Criminal #2

The second chapter of "Coward" arrives with a cover that puts the tension on full display — a red-drenched collage of hard faces stares back at you, featuring a sharp-eyed woman in the foreground, a weathered man looming large behind her, and two more grim figures to the right, all framed against police cruisers, a tactical vehicle, and a gloved hand gripping an automatic weapon below. Sean Phillips renders this ensemble of apparent criminals and law enforcement with a moody, cinematic intensity that feels pulled straight from a 2006 crime thriller. Ed Brubaker and Phillips were doing some of their most compelling work together in this series, and this issue's cover makes a strong case for why Criminal demanded attention from crime fiction fans.