While comic fans may think of superheroes when considering Ed Brubaker’s work within a larger ‘universe’ or franchise, the Criminal series from Image Comics has taken on a life of its own, expanding into more and more stories exploring the reality of small-time, working class criminality. By now Brubaker and Sean Phillips have established Criminal as one of the most reliable sources of simmering noir storytelling–and Criminal #8 looks to be no exception.

After Criminal #7 offered readers a look at the assembling heist from the perspective of Ricky Lawless, our exclusive preview of the next issue returns to the adults preparing the job. Not to Teeg, Ricky’s father, but to Jane, the enigmatic woman who has claimed Teeg’s interest. But don’t worry: from the sound of Brubaker’s tease for the coming conflict, the previous issue’s final note of Ricky Lawson in search of a handgun hasn’t been forgotten.

As proof that no character is without their own grounded, relatable, and more or less tragic reality, a step into Jane’s perspective shows her to be carrying far more experience and trauma than either Teeg or Ricky seem to have noticed. But readers hoping that the heist at the heart of this “Cruel Summer” story would actually be a success (for the sake of the children, at the very least) may want to prepare themselves for some turbulence. Things may still seem to be going perfectly to plan… but Jane knows the feeling of waiting for a bomb to drop too well to ignore it now. “This is the issue where all the strands of this epic heist story start to come together, where we see the storyline of the adults and their children colliding in a really messed up and violent way, and that ratchets up the tension in a big way,” says Brubaker. “I can’t wait for CRIMINAL readers to see what’s coming next.” Readers can find the preview images for Criminal #8 below:

The full issue of Criminal #8 will arrive this Wednesday. Interested readers can find the full credits and plot synopsis for Criminal #8 below:

  • CRIMINAL #8 Released on: September 25th, 2019 Written by: Ed Brubaker Art by: Jacob Phillips, Sean Phillips Cover Art by: Sean Phillips Teeg Lawless is on his way to living the high life, planning the kind of score you can retire on… but only if nothing goes wrong. The story of the last days of series favorite Teeg Lawless continues as BRUBAKER and PHILLIPS continue to deliver the best monthly comic on the market! And as always, CRIMINAL contains back page art and articles only found in the single issues.

Criminal #8 will be available on September 25th from your local comic book shop, or direct from Image Comics.

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