This time however, there is a great twist in that some bits are illustrated like old Archie comics from the actual old era-so we get a weird mish-mash of new and modern noir with old and cartoony Yeah, this is always a great series.īasically, our protagonist, Riley, has a life that sucks. The comic weaves themes of mortality and redemption into a sort of neo-Western, as a cowboy takes on a different enemy at the frontier of America's soul, on the eve of World War II.Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips bring us more of their pulp-styled crime-comic, Criminal, and boy is it as fun as always. Twenty years on, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips continue to operate at the height of their collaborative powers, delivering another strong addition to their long-running partnership in Pulp. When that violence does arise, Sean Phillips delivers all the visceral thrills his previous work has been known for. These carry over to the story's relative present-day sequences as Max begins to tap into his past when he grows increasingly desperate and willing to commit violence. Jacob Phillips' color palette provides a sun-baked quality to the western-oriented flashbacks, with a noted use of oranges and reds. The art team is able to effectively convey the weight of the world and his own legacy falling on Max's world-weary shoulders, as the life he has built begins to implode around him. Sean Phillips, joined by his son Jacob Phillips on colors, brings a Great Depression era New York to life, as its denizens struggle to keep their heads down and just get by. RELATED: Bliss #1 Is a Surreal and Timely Urban Fantasy Adventure Plus, with literal Nazis as the antagonists, Brubaker has provided a pitch-perfect method for Max to pick himself up and face off against the ultimate foe - to find his own modicum of redemption, however he can.

Readers see Max hitting his rock bottom, but he is determined as all hell not to stay there. While Brubaker is known to take the gloves off and deliver some truly heavy-handed, gritty noir, Pulp is not unrelentingly dark and grim. As his age begins to catch up with him and the insidious influence of the Third Reich begins to spread from Europe to the United States, Max tries to find the courage to channel his own six-shooting legacy and prepare to go out on his own terms.ĭrawing from his own recent brush with death, Brubaker makes Max Winter one of his most personal protagonists yet. Winters draws from his own experiences as a gunslinger in the Wild West, decades ago. Max Winter is an old writer in 1930s New York City who crafts western stories for pulp magazines to help make ends meet.

Pulp brubaker review