Ed Brubaker has established himself as one of the premiere writers of crime/noir comics with books like Scene of the Crime from DC/Vertigo and Gotham Central from DC Comics, co-written by Greg Rucka. Brubaker combined superheroes and noir conventions into something unique in Sleeper from DC/Wildstorm, where he worked with artist Sean Phillips (Marvel Zombies). The book received high praise, but only saw two 12-issue seasons and one crossover tie-in special.
Brubaker has since been absorbed into the comics mainstream, signing an exclusive deal with Marvel and writing high-profile books like Captain America, Daredevil and Uncanny X-Men. But the crime genre is something he can’t get away from, and now he's re-teamed with Sean Phillips for Criminal, a book that promises to combine all of Brubaker’s criminal interests. The book is published under Marvel’s creator-owned Icon line. A tireless Brubaker has been speaking to many comic news outlets, blogs and podcasts, getting out the word on Criminal and acknowledging the challenge of producing a creator-owned nonsuperhero comic in today’s direct market.
PW Comics Week: It's rare that a creator who had already reached success in mainstream comics would do so much publicity for a creator-owned book. Why is it so important to get the word out about Criminal?
Ed Brubaker: Mainly because I think that's just how a book should be launched. You should get the word out to as many people and retailers as you can, with previews of the work and as much hype as you can generate. I'd think that [way] even if the market were different, but with the comics direct market the way it is, it's even more vital to get word out, because the shelves are so filled with superhero books that you really have to fight for a place among them.
PWCW: Why did Criminal have to be a creator-owned book?
EB: Because it's something that Sean and I thought up, and having done creator-owned books for other big publishers, I really wanted to do one where we not only held the copyright but the full control of the book and its rights, as well. We're both control freaks, anyway, so it seemed like time to take the reins completely.
PWCW: You've created great work with Sean Phillips, most notably on Sleeper. I'm sure there will be some similarities between the two books, but how did you two evolve the look of Criminal so it became its own thing?
EB: That was really all Sean. We discussed early on that the book should really stand apart from our earlier work, and he just dove into that and redefined himself. He's re-embracing the nine-panel grid, basically, which is one of the most new-reader-friendly ways to do comics. You can show it to anyone from any walk of life, and they instantly know how to follow it. With some of the stuff in Sleeper, the comics-novice might've gotten a bit lost, I think. And that, I think, as simple as it is, really makes Criminal look like its own thing.
PWCW: You've gotten help from Robert Kirkman in The Walking Dead and Warren Ellis with his Bad Signal newsletter. What kind of support are you getting from Marvel/Icon?
EB: They've been essential in helping get word out and planning incentives for the sales of the series. They handle most of the retailer end, and they help line me up with a lot of press interviews. Plus, they know what they're doing, while I'm just a babe in the woods on the publishing and promotions side of the fence.
PWCW: You've described Criminal as a chance to cover all the aspects of the crime genre you like. With so many different directions available to you, what is it about Criminal that holds it all together?
EB: The cast of characters, and the world they operate in. With Criminal, we did a bit of world-building, really creating a wide cast of characters and backstories, so that as each story unfolds, you see a bit more of this undiscovered place. That's the idea, at least. I think it comes off. You get the feeling you're entering new territory, and you get hints of what's to come, as well as what's buried in the past.
PWCW: Since starting in comics you've written in many genres. Right now you're writing a political thriller with Captain America and space opera with Uncanny X-Men. Why, through all of that, is the crime genre still so appealing?
EB: I think because the crime genre says a lot about us, as a society, while having a hard-hitting plot to weave it all around. Not that I'm really looking to "say a lot about us" so much, but I think because most crime fiction is about real people doing realish things, it's inevitable that it reflects the real world, even if it's through a dark lens. And I like that. I like being able to write something that's even more cynical than I feel most of the time.
PWCW: In a previous interview in the Comics Journal, you talked about your own wayward past. Do you think witnessing crime for real with no glamour or romance attached has given you insight into writing crime stories?
EB: I wouldn't necessarily say that. It probably didn't hurt, but the crime in fiction is always so different from the crime in real life. I think those crazy desperate years, though, maybe helped me bring an emotional honesty to crime fiction. I can remember how it felt to be so desperate that insane and totally foolhardy ideas didn't seem so bad. I think that's at the heart of a lot of crime and noir. People doing things they know are stupid, but they can't not do them, for one reason or another.
PWCW: Comedian Patton Oswalt is going to have a backup feature in an issue of Criminal about crime films. Will there be other backup features, either text or comics by different creators [in future issues of Criminal]?
EB: I'm still waiting for Patton's piece, but yeah, the idea is that me and other people I know will write articles about crime fiction and noir movies for the text pieces in Criminal. I'm currently working on a piece about Out of the Past, my favorite Robert Mitchum movie. Other times, there'll be short stories that I'll write and Sean will illustrate that'll fill those back pages, along with letters and other stuff. We're trying to make the comic a full experience, which is a lot of work, honestly.
PWCW: Marvel/Icon's trade program for Bendis and Oeming's Powers has kept the same pace as Image's. What are the trade plans for Criminal at this point?
EB: I'm not sure yet. It's still under discussion. But I'm sure there will be trade book collections, if the book is successful. The extras in the comics won't be in the trades, though, just in the individual issues. So the people supporting the comics [periodicals] on the shelves get rewarded for it, basically.
