Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick

Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by: Chip Zdarsky
Published: 2014
Publisher: Image Comics
Series: Sex Criminals #1
Length: 128 pages
Collects: issues #1-5

Suzie is a normal girl, a young librarian trying to save her library from going under, but when she has an orgasm time literally stops. She has, quite rightfully, been trying to learn more about this since it began happening, and one night she comes across a man with the same power. What would someone do with a power like this? Rob a bank, of course!

It seems silly to compare this with Saga, but my brain arbitrarily combines vaguely similar things when they rise to popularity at the same time. Green Day and The Offspring will be forever linked in my mind, and I fear these two comics will be as well. They’re both stories of an adult nature with fantasy elements, but for me the first Saga was an instant love from the first panel to the last. This wasn’t quite as strong for me.

I really enjoyed Suzie’s backstory. The way they had her as an adult in each panel to narrate the childhood flashbacks was great, and some of those scenes were absolutely hilarious. It taught me what The Dutch Microwave and Brimping are, and for that I shall be forever grateful. My interest dipped a little once Suzie met Jon, her accomplice/boyfriend, and I couldn’t tell you why. It just all started to feel a bit tedious.

However, my interest picked up again just at the end of the book when we’re given a peek at some new characters and essentially a whole new sex superhero world. I was really left with the feeling that the story had just begun, and I’m eager to see what happens next now.

Oddly, it was an extra feature included at the end of the book titled Steaming Radio that had me laughing the most. Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky wrote a skit about calling in to a sex line and it is fantastic. They’re clearing both hilarious, so I look forward to seeing more of that come out in the comic.

I’ll definitely be picking up the second volume, just to see how the story progresses. I still don’t know if I’m on board for the whole run of this, but I’m interested to see where it goes from here.