The Eastern Edge

THE LAST DAYS OF AMERICAN CRIME #1 (of 3)

Synopsis:
The Last Days of American Crime Issue #1 (of 3)

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In the not-too-distant future as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards.

Enter: Graham Brick. A career criminal never quite able to hit the big score, Graham intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life. But the media has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live...and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the crime of the century into the last crime in American history.

64-Pages, Full Color

Creator and Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Greg Tocchini

"The Last Days of American Crime" series url @ Radical Comics

Eastern Edge review:

I'm not even sure what to say about this comic other than, "Wow!"
I love it!
While I'm familiar with many of the animation projects Rick Remender has been involved in, I didn't know much about his writing or comics other than hearing about his acclaimed run on Punisher. Unfortunately, I haven't read much Punisher since Klaus Jansen drew it way back when, but I'm starting to think I should be hunting down Remender's Punisher comics! I didn't know much of anything about artist Greg Tocchini either, but there's no way I won't be paying attention to both of these guys in the future.

The Last Days of American Crime appears on the surface to be your typical noir crime story with the usual cast of characters, but it doesn't feel unoriginal in the least. In fact, it's the complete opposite. The writing is outstanding, which right away sets it apart from a lot of comics that suffer from weak dialogue. I was also intrigued by the political landscape in the story, which put an interesting twist on the simple "great heist" concept and gives it a modern feel that many of this type of seedy underworld crime stories lack. The socio-political backdrop is a little vague on some things - like the "signal" the government is going to broadcast - but some of those things may come out in subsequent issues. I hope so, because I like the premise a lot and would like to see it fleshed out more. But the story appears to be really about the cast of very unlikable characters at it's core, so developing them is more important to issue one than explaining all the politics of the world they inhabit in fine detail.

Last Days of American crime #1 is extremely well-written, with beautiful cinematic artwork. It goes a little overboard in some places, but I like the washed-out water-colour look too. It makes some of the sequences seem almost dream-like until the hard-edged dialogue pinches you awake.
Only a really tight story can get away with showing you how it ends right from the beginning. Just in case you weren't already hooked, there is a nice reveal at the end of issue one to keep your interest.

Personally, I was into it from the opening few pages, which begin with a flashback of what appears to be our protagonist bloodied up and about to be killed.
I bet he deserves it, too, but I have to know what happens in between!

Preview copy of “The Last Days of American Crime #1” provided courtesy of Radical Publishing.