Some of the best books produced month in and
month out don’t star superheroes—in fact, most
of them see nary a godlike act in any of their 22 pages. From
British spies to rogue F.B.I agents to the cops who have to
stay one step ahead of Batman, the crime genre of comic books
is bigger and better than ever—here’s a few you
should check out.
Queen & Country (Oni)
Written by Greg Rucka (Elektra) and drawn by a rotating cast
of superb pencilers, Queen & Country follows Tara Chase,
a Minder for British intelligence. A finely researched series,
Rucka gives readers the idea that everything that happens
in this book could be happening right now in Britain or in
the US’s own intelligence community. But the title isn’t
just about spies; it’s also about the political and
social ramification of the intelligence community’s
actions. Queen & Country does as good a job at humanizing
its cast of spies as the "West Wing" does at humanizing
its brainy politicians.
100 Bullets (Vertigo)
Written by Brian Azzarello (Cage) with art by Eduardo Risso,
100 Bullets is simply the best book being produced today.
It would be easy (and lazy) to leave it at that and say to
explain the story at all would ruin the experience—but
that just wouldn’t be right. Agent Graves, the titles
grizzled, older protagonist, gives a gun, 100 untraceable
bullets and a file full of information to someone who’s
been done wrong. After that, what they do is up to them. But
the book’s so much more, there’s an underlying
conspiracy and a war between the families that have ruled
the U.S. since its inception. Like I said, it’s simply
the best book out today. The same way Vertigo is known for
Sandman and Preacher—100 Bullets will be in that same
class soon.
Alias (Marvel)
With success on titles like Ultimate Spider-Man, Powers and
a stint on Elektra, some fans may have forgotten exactly where
writer Brian Michael Bendis made his bones—crime noir
comics. With works like Torso, Goldfish and Fire under his
belt, no book better represents what Bendis is best at doing
in comics than Alias. The stories of a former superhero, turned
private detective Jessica Jones contains witty, dialogue,
interesting mysteries and amazing painted art by Michael Gaydos.
The more you read of this book, the more you’ll like
it.
Skinwalker (Oni)
A little bit horror movie, a little bit psychological thriller,
Skinwalker by writers Nunzio DeFilipps and Christina Weir
with penciler Brian Hurtt, has quickly turned into one of
the best mini-series of 2003 and a premise I can’t believe
hasn’t been optioned by Hollywood. The story revolves
around an FBI agent teamed with a Native American cop, searching
for a killer, who wears the skin of his victims—and
might be another FBI agent. The story’s exciting, scary
and captivating. It’s just another reason Oni’s
the best small publisher out there today.
Gotham Central (DC
Comics)
Okay, Gotham Central doesn’t actually ship until December
but I’ve been lucky to read the first issue already
and it’s everything fans of crime comics have come to
expect from Ed Brubaker (Scene of the Crime) and Greg Rucka
(Whiteout). I’d never say too much for fear of spoiling
it, but Gotham Central is exactly what I want out of a "cop
book" set in the DC Universe and sets out to answer the
question, "How do cops do their job when the commissioner
of police has his own personal superhero?"
WRITER’S BIO: Mike
Cotton is a staff writer for Wizard:
The Comics Magazine. For more on the all the
comic book news fit to print, check out Wizard on sale every
month at comic book specialty shops and newsstands everywhere.
