Sex Criminals #5: Review

Part-comedy, part-sci-fi thriller, Sex Criminals continues to be a fun narrative romp. But now that we’ve established the premise, it’s time for Matt Fraction to get on with the story.

Here’s the official word from Image:

The best part of a new relationship is the first three weeks, right? The rush of the new, the gravitational pull of the sudden other-ness in your life, the almost-illicit charge of nothing else mattering…and then it’s time to pay the bills. Well, the honeymoon is over for the SEX CRIMINALS. Can Jon and Suzie survive Jon and Suzie?

Anyone following Sex Criminals already knows how special this title from writer Matt Fraction really is — Fraction has masterfully mashed together that handful of genres readers typically love: romance, coming-of-age, sci-fi, and hell, even a little sexy burlesque. And while this arc so far has been dedicated almost equally to the love story between Jon and Suzie as it has been the criminal act that they engage in, there was a new feeling of “stuckness” to issue #5 that I hadn’t felt before. The problem, I think, is that we’ve been in that bank for a *very* long time. And while Fraction dedicated to considerable narrative effort to finally pushing us out into the world, if felt too little, too late. Fraction’s next installment could go a long way in fixing this feeling, and my hope is that issue #6 will stop dwelling on this amazing premise and actually develop it.

Chip Zdarsky’s art continues to be clean, sharp, and engaging. And maybe best of all, funny. He riffs off Fractions humor in wonderful ways; he crafts facial expressions that are often funnier than the dialogue.

Sex Criminals is still offers the best premise in recent memory. But it could still do more to deliver on it.