Set in 1997, Jacob is asked to chaperone his former mentor, comics legend Hal Crane, around a convention where he will be given a lifetime achievement award. Sounds straightforward enough, eh? Except Hal is an embittered old drunken wreck whose increasingly reckless, unhinged behaviour lands him and Jacob in one sketchy situation after another! Will they get through the Bad Weekend in one piece?
Much to my, and other fans’, delight, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips re-upped their five year exclusive deal with Image last December and their first project to emerge was a new monthly run of their signature series, Criminal. Bad Weekend collects issues 2 and 3 of this new run along with a clutch of previously cut pages to form the second Criminal “novella” (the first being last year’s My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies).
The 2019 run of Criminal (currently six issues long) has been absolutely superb though I’d say this storyline, while still good, was my least favourite so far. Except I surprisingly enjoyed reading it in collected form much better the second time around! Maybe because it doesn’t suffer from the comparison of the more exciting Lawless storyline that bookends it in the series or maybe it’s more rounded this way, as opposed to reading it serially – I have noticed how different an experience it can sometimes be to read a title monthly (or whatever the schedule is) and to read it in a collection.
The story is always entertaining. From the moment Jacob encounters Hal, it’s a rollercoaster of crazy: pistol-whipping colleagues in barroom toilets, planning a B&E with Ricky Lawless to get back artwork, and the funny awards show at the end. It’s never anything but an exciting and imaginative read, masterfully written and drawn.
What stood out more to me on this second read was Hal’s complex character – his unexpected moments of vulnerability counterbalancing his obnoxious behaviour, and the tragic story likely behind his destructive behaviour: a car crash back in 1955 with Hal’s old mentor, Archie Lewis. It adds another dimension to the otherwise overfamiliar and sordid tale of comics creators getting fucked over by their publishers. And that bittersweet ending is perfect.
I still don’t really like Jacob Phillips’ colours but it doesn’t detract from the book to give it anything less than the highest rating. Bad Weekend is utterly fantastic and a particularly wry accompaniment to con season! Brubaker and Phillips continue to shine as one of comics’ greatest creative teams – if this is any indication, I can’t wait to see what else they’ve got planned in the years ahead!
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