Scan barcode
A review by stadkison
Reckless by Ed Brubaker
5.0
Bomb diggity that’s the stuff.
I knew Brubaker was a pulp novel guy, and Too Old To Die Young surprised me with his good politics. But this hit me on all cylinders. Ethan Reckless is a former FBI undercover agent investigating radical hippies turned fixer-for-hire after he’s injured in an explosion. But the past isn’t through with him in this ‘80s explosion of CIA drug plots and old flames.
Sean Phillips has really found his groove colored by Jacob Phillips. The colors wash together like a faded film, and you can feel the adult tiredness in all his characters. He finds ways to imbue driving through LA and SoCal into beautiful moments of pause, punctuated only by Brubaker’s stellar narration.
True of most great pulp, the plot gives you the adrenaline but the real value is in the character study. The broken old men that still have just enough morality that the sins of their past weigh on them, but not enough to change. I can’t wait for more Reckless.
The format is one I wish more comics would adopt as well. I get why serialization is needed for most, but given the nearly 20 or older year trend of writing for the trade, dropping several completed graphic novels in a year feels like a godsend. Indie comix should take notice.
I knew Brubaker was a pulp novel guy, and Too Old To Die Young surprised me with his good politics. But this hit me on all cylinders. Ethan Reckless is a former FBI undercover agent investigating radical hippies turned fixer-for-hire after he’s injured in an explosion. But the past isn’t through with him in this ‘80s explosion of CIA drug plots and old flames.
Sean Phillips has really found his groove colored by Jacob Phillips. The colors wash together like a faded film, and you can feel the adult tiredness in all his characters. He finds ways to imbue driving through LA and SoCal into beautiful moments of pause, punctuated only by Brubaker’s stellar narration.
True of most great pulp, the plot gives you the adrenaline but the real value is in the character study. The broken old men that still have just enough morality that the sins of their past weigh on them, but not enough to change. I can’t wait for more Reckless.
The format is one I wish more comics would adopt as well. I get why serialization is needed for most, but given the nearly 20 or older year trend of writing for the trade, dropping several completed graphic novels in a year feels like a godsend. Indie comix should take notice.