Sex Criminals: Volume One

Sex Criminals is a bit of a phenomenon. It’s one of those books that I heard a lot about before I ever got around to reading it – the reprint covers in particular were everywhere on Tumblr, so I saw every variation a good million times. Luckily, the hype is actually justified in this case, probably because the story is far deeper and more nuanced than the raunchy joke it seems to be.

Volume One of Sex Criminals tells the story of Suzie and Jon, who meet at a party and hook up, only to discover that both share the completely bizarre ability to freeze time when they orgasm. Naturally, they decide to use this ability to rob a bank. What that summary doesn’t tell you is that Suzie and Jon are both carefully drawn, believably human and full of heartbreaking flaws.

One of the first things Suzie reveals as she narrates her story is that her father is dead, murdered by a gunman. As far as her childhood goes, things don’t get better from there. Her mother quickly sinks into alcoholism and Suzie uses her ability to freeze time as an escape from the world.

As for Jon, he seems less troubled at first until it becomes clear that he uses his abilities to act out in anger against the world, oftentimes in petty or childish ways. Heavy stuff, all of it, and yet the book is still incredibly funny. In fact, I’d argue that one of the main reasons the comedy works so well is that leavening of darkness, which makes the characters seem that much more real.

Zdarsky and Fraction might have been content with telling a fractured romance story with a few sci-fi overtones, but they clearly felt like that wasn’t nearly enough. Instead, they include things like an extended sequence where the lyrics to Queen’s “Fat-Bottomed Girls” are hidden behind apologetic notes because they couldn’t actually get the rights. Additionally, the sci-fi elements ramp up over the course of this first arc and we are given hints that there is a larger world of sexual absurdity surrounding Jon and Suzie’s more personal connection.

The art is great throughout – unique without being overly stylized or distracting – and the writing is hilarious and affecting in equal measure. I can’t wait to read more of Sex Criminals; I’m just sad that I’ll catch up to the current issue very quickly, and then who knows how long I’ll have to wait to read more. This is, of course, the downside of creator-owned comic books nowadays: they can and do publish whenever they feel like it, even if that means months between issues.

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.

An imperfect, but thoroughly promising read. The premise is intelligent without being zany-- this series could easily be a gag-a-minute boner joke festival, and yet the series is instead a thoughtful and uncompromising look at the awkward side of sexuality, while simultaneously being a pretty grown up take on the superhero genre. (I say 'grown up'-- as in mature-- rather than 'gritty'-- this series is no Christopher Nolan, and all the better for it. It never takes itself too seriously, which is wonderful.) Funny, interesting, and with lots of fascinating characters, this volume is a promising preview of a strong series to come. The volume itself isn't the strongest, but I see potential in it.

While Fraction and Zdarsky are no slouch when it comes to comics, something about the formula seems a bit unsure, a bit forced, at times. Maybe it's the unclear way the narration moves forward: the narrator is sometimes in the panel as a flashback is happening, sometimes not, sometimes wearing distracting costumes, sometimes narrating past events in the past tense, sometimes the first tense, etc. Maybe it's the way a lot of the techniques used to tell the story feel a little gimicky-- this series is already larger-than-life, it doesn't need characters who are ultra precious and educated, meeting over a discussion of Nabokov and having incredibly quirky speech patterns. But something leaves the series feeling a bit... faked, to turn a phrase.

It's not bad. It's just the sign of a fledgling series finding its wings. When Fraction stops the gimickry and actually writes, the series soars. The scene where Suzie breaks out into a stunning rendition of [song name redacted], except all the lyrics are blotted out with sticky notes because they couldn't get the distribution rights, shines as a moment of surrealist charm because Fraction doesn't try to make it precious, and it would have been unnecessarily so otherwise. (The question of whether Fraction ever really tried to get the rights to print the lyrics in the first place-- which would have made a very boring and overlong scene of Suzie singing to the reader in a soundless medium-- or decided it would be best to only reference the scene indirectly through fourth-wall-breaking antics, is a question for another time.)

All in all, I look forward to more from this team and the series they're creating. I look forward to watching it find its footing, so it can be the best lil' sex machine it can be.

Suzie thinks she is a regular girl, living a normal life with typical teenage problems, but she has a very unique gift; when she has an orgasm time stops for a while. She calls this ‘The Quiet’; it is a time where she reflects on her life and the world without any interruptions. She can do anything and it soon becomes a solitude for her to escape the world around her. After having sex at a party she soon discovers her gift in not so unique, she finds herself in ‘The Quiet’ with her recent sexual partner Jon.

The two become close as they discuss their shared ability; no longer are they the only one that can stop time. As you can imagine they have so many questions but both are still trying to work out mysteries of this power. As they spend more time together, eventually they decide they could use this ability for personal gain. They can freeze time and rob a bank; there would be no one to stop them, or so they think.

I first discovered Matt Fraction when I read Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon and find his writing style appealing. He explores the more human side of a superhero or one with the ability to stop time. Sex Criminals had gotten a lot of good reviews and it sounded wacky enough to try. It is a bawdy and brazen sex comedy with a rather dated aesthetics. Artist Chip Zdarsky really brings a very seventies vibe into the graphic novel. The fashion and hair remind me of the era and ‘The Quiet’ has a technicolour vibe to it.

I suspect they (Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky) are paying homage to the 70′s as an era of free love and sexual freedom or they are both products of that generation. Either way, it seems to work well with the story. Sex Criminals is a rather odd series but I do enjoy the way it explores the world of these characters through sex and stopping time. It is pushing the boundaries of the comic world, exploring real life people and sexuality in a superhero kind of way. It did earn a banning from the Apple store for its efforts but was also named one of Time Magazine’s top 10 graphic novels for 2013.

This review originally appeared on my blog: literary-exploration.com/2014/06/04/sex-criminals-one-weird-trick-by-matt-fraction/