Black to the Movies by Michael Stradford

And believe it or not, I could not find any reference on the Internet that had an index of these essays. But with nearly 15 years worth of issues, it was not easy to figure out which comic contained that essay. The essays are always fascinating reading, but I found that many years later I would see a movie on Turner Classic Movies and remember that I had read an essay related to it in one of the comic books. They have continued through the latest volume of Criminal, which wrapped up in early 2020. The essays followed to other books created by Brubaker and Phillips, changing topic to match the subject matter of the title, including supernatural cults ( Fatale), vigilante tales ( Kill or Be Killed), old Hollywood ( The Fade Out), and super-powered crime pulp ( Incognito). The essays are written by a revolving cast of authors and include illustrations of the subject by title artist Sean Phillips. To provide extra value for readers buying the single issues rather than waiting for the collections, most of the comics contain two to three-page essays in the back pages that discuss the film noir and other crime movies and books which influenced their series. The title won the Eisner Award for Best New Series and Best Writer in 2007. It followed the interwoven stories of various street-level criminals and other desperate characters. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips created the Criminal comic book title, first published under Marvel Comics’ creator-owned Icon imprint and then by Image Comics.

Black to the Movies by Michael Stradford