Reckless, Book One

Immersive and extremely well-written.

I loved this pulpy throw back crime comic. For two reasons. 1.) Brubaker has created a very relatable protagonist 2.) Sean Phillip's art is phenomenal. Reckless focuses on Ethan Reckless. A damaged person who believes he’s living out the last days of mankind, Ethan Reckless is that amazing sort of pulp hero who has a “certain set of skills” that he makes available to the people that no one else will help. Have a problem that the police can’t or won’t solve? Need someone to cut through the red tape? Forget the A-Team, call Reckless. Ethan is everything we want in a protagonist; he’s broken down from his time working for the man, and is just trying to get through another day. He’ll take jobs to keep the lights on in his home (a functional but closed to the public movie theater), but deep down in his core is a heart of gold that can’t handle seeing the little guy get screwed. Ethan is living a pretty boring existence when he gets a message from a woman, Rainy Livingston, with who he fell in love while being an undercover agent in the 1970s. Now, he has to confront his past, and figure out why Rainy is back in his life. This is an AMAZING crime fiction story. If you're a fan of Joe Lansdale, Cormac McCarthy, or the Coen Brothers, check this one out. Pure. Reckless. Bliss.

Fuck this was gooooood. Brubaker and Phillips are aging like fine wine, their stories getting better and better. After 20 years of writing and drawing crime comics you’d think it would get stale. But it never does. A fantastic new entry in their pantheon of crime comics, with a great new hero to rally around. I can’t wait for the next instalment.