Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick

by Matt Fraction

[inlibrisveritas]

So if you haven’t guessed this is not your normal run of the mill graphic novel…it’s weird and it stands out. It also has a high focus on sex, which I’ll be honest was interesting at first and then became kind of boring after a while. Sex Criminals has a lot of potential but I think in the end it’s just not for me.

Our story follows Suzie, a woman who can stop time when she has an orgasm. After discovering this on accident she has searched her entire life to find someone who understood what was happening to her, and she finally finds that in Jon. I liked Suzie for the most part, she’s sort of geeky and isn’t the best at socializing. However once Jon is introduce I think her personality when out the window in place of crazy places and sex. Jon has done much of the same as Suzie, including the experimentation and soul searching…but one thing that differs is his desire to do highly inappropriate things during the time freeze. It’s sort of funny at first, and totally understandable…but then it sort of becomes stupid as you realize he’s still doing this petty stuff as an adult. I really loved the idea of time freezing and them robbing banks, and we do get some of that mixed in with how their relationship develops as they plan things out. I’ll just be honest and say that I became extremely bored with it, and some of the things I found funny previously just didn’t pan out for me again.

I also wasn’t fond of the art style and felt the faces changed shape/features. I’m sort of picky when it comes to comic book art, which is a flaw of mine, so this one just didn’t meet my standards of appealing artwork.

Overall it’s a unique concept that might be better read in single issues instead of full volumes. I personally will not be continuing this series, but if you enjoy reading graphic novels that are way outside of the box then go for it!