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Today, Greg and Ryan are discussing Sex Criminals 8, originally released October 8th, 2014.
Greg: Let’s have fun with oversimplifications: Life is messy. To distract us from this messiness, humans create and consume media. Some media is tidy, to help us escape. Some media is messy, to help us examine. The best media, like the latest issue of Sex Criminals, has a balance of both elements. Now, let’s have fun with overcomplications.
Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Sex Criminals 7, originally released August 13th, 2014.
Patrick: This is going to be one timid-ass example, but rest assured, the story is so tame because I want to save face here. In high school, I was all about grand romantic gestures — mix tapes, love letters, picnics, whatever: it was all my jam. So, early on the morning of her sixteenth birthday, I picked up my girlfriend from her house and drove us to the shores of Lake Michigan to watch the sunrise. Mind you, it’s April and both the lake and the beach are covered in ice. Already not the smartest idea. But I was on my way to her house, zipping along mostly-deserted roads far too quickly and I got pulled over for speeding. Driving safely just wasn’t a thought in my horny little head at that moment. Luckily, I only got a ticket — no one was hurt or anything like that. But who knows what kind of damage my hormone-addled body could have caused? This is the G-rated version of a story we all have; especially when we’re first discovering it, sex turns us into weirdly irresponsible monsters, monsters that make mistakes. Continue reading
Today, Scott and Shelby are discussing Sex Criminals 6, originally released June 18th, 2014.
Scott: Have you ever been surprised at your own emotional response to something? It happened to me last summer, when my grandfather died. It was unexpected, or at least as unexpected as the death of an 88 year old man could be. I was shocked and saddened by the news, but I was very aware that my reaction felt muted. I knew my grandfather very well and loved him dearly, so why wasn’t I more emotional? I started to wonder if I was incapable of truly grieving. It seemed like another step in a progression I had noticed in recent years, a general softening of my emotional responses, and the thought that I might be dead inside scared the crap out of me. A couple months ago, my entire family reunited for a memorial service and I was again surprised when, while speaking about my grandfather, I could hardly get through a sentence without bawling. Discovering that I was capable of such an emotional outpouring was a huge relief, as the thought of a lifetime of even-keeled reactions seemed dreadful. I realize I can’t always control how I will react to major life events, but I’m thankful that I can at least be comfortable with my emotions. As Sex Criminals 6 illustrates in painstaking detail, not everyone is so lucky.
Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Sex Criminals 5, originally released March 19th, 2014.
Shelby: The honeymoon’s over. The cat’s out of the bag. Issue 4 of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s Sex Criminals sees a confrontation between the sex police as well as uncomfortable secrets revealed between our favorite comic book couple. The issue opens with a charming limerick summary, so I thought it would be appropriate to open our discussion in the same fashion. Ahem:
There once was a blogger called Bee
Who loved the criminals sexy
The dirty stuff was the best
But as to the rest
It was actually pretty touching (heh) to see
Today, Drew and guest writer Kyle are discussing Sex Criminals 4, originally released January 8th, 2014.
Drew: The first stage of the hero’s journey, according to Joseph Campbell, is the call to adventure: the moment where the hero is tasked with leaving the comfort of home behind, and heading off into the unknown. Of course, most stories spend a good deal of time in that “known” before any real action is taken — we need to be introduced to our hero, their values, and what’s at stake before any threats can really take hold. Often, the action they’re called to sounds MUCH more exciting than the quiet comfort they’re leaving, but every once in a while, I find myself so enamored of a fictional world that I don’t want to move on to the adventure. Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky have created such a world in Sex Criminals, so while I’m sure many folks are excited to move into the plot proper in issue 4, I find myself wondering why we can’t keep sitting around and sharing embarrassing sex stories. Continue reading
Today, Patrick and Greg are discussing Sex Criminals 3, originally released November 20th, 2013.
Patrick: We live in a sex-negative society. We’re all made to feel embarrassed by urges, our desires and our sexual failings. It sucks: movies and TV will evoke Gay Panic or Slut Shaming for laughs, assuming that their audiences all share the same puritanical views on sex. And then there’s smart sex-positive media, like the series we’re talking about today – and it gets filed away with the rest of “dirty” comics (and off iOS for a second month in row), to protect us from the filth within. Look, the signals are coming from everywhere: you should feel bad about wanting to read this comic. That’s why real, naked honesty is so important for sex – being able to express sexuality honestly is about as intimate as you can get. Sex Criminals 3 embraces all of it – the urges, the desires and the failings. [Ironically, I do feel the need to warn that there are some explicit images after the jump.] Continue reading
Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Sex Criminals 2, originally released October 23rd, 2013.
Shelby: Ok guys, I’m going to be frank; we’re going to talk about sex here for a bit. It’s not going to be weird, I promise. Well, actually, since we’re talking about Matt Fraction’s and Chip Zdarsky’s Sex Criminals, a book about a woman named Suzie who stops time when she has an orgasm, and her new gentleman friend with the same ability, it might actually get a little weird. Ok, so a lot weird. All joking aside, this a story about sex and sexytimes, and Fraction and Zdarsky have a refreshingly open approach to the matter, so consider yourself warned. Just a heads up, there are some potentially NSFW images below the jump.
Retcon Punch 