Image Comics; $4.99, $5.99

It sure doesn’t seem like 10 years since writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips turned the attentions of their ongoing collaborations to Criminal, a creator-owned noir series. And it doesn’t seem like a decade because their approach is still fresh, rich with characters, and deep with possibilities.

Over the years, first at Marvel’s Icon imprint and now at Image, they’ve developed this gritty title into a series of tales packed with crime (no surprise given the title), human frailties, fantastic art, and lavish, moody colors.

But most of all, they have a story to tell. Sometimes Brubaker’s story is clever, hiding its real meaning until the last few pages. Sometimes it’s right out front, and the journey is its own reward.

This tenth anniversary edition captures all of this. It will serve as a reminder of what we’ve been missing (while Brubaker and Phillips worked most recently on The Fade Out) or as a gateway to a great series for first-timers.

This issue is available in two formats, one standard comic book size and the other magazine size. The magazine version is made to look like a beat-up comic magazine from the 1970s. It does the job brilliantly.

– J.C. Vaughn