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Best Crime Comic Book Series

Don't let the cartoons fool you; the best crime comic book series feature villains that mean serious harm.

By Rachel G. DavidPublished 7 years ago 8 min read
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There's something about comic books that tends to make them seem wholesome–maybe its the colorful cartoons, or the fact that superhero comics almost always end up with a happy resolution, or perhaps it's just the automatic association my brain makes between comics and adolescence. But make no mistake–if you take out the superheroes from the worlds that they occupy, the storylines can indeed be incredibly twisted, dark and violent. Some of the best crime comic book series draw upon real life crime stories, or works from other media and portray villains that mean serious harm.

Ballistic by Adam Egypt Mortimer

Illustration by Darick Robertson

Repo City State is the product of an ecological apocalypse, now "a reclaimed trash island built entirely from DNA-based, living technology with bad attitudes." Butch is an AC repairman that glorifies a life of crime, so who better to partner with other than his best friend, a genetically modified firearm (aptly named Gun) with a drug problem (as well as a swearing problem). Author Adam Egypt Mortimer and artist Darick Robertson develop this twisted plot in sci-fi crime comic Ballistic, which follows Butch and Gun's attempts to catapult Butch to new criminal heights and become the deviant mastermind he never was. Beyond telling a great story (which incorporates a flesh-eating porn virus), accompanied with Robertson's similarly imaginative illustrations, with Ballistic Mortimer reframes (and for these purposes, debunks) the notion that 'guns don't kill people'–in this world, both guns and people kill people.

Follow the writer @adamegypt

Read more about Adam Egypt Mortimer.

100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello

Agent Graves is a man who makes peoples' wishes come true in the most messed up of ways; he provides people who've been wronged with a briefcase with an untraceable gun and 100 rounds of ammunition, and complete immunity for anything they choose to do with these items. In Brian Azzarello's crime comic series 100 Bullets, everything we might think about human nature and human decency is challenged as we watch what each of Agent Grave's "clients" will do when offered the opportunity to take ultimate revenge on someone who has wronged them. Over the course of five books and 100 issues, Azzarello paints the worst and the best of humankind. More important, perhaps, than whether or not they will go through with murder, and even whether or not Grave's promise of immunity is accurate, is the underlying mystery of what incentive the mysterious Agent has to the hell would give them this opportunity in the first place?

Follow the author @brianazzarello

Read more by Brian Azzarello.

The Beauty by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley

Illustration by Jeremy Haun

It's not a crime to get sick, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything criminal going on. In the world of The Beauty, the only requirement to achieve physical perfection is to voluntarily contract an STD whose side effect is to make this very thing happen. In a superficial, beauty-obsessed society, to trade health for beauty is a no-brainer. But as per The Beauty, a crime comic series by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, there's a downside to getting beautiful, beyond the obvious, and two detectives must prove, then convince everyone that the harm is indeed far worse than anyone thinks.

Read more by Jeremy Haun, and follow the author @jerhaun

Read more by Jason A. Hurley, and follow the author @jasonahurley

Alias by Brian Michael Bendis

Illustration by Michael Gaydos

A disgruntled ex-superheroine seeks vengeance; Jessica Jones was once a costumed savior herself, but ultimately didn't have what it takes to make it in the Marvel Universe. While she once fraternized with the likes of Supergirl and Wonderwoman, now she's back among mere mortals, a downtrodden alcoholic working as a private-investigator. Alias, by author Brian Michael Bendis and illustrator Michael Gaydos, is the superhero story we didn't know we wanted–and the one upon which the very popular Jessica JonesTV series (available on Netflix) is based. The crime comic book series documents Jessica's response to finding out a destructive secret regarding the hidden identify of a certain famed superheroes. The series is the story of what happens when the mighty fall; Jessica Jones is after revenge and as a result, people are after Jessica Jones.

Follow the author @BrianMBendis

Read more by Brian Michael Bendis.

4 Kids Walk Into A Bank by Matthew Rosenberg

Illustration Courtesy of Matthew Rosenberg

Eleven-year-old Paige and her three best friends have to grow up real fast when their make-believe world of playing 'good guys versus bad guys' escalates to a chance at committing crime of the literal variety. A group of seedy-looking men pay Paige's father a visit demanding his help in an upcoming bank heist, and Paige and her friends struggle to make sense of things.

A complicated series of events eventually leaves the young foursome with a choice in this matter; in Paige's mind, it's the only choice.The way she's it, at least from her childlike perspective, she and her friends must commit bank robbery in order to save her father from a terrible fate. Crime comic series 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank by Matthew Rosenberg is a comic about kids, but is certainly not for them.

Follow the author @AshcanPress

Read more by Matthew Rosenberg.

Absolution by Christos Gage

In the business of comic book vigilante justice, it's often assumed that the bad guy deserves the fate the superhero inflicts upon him. Christos Gage reimagines this presumption in his crime comic series Absolution, a world in which superheroes comprise the government-sanctioned police force. Gage's series sees Superhero John Dusk unravel on the job, after seeing one too many guilty criminals walk free. When one murderer dies under his watch, Dusk feels good about it, and soon enough he's on the warpath to remove any and all dangerous villains he comes across on his beat. Comic book vigilante justice, it turns out, becomes questionable when the justice is done 'on the books'.

Follow the author @Christosgage

Read more by Christopher Gage.

Big Man Plans by Eric Powell and Tim Wiesch

Illustration by Eric Powell

Big Man, an ironic reference to his dwarfism, was bullied relentlessly as a kid; now, army training has left him "the tiniest version of death." Big Man comes back from the Vietnam War seething and out for revenge on those who made his life hell. Big Man Plans is a crime comic by authors Eric Powell (the creator of Goon) and Tim Wiesch. Readers will root for Big Man, the killing machine, as he goes about "getting rage and respect" as he questions whether revenge is worth the cost.

Read more by Eric Powell and follow the author @goonguy

Read more by Tim Wiesch and follow the author @makeawiesch

Beautiful Creatures: The Manga by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Illustration by Cassandra Jean

Ethan Wate is wiling away his high school years in a small town in the South, and Lena Duchannes is the most exciting thing to grace the hallways for a long time. In fact, he's been expecting this girl, whose incidentally been haunting his dreams as of late. All Ethan wants to do is figure Lena out, but that's the very thing she's hell-bent on preventing, for she must keep hidden both her own powers as well as her dark family secrets. In Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's Beautiful Creatures: The Manga, Ethan tries relentlessly to identify the connection between himself and this unknown beautiful creature, and Lena does everything she can to stop him. But, we all know that most secrets cannot stay hidden forever and in this crime comic series, they certainly won't. Note that this graphic novel is an adaptation of the authors' original Beautiful Creatures (the first in The Caster Chronicles book series), but the slightly abridged prose is well made up for by artist Cassandra Jean's meticulous illustrations.

Read more by Kami Garcia, and follow the author @kamigarcia

Read more by Margaret Stohl, and follow the author @mstohl

Killogy by Alan Robert

The unlikely star-studded premise of this crime comic book series could only be the work of a industry-blending star himself. Killogy is the work of comic writer Alan Robert, who doubles as the bassist and songwriter for alternative metal band Life of Agony. His graphic novel series features three celebrity-inspired characters–Goodfella's Frank Vincent, the Ramones' drummer Marky Ramone and Heroes actress Brea Grant–three murderers who find themselves in the same jail cell. There is plenty of material to drive the plot forward, plenty of absurd interactions to be had between such discrepant individuals; throughout the Killogy crime comic series we'll get a look into each characters' backstory, the crime they committed, and what secrets they might be hiding.

Follow the author @arobert

Read more by Alan Robert.

Bedlam by Nick Spencer

As a massive Dexter fan, I am forever fascinated with characters that demonstrate the conflicting traits of evil inclination and a well-calibrated moral compass. The truth is that no one is better suited to fight crime than someone who understands the mindset of a criminal, someone with dark human impulses that can tackle a threat from an insider's perspective, so to speak. This is the premise of Nick Spencer's crime comic series Bedlam; twisted, murderous maniac Madder Red (think the Joker) used to terrorize the titular city with vicious bouts of serial killing but has since been reformed into an upright citizen named Fillmore Press.

When a wave of horrendous murders overcomes the city, Fillmore's former enemy–law enforcement–seek his special skills and twisted mind to help them catch the perpetrator. Fillmore is rehabilitated from his past crimes, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some Madder Red in him, and he uses his inner-darkness to stop the violence, because to catch a serial killer, one must think like a serial killer. As Spencer's crime comic story unfolds, Fillmore puts evil to good use, but a fellow detective on the case can't help but wonder whether Fillmore/Madder Red has truly repented, or if he's just a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Follow the author @nickspencer

Read more by Nick Spencer.

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About the Creator

Rachel G. David

Head of Business Development @ Creatd (Nasdaq: CRTD)

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