Sex Criminals is a comic for mature readers from writer Matt Fraction and artist Chip Zdarsky. It tells the story of Suzie and Jon who have the power to stop time when they have an orgasm. They use this power to rob banks which gives us the title of the series.
The first issue however tells us the story of Suzie. Her dad dies, her mom drinks and Suzie is a young girl who has her first orgasm in the bath tub and time stops. The story explores the tricky subject of where does a young girl who has time stopping orgasms go to for information? The sluts at school? Her doctor? Her mom? I mean, seriously.
That is the appeal of the first issue. Suzie is desperate to know what the fuck is happening, (much like any young person who has an orgasm) but damn, there isn’t a wealth of information to be had in 1997. There sure as hell isn’t any information on time stopping orgasms and just by asking about it further isolates her from the people who could help. It is a journey that is unique for everyone but also terribly familiar.
Eventually she meets Jon and I expect to see Jon’s story in future issues. I knew this story was going to be a comedy and sex oriented but I was unprepared for the focus on a young girl for most of the story. It works though and was that perfect mix of touching and funny.
Thanks to the miracle of modern comic buying, I was able to buy it online in the format of my choice
I give it Five out of five Pam Griers.
