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SPOILER ALERT!

Started the Omnibus yesterday and finished off today. 24 issues.
It's been a long time since I read 24 straight issues of anything.
Nuff said!

Starting where I left off yesterday:

The next tale after The Devil on Cell Block D, is a prelude to the next extended story arc.
It's called, The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson, and reveals Foggy's real fate from the first story arc. I doubt it came as any great surprise to anyone that he wasn't really dead. Brubaker telegraphed that reveal too far in advance.

Foggy is one of those perennial Marvel supporting characters, like Aunt May, who have long outlived their usefulness and interest. I would've preferred if he had gotten shived in prison and stayed dead because even though, his "resurrection" was no real surprise, it did detract a bit from the prison tale.
At least Brubaker didn't drag out his "death" to long, which would've made his inevitable return even more of a cop-out.
Despite my disappointment at Foggy's return, this issue contains some strong characterisation and probably did more to flesh out Foggy's character than the past 40 years of continuity.

Re. Matt's likeability as a character.
I like him fine. In many ways, he is one of the very few genuinely adult characters in mainstream Marvel comics, with all the foibles, failings and inconsistencies we all suffer from. But through it all, there is a fierce sense of justice and a need to protect.
And has any other character had so many gorgeous girlfriends as Matt; the Black Widow, Elektra, Typhoid Mary, Milla and Lily Lucca. And this for a blind guy. He is also one of the few superheroes who has a convincing sex life. Him and Green Arrow.

Btw, I also really sympathised and liked the protagonist in Sleeper, a good man trapped in a bad situation and trying desperately to get out. Who hasn't been there?
Nevertheless, I don't find any of the main characters of Criminal sympathetic, which is why even though I like it fine, it doesn't resonate as much with me as Brubaker's other work.
And while, we're on the subject of Brubaker's other work, check out Gotham Central, which also features artwork by the great Micheal Lark.
Here's a free review.

We'll return to our originally scheduled review tomorrow so stay tuned.

Gotham Central: The Quick and the Dead
Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark & Stefano Guadiano

Another fine addition to this hard-hitting, gritty police series, reminiscent of good cop shows like Hill Street Blues and NYPD. Human and ground level. I never thought 4 colour people in plain clothes could be so interesting and engaging.
Rucka and Lark do a sterling job of portraying the street level crime and grime of Gotham's urban streets, effortlessly incorporating elements from the Batman mythos (include the BIG Bat himself) without dispelling the carefully woven enchantment.
Only a minor complaint, that the portrayal of Dr Alchemy was too dirivative of Hannibal Lector. No biggie though.

If you dig noir and cops and a healthy dollop of realism, topped off with a bit of superheroics, you'll love this.
And if you like this, I recommend an old series from Vertigo about a crime scene reporter, the title of which escapes me at present. Great recommendation, eh? It was by Brubaker and Lark anyway so track it down.
And while you're at it find a copy of Terminial City by Dean Motter and Lark, it's weird and different.

Gotham Central Vol. 5: Dead Robin tpb (DC Comics)
by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Kano & Steve Gaudiano

This series is great, hard-bitten, compelling storytelling. Realistic, grim, intense cop stories against the backdrop of a Gotham City in which the Batman populates the shadows as an elusive but omnipresent wrath and his rogues gallery fill the darkness with insanity and depravity.

This is the Gotham Central supporting cast meets Hill Street Blues and NYPD. A large ensemble cast of believable characters, some likeable, some despicable and others merely human.

Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker do a superb job of instilling the series with realism and true-to-life drama without resorting to excessive violence or profanity.
These detectives live and breathe, which makes it easier to relate to than some spandex-clad, super-thyroid superhero (or at least it should) and subsequently the dramatic events that befall them have greater resonance.

This collection actually contains two stories which emotionally moved me and - at the risk of sounding overly macho - I don't move easy.
One story takes place during the recent "Crisis" and it could've easily been the usual, obligatory, waste-of-time crossover chapter but Rucka & Brubaker managed to give the dimension-spanning (ho-hum) disaster a human dimension by focussing on one of the detectives as he tries desperately to get home to his family through a Gotham City that has gone to hell. His dispair and concern for his family are effectively and movingly portrayed. Great, compelling stuff.

I don't want to give too much away but another story relates the death and aftermath of one of the main characters. The death is quick, unexpected and brutal like in real life. No big build-up, no piercing violins, no last gasp or words, just sudden and irrevocable. It is one of the most powerful deaths I can remember in comics, because it is so realistic. The aftermath of mourning and rage is also deftly dealt with. Rucka may not be a Chris Claremont but he certainly knows how to write recognisable, powerful human emotions.

This ain't yer father's Batman by any stretch of the imagination. One of the most interesting lead characters, Rene Montoya, just happens to be a lesbian, an aspect of her character which is portrayed realistically and sensitively. The best part of it is though is that her being lesbian doesn't define her. She is simply a character who happens to be a lesbian. It is not sensationalistic or anything. That's classy writing folks.

The artwork by Kano and Steve Gaudino suits the strip to a T, injecting the mag with a gritty, noir vibe, which gives it a certain street credibility. They also show true facility in portraying the myriad of subtle emotions necessary to make a series like this work.

As crime noir, I find this series even more successful than Brubaker's Criminal. It is more fully conceived and has characters you can relate to, which is the key. If you don't care for the characters you can't invest in them emotionally and then there is not drama or tension.
DC is to be commended for committing to this series as long as they did.
There should be more comics like this.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeed, while I'm at it, I may as well throw in my Criminal review.
It would be a crime (ugh) to deprive you of it.

Criminal: Coward tpb
by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips

IMHO Brubaker and Philips produced one of the best series since the turn of the Millennium with Sleeper over at DC/Wildstorm. It was hard-hitting, raw, dark and gritty but without being gratuitously violent and nihilism, which is my main gripe with writers like Garth Ennis and (to a lesser degree) Mark Millar.

I was really looking forward to their first foray at Marvel's creator-owned imprint, Icon, and as much as I enjoyed it, it falls way short of the promise of Sleeper.

This story is just as gritty as Sleeper and even more realistic because there is nary a spandex-clad sooperhero in sight and that may just be part of the problem.
The writing and art is high calibre and Philips deserves special praise for his naturalistic looking work, which perfectly fits Criminal's urban milieu.
The story is fast-paced and entertaining even though it's a fairly traditional robbery-goes-tits-up scenario with the usual double-crosses and intrigue.
The main trouble for me at least is that Brubaker didn't make the protagonists come alive enough for me so I wasn't emotionally invested enough in them to care one way or the other what happens so in the end I felt vaguely cheated and deflated. It all seemed pretty anti-climatic.

I guess I was just expecting a little too much from Brubaker & Philips. Nevertheless, if you're a lover of sophisticated comics for adults, this is for you. Even average Brubaker & Philips is still heads and shoulders above most of the mediocre !$%# being put out there nowadays so I'll definitely be back for the next story arc.