Much of this is due to every new Brubaker/Phillips project driving interest in Criminal.

The Icon and Image Comics collections are mostly the same. They contain the same comic material. However, the Image editions have more extras and different covers.

Where to start reading Criminal and what is the recommended reading order?

Criminals can seem confusing at first glance, with the series not told in chronological order. All the stories are set in the same universe but can bounce around different time periods, ranging from the 1970s to the 2010s. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips use it to explore various stories through various characters’ points of view. However, the nature of storytelling might make it unclear for some as to where to start reading the comic series.

I recommend reading based on the release order. Readers see the series evolve by reading in this method. Major and minor characters are introduced, with connective threads created with each story. Reading Criminal chronological order of events is not essential. Each story arc is self-contained, so they can be read in isolation. And while I mentioned earlier that there are connective threads, it’s not really a throughline that builds to something bigger but more invisible links connecting characters to each other instead.

It’s best to start with Criminal Volume 1: Coward. This is the series’ first story, and it’s a great introduction to some of the core characters that will appear at various points throughout the comic and their world. From there, continue on with volume 2 and so forth. The following section gives you more details about further reading.

Once you have read all of Criminal, a chronological reading could – as suggested by some Reddit users – be a fun exercise if you want to do a second reading of the series.

Trade paperback and hardcover collections

It’s too difficult to track down the individual Criminal issues. As a result, the trade paperbacks and/or hardcover collections are the way to go. See all the details below.

Criminal Volume 1: Coward
Collects: Criminal (2006 series) #1-5

Criminal Volume 2: Lawless
Collects: Criminal (2006 series) #6-10

Note: The first season of the Amazon Prime series covers the first two volumes of Criminal.

Criminal Volume 3: The Dead and the Dying
Collects: Criminal (2008 series) #1-3

Criminal Volume 4: Bad Night
Collects: Criminal (2008 series) #4-7

Criminal Volume 5: The Sinners
Collects: Criminal: The Sinners #1-5

Criminal Volume 6: The Last Of The Innocent
Collects: Criminal: The Last of the Innocent #1-4

Criminal Volume 7: Wrong Time, Wrong Place
Collects: Savage Sword Of Criminal, Deadly Hands Of Criminal, and Criminal 10th Anniversary Edition

Criminal Volume 8: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies
Collects: Savage Sword Of Criminal and Deadly Hands Of Criminal

Note: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies was originally released as a original graphic novel. It has been labelled as “Volume 8” with the 2025 reprints.

Criminal Volume 9: Bad Weekend
Collects: Criminal (2019 series) #2-3

Note: Bad Weekend is an expanded version of the story told in Criminal (2019 series) #2-3.

Criminal Volume 10: Cruel Weekend
Collects: Criminal (2019 series) #1, 5-12

Note: Criminal (2019 series) #4 has never been reprinted in trade paperback.

Criminal: The Knives

Note: Criminal: The Knives is an upcoming Criminal graphic novel. You can find out more about it in the “Will there be more Criminal?” section.

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Different trade paperback collection editions explained

You may noticed different editions of Criminal when either searching online, in a retail setting, or at the library. In total, there are three different editions of the trade paperback collections out there, which are primarily the same but have a few small differences.

Find out more about each below, using Criminal Volume 1: Coward as an example.

Coward (Icon printing) cover by Sean Phillips.

The above image is the Icon Comics edition of Criminal: Coward. It features the above cover and collects Criminal (2006 series) #1-5. Subsequent trade paperback collections published by Icon Comics have a similar style of cover too.

Coward (2015 edition) cover by Sean Phillips.

Next up is the Image Comics edition, published in 2015. Again, using Criminal Volume 1: Coward as an example, this includes the above cover and collects Criminal (2006 series) #1-5. As a result, it’s pretty much the same but with a different cover and paper stock. The covers for subsequent volumes are recognisable as each is drenched in a single colour like the above.

Finally, there are the 2025 editions. These contain the material of previous editions, a new cover (as seen above), and some extra behind-the-scenes material. These editions also bring material that was published after the 2015 editions into a more uniform package.

Unless you really want to see the behind-the-scenes material of the 2025 editions, it doesn’t really matter which trade paperback edition you read.

The Deluxe Edition Volume Two cover by Sean Phillips.

Deluxe hardcovers

Criminal is also available in deluxe hardcovers. These collect approximately three times as much as the trade paperback collections at larger dimensions.

Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume One
Collects: Criminal (2006 series) #1-10 and Criminal (2008 series) #1-3

Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume Two
Collects: Criminal (2008 series) #4-7, Criminal: The Sinners #1-5, and Criminal: The Last Of The Innocent #1-4

Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume Three
Collects: Savage Sword Of Criminal, Deadly Hands Of Criminal, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies OGN, Bad Weekend OGN, and Criminal (2019 series) #1, 4

Note: Criminal Cruel Summer has not been collected as part of the Deluxe Editions yet. However, it has been collected in hardcover individually.

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Will there be more Criminal?

There will be a new Criminal graphic novel in 2025. While it hasn’t been formally announced by Image Comics, a graphic novel called Criminal: The Knives appeared on the the Simon & Schuster website recently. It will be published on 9th September, 2025.

Where can I find/buy Criminal comics?

Criminal trade paperbacks and hardcovers can be bought at all good comic book shops, online retailers, book stores, eBay, and Amazon/Kindle. You can also to find them at your local library.