Sex Criminals, Vol. 3: Three the Hard Way

Sex Criminals, Volume Three: Three the Hard Way by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by: Chip Zdarsky
Series: Sex Criminals #3
Published: 2016
Publisher: Image Comics
Length: 160 pages
Collects: issues #11-15

When I was skimming reviews before purchasing this, I saw that they were generally less enthusiastic than the last two volumes, but I seem to be having the opposite experience as everyone else. I was lukewarm on the first volume, really enjoyed the second volume, and I thought this latest one was just as strong. At this rate, the comic will be cancelled as soon as it becomes my favourite series of all time.

Sex Criminals is a filthy, juvenile, and hilarious comic about people who have powers that activate when they orgasm, all of which seem to relate in one way or another around stopping time. In the first volume, the two main characters used this power to break into a bank, hence the name Sex Criminals, and the story has now progressed to include an ever-increasing number of characters. The plot is becoming somewhat unfocused, but I’m hoping this was just setting up some story elements in the next volume, because right now it’s in danger of just being a showcase of weird sex powers with no real goal, which would be a real shame. The writing is hilarious, and I’m just hoping the plot can catch up.

One of the newly introduced characters was an asexual woman, and I found her chapter really interesting. I thought Fraction did a brilliant job of introducing the topic of asexuality in an understandable and respectful way while still being funny. Another character was a man who creates semen demons, so a slightly different tone there.

A fun comic. It’s very funny, Chip Zdarsky’s art is fantastic, but that won’t be enough to hold it up if the plot doesn’t tighten up a bit. I still have high hopes for the next volume, though.