In the world of neo-pulp, there are few as prolific and successful as the partnership of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Together they’ve created such successful comics and graphic novels as Criminal, Incognito, Fatale, The Fade Out, and Kill or be Killed.
With Brubaker penning the story and Phillips illustrating, the Brubaker/Phillips partnership is one of the most impressive creative teams around. I’d put them on par with the Coen Brothers when it comes to a team of visionaries who consistently put out great neo-noir content.
Even when their protagonists aren’t criminals they’re deeply flawed individuals. It’s a dark and twisted world they inhabit and for that, we love them for it.
Scene of the Crime (1999), was the first time Brubaker and Phillips worked together. A brief synopsis: San Francisco PI Jack Herriman finds his clients missing sister. He reports back that she’s OK. The next morning, she’s dead. Herriman’s trail to find out why leads him to a sex cult.
After Scene of the Crime, the two worked together for Gotham Noir. A series that I will admit, pissed me off because someone beat me to it.
Criminal
The longest-running series by the duo is Criminal, which debuted in October 2006. Criminal isn’t a linear storyline based on a singular character, it interweaves stories from several generations of families. Families that are tied together by old crimes and murders. Families with generations of bad eggs in the bunch.
Brubaker recently inked a deal with Legendary Television Studios. According to Deadline Hollywood, this deal involves adapting some of his own properties. I hope this will include the Criminal saga because I’m very curious to see how they would put something with a scope like that to the screen.
The Fade Out
The Fade Out series is awesome. Inspired by the life of Brubaker’s uncle John Paxton, it’s set during the Red Scare in post-war Hollywood. Paxton was a writer of such Film Noirs as – Murder, My Sweet (an adaptation of Raymond Chandler‘s Farewell, My Lovely), Crack-Up, Pickup Alley, and Crossfire.
For us, The Fade Out was pretty helpful getting a feel for post-war Hollywood when we were writing and storyboarding our latest film, Under the Knife.
Ed Brubaker
When Brubaker isn’t working with Sean Phillips he’s creating awesome characters and working on great projects. He is the co-creator of the Marvel character The Winter Soldier and a writer for Westworld. On which he co-wrote the episode Dissonance Theory with the series co-creator Jonathan Nolan. He also helped create a noir miniseries for Amazon, Too Old to Die Young with Nicolas Winding Refn.
Sean Phillips
OK, this is where we’re gonna show all the artwork for all the people who came over here from our Instagram. Speaking of Instagram, throw Phillips a follow at @artofseanphillips if you aren’t already.
Phillips is a British artist who puts out amazing work, which you can check out on his website and his blog. The blog he updates more often, but if you’re looking to buy any of his work, you can support him by doing so through those sites. And this one.
And here’s the master at work. It makes me want to buy a Wacom tablet.
Speaking of his work:
Want to own some original Sean Phillips artwork? Check out this website, they’re selling a lot of his stuff like the cover art for 7 Psychopaths above.
And coming soon, Pulp.
