Criminal Steals Two Eisner Nominations!

Marvel Comics‘ Icon imprint is pleased to announce Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ acclaimed series CRIMINAL has received two prestigious Eisner Award nominations, for Best Writer and Best New Series. “Doing anything outside the norm in the US comics market can be extremely difficult, so I’m really pleased to see the Eisners recognize our hard work. We put our blood and sweat into every issue, and I’m very proud of what Sean and I have done so far, building our world of criminals, con men, and bad habits,” said Brubaker.

Coming on the heels of the Eisner announcement, Criminal‘s first trade collection will debut on May 9th, so fans who’ve heard the buzz but have been unable to find the early issues can get the entire first arc, COWARD, under one cover. “These nominations really couldn’t have come at a better time, since the trade is literally at the printer, and will soon be in stores,” said Brubaker. “Lately, it seems like it’s one good thing after another for Criminal. Some of it I can’t discuss yet, but we did secure a foreign publishing deal that will see the book released in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, among other regions. And just last week, we had a great write-up in Entertainment Weekly.” In fact, Entertainment Weekly‘s advance review of the Coward trade, proclaimed, “with an assist from Phillips’ noir-kissed art, Brubaker proves a wordsmith of rare restraint, fine-tuning a well-worn genre.” The trade also includes an introduction by Emmy-Award winner Tom Fontana, creator of acclaimed TV shows, Homicide: Life on the Streets, and OZ.

Also debuting in May is the next Criminal story-arc, LAWLESS, which begins in issue 6, on sale May 23rd. Brubaker describes the story this way, “It’s about a guy who comes home after a long time away, to find the truth about the death of his brother, who was a lowlife criminal, and a bad guy, but still, someone’s brother. It’s a meditation on violence, in some ways, and on brotherhood and family. And it’s hands down the most brutal and unflinching thing I’ve ever written.”

So, if you haven’t checked out this acclaimed and now award-nominated series, May is the time to start. “Any fan of my work on Cap or Daredevil, or any of the books I did at DC, like Gotham Central or Sleeper that hasn’t been buying Criminal should really jump onboard. This is the book I was born to write, and Sean’s doing the best art of his career,” says Brubaker.

CRIMINAL VOLUME 1: COWARD (MAR072132)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Art & Cover by SEAN PHILLIPS
128 PGS/Mature Content … $14.99
On-Sale 5/2/07

CRIMINAL #6 (MAR072131)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Art & Cover by SEAN PHILLIPS
32 PGS/Mature Content/No Ads … $2.99
FOC 5/3, On-Sale 5/23/07

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