Criminal #4: Una Brutta Nottata (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Bad Night deviates from its predecessors, with the thematic integration of madness and insomnia. The result is one of the most interesting stories the duo of Brubaker and Phillips have released yet. The protagonist is a far stretch from the usual tough dudes we've seen in the POV seat so far, a crippled cartoonist even, with a difficult history that rolls out in equal parts to him and the reader as the story develops. A lot is said about and done with this character, while those surrounding him remain flat. That said, with all engines firing out of the MC's backside, your enjoyment of this book is entirely hinged on your appreciation of good ol' Jacob the cartoonist.The villain is great with a fun motivation, but lacks any development, while the femme fatale is an easily manipulated sex-gun, which is a startling change of pace from Brubaker's usual ladies in this series. All this works in service to the excellently executed plot, and a fantastic little character study.Volume 4 of Criminal takes big risks, but they pay off in one of the most satisfying installments of the series yet. I really like this exercise into the crime side of graphic fiction. While the story was derivative, it engineering in images takes me back to the classic days of film noir -- without the censorship. Back to PULP FICTION.Still, there is character depth here. Motivation. More meaning than all that cape crusader bullshit.. maybe a few panels are 'overdrawn' and a tad melodramatic but the edited pitch -- the progression of the storyline -- is driven by some snappy dialogue and let's-move-along narrative boxes.The technique is superb. Hardly a misplaced inked line or POV perspective.And it's tragedy: a brutal tragedy . I love that. People do what they do , make the best of it , and suffer the consequences. Even in graphic novels.[ADDENDUM: Would the woman be like that? Not as imagined but in real life? Is that a viable question or am I trying to decide whether the storyline is misogynist? This is a man's POV after all -- like so much noir pulp fiction .That's the tragedy...this works' brutality is in the consequences of being who you are, not just what you do or the mistakes you make.}
What do You think about Criminal #4: Una Brutta Nottata (2009)?
Dark and dingy graphic novel, but then, that's to be expected from the crime noir genre.
—mike
Argh, these are so good. Dames and guns and backstabbing and greed.
—bri
