Criminal #7

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips bring their razor-sharp noir sensibility to Criminal: Wrong Time Wrong Place, a 2016 Image Comics volume that radiates quiet dread from its very cover. Sean Phillips renders a lone figure gripping a steering wheel, eyes fixed ahead with a wary, hunted intensity — all rendered in a moody two-tone purple palette that feels equal parts stylish and unsettling. If you're drawn to crime fiction that trusts its atmosphere to do the heavy lifting, this one's hard to put down even before you open it.