I just read Young Liars #7, and it's an Amy Racecar story on crack.

That's one of the aspects that I love about it.

And I agree "it's awesome" isn't very deep analysis, and at least you aren't commenting on the plot progression. So many online reviews seem to be focused on how many plot points were covered in any issue of a comic, and I always think that's kind of beside the point, personally.

Cap and Criminal are apples and oranges, really. I put as much into both, though, so I'm not offended you like Cap better.

However, I should point out that it's not really the comic that I'm talking about here. I'm curious why so many people love it so much. I've gotten in trouble before by speculating about why people love things, so I'm not doing that here, but I am asking for opinions from people about why they constantly say it's the best comic out there. I'm genuinely curious, not because I don't like it, but because it doesn't leap to my mind when I think of the best comics out there right now. I honestly think, to use an example from your work, that Captain America is a better book than Criminal. I don't buy Captain America in singles, but when I read the trades, I'm struck by how good it is. I'm not trying to denigrate Criminal, but I do want someone to explain why they love it so much. I don't read as many blogs as I used to, but most of what I see when a new issue comes out boils down to: "It's awesome." That's not trenchant analysis, I think you'll agree, and I want more.

It's not necessarily that I want something different from Criminal. I like it a lot, and I always enjoy reading it, and I think it works well in single format. But when I see the praise for it, I wonder why. As you know from reading the blog, often I simply skip reviewing books, especially ones I've bought for a while, to muse about other stuff. Maybe I shouldn't review every book I buy every week, but I like doing it.

You know I'll keep buying it, and I hope that others are, too. I'll try to change things up next issue, I promise!

But you say the same thing month in and month out about my book, and you're generally giving it a good review when you do it, so I don't quite understand why you say it every time. And that's why I think you might be looking for something different than what we're doing.

And in point of fact, a lot of people other than you found the ending of this issue pretty shocking, actually, including Sean when I sent him the script.

But I honestly don't know what you want from your crime fiction, and it sounds like you're looking for some neat twist or something every single issue, when that's not what crime fiction is about to me, it's about character.

That said, I still have a hard time believing you saw every single moment of this comic coming. Did you know that Danny and Iris were going to move into Jacob's house? Did you know Jacob was going to reveal things about the cop who arrested him after his wife's death, that he'd made him a character in his comic strip? Did you know what the heist would be?

And I'll be very surprised if you have any clue about what's going to happen in the next two parts, as well.

Somewhat interestingly, two other books this week have kind of the same vibe for me. Lone Ranger and Dynamo 5 both generally fail to surprise or 'wow' me while still being satisfying. The art is again a big selling point for both. Cariello 's stuff is perfect for genre, and I'm in blissful disbelief that one of the Big Two hasn't lured Asrar to them with a big pile of cash. Unlike Criminal, these two are in near-constant danger of being culled from my pull list though. I sometimes think that Lynch's story is a little too slow for $3.50 an installment, and my lack of interest in indy superheros caused me to leave Noble Causes and Invincible behind long ago. If/when the artist changes (or, in Lone Ranger's case, someone else starts doing a solid western), I'll probably be gone.

This issue of Young Liars was kind of make or break for me too...and I am so sticking around after the deliciously wrong beginning of Spiders from Mars! I think previous commenters have nailed the Amy Racecar (Amy Racecar!) angle - especially given Sadie's injury and her relationship with her family, I'm guessing that we're in her head here. I'll defend the pull quote, though. I don't think "handle it" means "getting it" so much as it means "not having a queasy stomach" or "a heightened and fragile sense of morality".

It's well written and well drawn. In a lot of ways, Brubaker and Phillips are doing a Tarantino, taking old concepts and redoing it in a way that's new without the constraints that previously held the genre back, no censorship, no budget.

It by no means sticks out as a concept the way Sleeper does, but it's something I enjoy for its consistency. And I rate consistency highly.

There's a scene in the Godfather, which I saw for the first time only about five or so years ago, where Michael (I think it's Michael, Pacino's character, right?), lays out the plan for a hit that takes place in a restaurant, naming all of the details, and then heads out to do it. The entire scene folds out exactly as he says it will, but is so ripe with tension the entire time, and so well done, that you can't but get sucked right into it as it's happening, no matter how many times you see it (at least, for me).

That's basically how every issue of Criminal works for me. Like you said, 99% of the time it's quite predictable, but the writing and the art just suck you in, and predictable doesn't act as a major factor.

If DC's marketing department is not trying like hell to get Chuck Palahniuk to do a pull quote for the first trade of Young Liars or namedrop the series in some way then they have no idea what they're doing anymore, because this would be the perfect comic for the Palahniuk fanbase.

Agreed, although I never remember him taking it to as depraved a level as what Greg describes in this issue. Sounds good. Has a trade been solicited for this yet? (I’m trade-only these days)

Oh yeah, it wasn't.

Here's the thing, though - the concept of Young Liars is basically what if there was a person (through brain trauma) who actually acted LIKE Amy Racecar - that'd be pretty messed up, right? Well, that's what Young Liars is - and if the REGULAR book is messed up, if he's doing an Amy Racecar character in a book ABOUT an Amy Racecar character, then he's gotta get even more twisted than Amy Racecar.

That is a lot of uses of the name Amy Racecar.

Oh, you never read Stray Bullets? Then yeah, this makes a lot more sense if you’ve read Stray Bullets. He used to do stuff like this all the time in Stray Bullets.

Agreed, although I never remember him taking it to as depraved a level as what Greg describes in this issue. Sounds good. Has a trade been solicited for this yet? (I'm trade-only these days)

That being said I'll hang on. I liked the first six issues enough to try and figure out what the hell is going on.

As for Criminal and why I like it. I realized a while back that I loved the genre of Noir before I even knew what it was. I wasn't schooled on the novels or movies that the backmatter references. Comics wise I knew I loved 100 Bullets and Sleeper but it wasn't until Criminal came out that I knew anything about the history or "rules" within the genre. So while many readers might know the rules, I don't always, although I'm figuring them out relatively quickly I believe. In addition Criminal's backmatter and essays are giving me great recommendations about movies and novels I can use to catch up on my knowledge of the genre.

I still miss Stray Bullets, though.

The same can be said for GUTSVILLE.

Down with late books.
Down with late books.