Brubaker and Philips are back with a new Criminal book! All is right with the world again!

Seriously though, this team is the best team in comics. Period. That’s just facts. It has been a bit since the last Criminal book as this team has done other projects (including work on the soon to be new Amazon Prime show of Criminal), but they have not lost their stride. The Knives continue to show why the team and Criminal remain THE standard for this genre. If you’ve been a Criminal fan before, then get ready to jump back in the world you are familiar with that has a cast of characters you already love or love to hate. If you are a new reader, then buckle up for the best graphic novel of 2025 and a world you’ll never want to leave.

Thanks to Image Comics for this ARC!

God, I love Ed Brubaker. I love reading noir where I don't have to worry that the women will be big-chested but flat on personality, or forever the worst (looking at you, Miller).

Criminal is back! And this time, we get a story that is mainly told in vignettes, which is great because it means it's set you up for brief flashbacks without feeling like the flow is interrupted. In this case, it's Jacob and Angie, and modern-day(!), with some other familiar faces.

Not going to spoil the story, but Criminal has always cared about how the past affects the present, and that's very much on display here in The Knives.

God, I love Criminal.

The Knives, the first new Criminal story in a long while tells three intertwining stories about three very disparate characters.
Ed Brubaker is in fine form with this book. The stories all move along well and leave you rooting for the bad guy. I couldn’t wait to get back to the book to see where it was going to go.
The art of Sean Phillips is on point, as always. Dark and moody with many noir elements. I honestly couldn’t think of an artist I’d like more on this book.
If you’ve read Criminal in the past, you know what you’re getting into. Hard and fast action that doesn’t let up.
If you’re new to Criminal, walk into the Undertow and head for the bar. Sit back and relax and enjoy a few stories with your pint.

I only recently discovered the works of Brubaker and Phillips and have very much enjoyed them. This has continued that trend and I'll be diving further into the back catalogue over time.

Not as much of a noir vibe as the others I've previously read but still hugely enjoyable and the artwork is top notch.

If anyone has read him and enjoyed his work before then this will not let you down and if you've not read him before this is as good a place as any to start.

Brubaker and Phillips return to Criminal and bring their perfect “A” game with them as this graphic novel absolutely sizzles with pure, dark neo-noir energy that brings back familiar characters and sets the stage for the next era of the series.

Special Thanks to Image Comics and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

Another great read from Ed Brubaker. His comics never disappoints. Can't wait to read his next book. #TheKnivesACriminalBook #NetGalley

A very quick read. Very enjoyable for fans of noir and crime mystery comics. The art is very complimentary to the story.

Phillips, Phillips, and Brubaker craft another incredible tale in the Criminal-universe. Tying in previous
Volumes and fleshing out previous characters in a volume that can be read as a standalone, or enrich then previous books.
Sean Phillips art is breathtaking as always. Jacob Phillips colours are getting better with each volume. Ed Brubaker is still one of the top writers in comics. Well worth the read.

Fantastic return to form for Brubaker and Phillips. Criminal continues to set the standard for crime comics. No one draws doomed, damaged characters quite like Phillips and Brubaker continues to mine noir as black as night. Bravo!

The Knives: A Criminal Book, a gripping standalone noir by the award-winning duo of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips, delivers a dark, gritty, action-packed and emotional tale.

Cartoonist Jacob Kurtz goes to Hollywood in the era of peak TV to work on an adaptation of his comic strip, only to find himself caught up in the life of his aging aunt and the vultures circling her estate. Angie was raised at the Undertow, but now everything she loves has been taken from her. She's on the streets with vengeance on her mind, her eyes set on the city's kingpin. And finally, Tracy Lawless is home from the Special Forces, finally a civilian again, but he's in bad shape and this city has always brought out the worst in him.

The Knives is an atmospheric noir with greed, ambition, heartbreak, and family ties. Once again, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips show us why they are among the best creators in comics, delivering a gripping standalone story within their Criminal universe. This gritty and dark yet packed with heart story is beautifully told by Brubaker and stunningly illustrated by Phillips, creating a visual and emotional reading experience. The story strikes the perfect balance of tension, action, and emotional depth.

As someone who tends to lean towards single-issue comics, I don't typically navigate towards graphic novels, but when this duo teams up to craft a tale it becomes a must-read. The Knives is a story that needed this full-length, 200+ page format to thrive. The multiple storylines that unfold separately, eventually converging would feel frustrating in a monthly floppy comic, but works absolutely seamlessly in this graphic novel.

The Knives: A Criminal Book will undoubtedly hit hard for those fans of the Criminal series, but it also stands strong as a standalone story for anyone looking for a stellar noir read. Though the story features characters and elements typical to Criminal comics, they enhance the story for those fans of the series rather than distract from the plot. Even if this is your first comic in the Brubaker and Phillips Criminal world, this comic hits hard. The Knives a must-read crime comic.

It seemed impossible that this was the first Criminal book in five years, but I suppose that's partly that time's broken since the Event, and partly that there's been a steady stream of other Brubaker and Phillips comics, all of which tend to be variations on similar noir territory. We open behind the scenes of the TV adaptation of comic-within-a-comic Frank Kafka, Private Eye, and even before the afterword it's obvious that this is inspired by Brubaker's own Hollywood experience, with Criminal itself coming soon on Prime. But if you're hoping for the outrageous insights of a Fortune & Glory, you're out of luck; this is the usual observations on the industry's superficiality, deviousness, and adaptations throwing out everything that made the original interesting in the first place. Similarly, the next strand of the story presents us with the shocking news that the US healthcare system is a bit fucked! And apparently lives of crime tend to end badly unless you're at the top of the tree – who knew? As for the overarching plot...well, I'm pretty sure I would have seen it coming even if it hadn't also been the core of a detective show I watched last night, but the fact that it was speaks volumes too. Still, in amongst the clichés there's enough heart and poignancy to these schmucks, rogues and alloys of the two that I keep reading, even if I never altogether understand the series' staggering popularity.

(Netgalley ARC)

a new criminal book??! I am in. this book covers a few decades with interlonking stoires and I loved it. The characters, the story, the art. I loved it all.
4.5 rounded up

Despite enjoying much of Brubaker's output, I always found most of the Criminal books to be overrated. This is not the case with The Knives. The three stories, featuring familiar faces, wind together through the barely hidden underworld, culminating in dark misdeeds.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Image Comics and have a lot of respect for Brubaker's work, so I absolutely jumped at the chance of getting my hands on this.

I was not familiar with the CRIMINAL series before reading this, but that didn't impact the enjoyment of this graphic novel.

The Knives contains a collection of interconnected stories and tangents following a comic artist turned almost Hollywood writer, his old, rich aunt, an orphan and cat burglar who sleeps on his couch, and an old friend with military training and penchant for violence as they survive in LA among organised and disorganised crime.

The script is incredibly tight and well written. I was locked in and felt like I was watching an indie movie.

The art isn't my favourite style, but it absolutely works for the story being told.

There's not much to say beyond this being an absolutely solid and enjoyable read that makes me in intrigued to check out more of this series.

Well, it feels a little awkward reading this knowing Brubaker is working on a TV show, since the first whole story deals with this issue, and things do NOT end well.
It's a lovely addition to the Criminal collection, although I probably should have refreshed my memory on who everyone is to get the most out of it.
I was really pleased to see that Jacob Phillips seems to have got over his pink phase of colouring everything pink. There was only minimal pink here, and the whole colour palette felt cohesive and very Criminal-ish (although it has definitely migrated to a more pastel look since he took over).
The stories were less violent than previously, but still managed to be gritty and harsh as expected. Recommended for Criminal fans.

An Excellently Dark Noir!

Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips are the dynamic duo that everyone should read! Not only are their stories gritty and dark, but they are also action-packed and full of heart! The Knives is an out-of-this-world epic! Following several characters whose lives slowly and surely intertwine, I was instantly hooked. The characters come to life with vibrant illustrations, and the unique style draws your eyes to every detail on the page. And the dark themes explored are exactly what you would expect from this duo at their best! Run, don't walk to grab your copy of the exceptional return to the Criminal Universe!

Brubacker & Phillips did what they do best, writing noir drama about desperate characters, and as usual, I loved every page of it.
It's beautiful, it's human, and it's so well told.
To me, it's a must read.
Thank you so much Image Comics for this ARC!

When knives come out, someone is bound to get cut. The Knives: A Criminal Book revisits the lives' of three of the series characters bringing them much closer to the present age instead of the 70s noir of much of the rest of the series.

The Knives is not three separate tales, as it was focused on a specific neighborhood, it very much stays within the family. The book opens with cartoonist and former illegal id maker Jacob Kurtz off in Hollywood when one of his comic strips gets bought up as a streaming show. While he at first struggles to adjust, he falls into the life, aside from escapes to visit with his elderly aunt who owns a large estate that is sought by many. Life continues and the status quo returns. Back in the city, Angie, a young woman who has lost just about everyone she has ever known, and raised in the bar the Undertow tries to make a life on her own. Our final character, Tracy Lawless is back from war struggling to readjust trying to find a place he can be himself.

All three characters are known to each other and often interact. They're all damaged in various ways, but pull together. And of course there is blood, poor decisions and costly mistakes.

As has been the case of other Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips works, the art is realistic with a dark and gritty feel to it.

Recommended to readers of true crime, well crafted stories or the costs of pursing dreams.

Last week I was only able to review the first 140pp of this, the longest "Criminal" book from this gang. It ended at a great cliffhanging beat, but without the reappearance of a major player in that saga, Tracey Lawless. To some extent his belated arrival both helps the book (with a Lawless man around it's going to have the noirish vengeance and fisticuffs you'd expect) and hinders it (before his arrival this is peopled by guys you might meet on the American street; a Lawless is not a regular Jo, and his stereotypical, genrefied nature therefore kind of takes this further into pulpy fiction).

Before he crops up, what we get is not heavy on the crime activity, for sure. What there is is a story of a guy who had a minor hit crime comic, who gets taken to Hollywood and is supposed to be a cog in the wheel of the TV version – turns out they make him out to be as useful as an umbrella jammed in between the gears. We also get some formative episodes for a young lass who – having been orphaned already – sees the man who replaced both her parents waste away to cancer. She's the criminal as things stand at the halfway mark – but then the stories do what they must, and intertwine, Tracey's bit-part included.

This can be powerful stuff – the simplicity and clarity of the narration once again to the fore, and the fairly likeable characters clearly in a right mess certainly not exclusively of their making. It is of course the four star read the preview led me to expect, and to repeat if you welcome the Lawless presence more than me you'll probably rate this higher. For me, I actually preferred the first two thirds, without him, where the people were commoners such as you and me, and sharing time with them was much more interesting than the rebellious, bruised killer type shtick. That chunk was so much closer to being the 'stand-alone' this is dressed as, for it didn't have to feature as part of this franchise. The news the series is being extended further is not bad news at all, of course, and not being fully dripping in Lawless means this is a great jumping-on point. So I'll definitely be returning, but a part of me will remember this as stopping at said cliffhanger.

Alright, listen up, because it feels fucking GREAT to be back in the Criminal universe! Brubaker and that goddamn genius Sean Phillips have delivered another killer addition to one of the best crime series ever.

This time around, we're thrown into the lives of two fascinating characters. First up is Jacob, a comic artist who heads to Hollywood with dreams of his TV show blowing up, but things predictably go sideways and get real messy. Then we've got Ang, a girl who's been through the wringer and is just trying to pick up the damn pieces.

Maybe it's been too long since I dove into a Criminal book, but that surprise ending seriously kicked this story up a notch for me. The criminal element doesn't even rear its ugly head until maybe the last third, but when it does, it's bloody, messy, and nasty as hell – just the way I like this series. And the ending? Fucking fantastic, tying into a bunch of other characters we know and love.

My only gripes? I felt like it wandered a bit in the middle, and that whole "sleeping with this chick" subplot felt kind of pointless. Not really sure what the hell happened there.

Overall, though, this is a seriously fucking good 4 out of 5. It's a brutal reminder of why this series is so damn good.