SEX CRIMINALS #19

Writer: Matt Fraction

Artist: Chip Zdarsky

Publisher: Image Comics

I’m just gonna come right out and say that I am hopeless damn romantic, and stupidly in love with Jon in this comic, and aspire to be as ballsy as Suzie is about what she wants and how she goes for it. This is the long way around to say that I really hate it when she and Jon are fighting, but she’s got a legitimate beef with him from the last issue and I’m really glad to see that Matt Fraction is following his story through all of its logical paces. Too many rom-com writers tend to paper over disagreements or conflicts between their paired-off couples, unless the drama is manufactured for its own sake. Fraction’s better than that, and it’s part of what keeps me coming back to a story that can be difficult to follow at times.

Speaking of hard to follow, it does appear that Fraction is pulling many of his narrative threads into something that resembles a cohesive whole. We see characters in this issue that we haven’t in quite awhile, including the asexual girl who appears to work for a giant conglomo-corp business that seems to be intent on cementing its reputation as  a destroyer of all things good and wholesome, like internet privacy and the right to hang out in “The Quiet” for however long you want.

Again in this issue, Chip Zdarsky’s art is giving me life in ways I never expected. I loved the goofy name drawn onto the payphone cubicle, as well as the ridiculous set of the “Hamilton”/“Spiderman: Turn On The Dark” parody that Jon’s acting in. I also love that Jon’s conscience appears to be following him around in the form of the big goofy Hulk knockoff from the aforementioned show. Also, the way he draws the speech bubbles in the restaurant during the therapist’s first date with Jazmine was charmingly meta. It may be the first time I’ve seen a piece of fiction break the fourth wall without having a character address the audience overtly.

The one curveball I got in this issue that I’m surprised I hadn’t seen coming (given the subject matter) was the 8-panel page buried at the end of the letters column. I won’t spoil anything, but heads up kids - this last page of every Sex Criminals is rapidly becoming the printed comic equivalent of  the  Marvel movie post-credit scene. And this bit could very well be hinting at where the book intends to go after all the junk with Kegelface gets resolved. I’ll be interested to see what Fraction and Zdarsky have to say about the issues it raises.