Criminal: The Last of the Innocent

There is something about Brubaker's writing in this series that is just so silky smooth.  It feels effortless, perfect even.  Not being up on all the top crime writers I can't imagine that Brubaker isn't high among them.  He plays the noir genre like his instrument of choice and even though we know the rules of the game, he still delights us with his turns.  This volume is about a man who decides to murder his rich, cheating wife and pin it on another man.  Now we know that in the world of noir crime never pays, but Brubaker likes to take liberties with the rules, and he doesn't always make people pay in the way you'd expect…
And what they do in this particular story is telling a really fucked up version of Archie, really.  If you're familiar with that gang you'll see how each of those characters translates to the characters here and it's really quite well done - even down to the imitation art work used to show the flashbacks. 
I absolutely love this series and I hope that Brubaker has many many more of these in store.  I know that someone is currently adapting the first trade of Criminal into a film, but I'd love to see the whole world done up properly. 
If you're a fan of noir, crime fiction, or just solid writing in general, do yourself a favour and read this series.