Sex Criminals #1 by Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarksy

Title: Sex Criminals #1

Suzie Down in the Quite

Author: Matt Fraction

Artist: Chip Zdarsky

RATING: 4 STARS

A SEX COMEDY FOR COMICS

Suzie's a normal girl with an extraordinary ability: when she has sex, she stops time. One night she meets John... who has the same gift. And so they do what any other sex-having, time-stopping, couple would do: they rob banks. In the vein of THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN and BRIDESMAIDS, Image Comics invites you to come along with MATT FRACTION (Hawkeye, SATELLITE SAM) and CHIP ZDARSKY (Prison Funnies, Monster Cops) for the series that puts the "comic" back in “comics” and the "sexy" back in “sex crimes.”

~ MY THOUGHTS! ~

So, I picked this trade up back when it first was released, and it sat on my shelf with countless other comics, unread. I finally decided that I wanted to get back into comics with the coming DC Rebirth and my subsequent childlike excitement over being at the ground point of a new Universe for characters I had previously written off as unaccessible to me, as an extremely late comics reader. With all that said, I used to buy a LOT of comus, in both single issue and trade, and for whatever reason kind of just stopped reading them. It wasn't that the ones I was reading were bad, I just kind of lost interest. But now I want to read what is on my shelf so I am free and open for all the new stuff that will be coming out next month! :) 

That long introduction out of the way, I really enjoyed the first issue of Sex Criminals. I figured it would be one that I absolutely fell in love with and obsessed over and wanted, no needed, ever single issue EVER. But sadly, it wasn't the best thing in the world. But it was pretty darn close. I went into this with too much expectation. I wanted another Saga, another We Stand on Guard...basically another Brian K. Vaughan. And that is my fault. I tend to get obsessed with writers and then everything I read is compared to the other writer, and it isn't fair to the book/comic at hand.

This was a fun and definitely very good start to a comic series I will be following. I haven't decided if I am going to only collect the trades, as I have the first one, or if I am going to start picking these up as the are released in single issue. That decision will be determined at a later date, when I have read the 4 remaining issues I have left.

I thought this issue opened the story out great. It hooked the reader with this insanely unique plot and ran with it. I liked the direction that this story is going with Suzie and Jon. I don't usually see great plot direction in the first issue of a series, as the writer and illustrator have a lot of ground work to cover to introduce the story and blah blah. But Matt Fraction was really able to tell you a story and show you where it might go, and get you to want to follow these characters. 

With all the sex and the explicitness of the series, there is an added layer of depth and realness that I really appreciated. I liked the backstory we are given about Suzie in the first issue, and think that even though this is supped to be a comedy of sorts, Matt and Chip are able to add something more to the series, to give it that extra edge, so to speak.

Very interesting start, and I will be continuing on. Solid read, and thing the artwork is absolutely stunning and fits the story very well. I love when the art and story just match up perfect! It makes for a more rounded experience with the comic, in my opinion.

That is all for now, but I highly suggest picking up the trade of this if you have the chance. Interesting and super engaging story...just should have not had We Stand on Guard be the last comic I had read so long ago...might have been 5 stars :D