Comic book reviews for Sex Criminals #25, Sex Criminals #26, and Sex Criminals #27 by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
Average rating: 3.6/5 stars
Sex Criminals #25 by Matt Fraction
Art: Chip Zdarsky
Did I just kind of really enjoy an issue of Sex Criminals where Suzie and Jon get back together? They are so not my favorite couple.
I kind of like that they are all on a public bus, and we still don’t know the bus driver’s name. Dewey first apologizing for hitting Jon on the head with a dildo before they mention the tasing was pretty great.
My biggest love was Myrtle calling the magic space the “Frozen Realm” and then being strangled by Suzie. She deserved it, and it felt nice that someone got to enact their rage against Myrtle. She and Suzie are also about the same size, so they were on equal footing compared to when Jon wanted to strangle her.
Of course, this book features a fuck machine that burns down a house.
Jon living in his car and yelling at his therapist was great.
Badal remains our last bad guy, and he seems to have figured out time control far more than the others have. Who knows what’s going to happen next, but Sex Criminals is coming to a closing arc.
Sex Criminals #26 by Matt Fraction
Art: Chip Zdarsky
I guess it’s helpful when you read comic books actually in order. Sure, Sex Criminals took a considerable break, which caused problems with reading flow, but reading out of order? It adds to the pile. I read #27 and then realized I hadn’t read #26 yet. Oops.
Suzie being the key to whatever Badal is doing is a nice fit in this story. She’s always been a type of hero. After all, Suzie wanted to rob the bank to save a library. It doesn’t get much more heroic than that.
I assume the opening scene is Suzie’s conception. There’s something about her father that we still don’t understand, and no doubt, very pointed that her flashback to being a younger child is about her grief over losing her father. Wow, it’s good her mother got sober.
That said, it seems like Suzie should be sharing with the others what’s going on with her. Not just Jon, who’s never going to pull in the right mix of people to get the job done. He’s not a planner.
Everyone should listen to Alix, who’s the best.
Even if this was a serious issue, Zdarsky’s visual gags and signage helped lighten the mood. I’m always appreciative of these goodies and bad puns.
Sex Criminals #27 by Matt Fraction
Art: Chip Zdarsky
Time seems to be jumping around a lot in this issue, and it’s less clear than in the last issue. I’m not sure how this is supposed to be all unfolding, except Suzie going to Badal is probably triggering everything. Or at least that would be my bet.
So Badal is building himself some kind of time travel or world freezing extreme powers by using his machines to siphon off the orgasm powers of everyone else. He stopped tracking them all when they allowed his devices into their houses because technology. There’s some direct correlation to our current technology situation. Still, I’m not sure Fraction has the narrative space for this. Especially since we’re not even entirely sure how Anna even figured out all of this stuff. (Maybe I just forgot?) Or maybe she’s a doctor of everything like on Star Trek.
The story about Jon being shot during a bank training reminds us why we should hate this bank and Badal. It shows how Badal, like the big corporation he runs, doesn’t value people’s lives. But also, it’s some dark humor. Mainly that we know Jon survives it just fine.
That scene also allowed me to appreciated Zdarsky’s art and how he’s allowed the characters to change how they look over the years.
I don’t know why Suzie would trust Badal unless she has some kind of ace up her sleeve. Though it seems like Myrtle had no idea Suzie was there.