Ricky Lawless owes a bookie big so he takes on a risky job to pay him back: rip off a high roller after a casino poker game. Ricky’s a fuckup so he fucks up the job and suddenly he needs to do a riskier job for a mob boss to make up for it. Guess how well that goes for Ricky the fuckup? And so it goes, five chapters of Ricky and his girl Mallory trying to get out of dodge and getting deeper and deeper into shit - instead of moving forward, five gears in reverse.
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips - need I say more? Their names on a book, for those who know of them, are basically a badge of quality. Their last Criminal book, The Knives, was, for me, the best comic of 2025 and their latest Criminal book, Five Gears in Reverse, is already a strong contender for the best comic of 2026!
A few weeks before 2025 ended, they released a single issue Giant Size Criminal comic called The High Roller that you could only buy physically in comics shops, to thank and help those businesses - a lovely gesture from the guys. When I read it, it felt to me like the opener of a larger story, so it was no surprise to me that The High Roller is the first chapter of this book (and I’m glad those Criminal fans who couldn’t get a copy of the comic get to read the story themselves now).
It’s a funny and brilliant opener that sets off a chain reaction that propels Ricky and Mal on a series of adventures throughout the book. Each chapter contains an exciting set piece, and introduces some great new characters, as well as developing older ones. I loved the scummy lawyer and the mob doctor (I fully expect to see a backstory for that character at some point in the future), as well as Mal’s backstory. Mal was first introduced in the second book, Lawless, and her origin was apparently prompted by Emilia Clarke, who plays the character in the upcoming show. It’s as dark and sad and utterly compelling as you’d expect.
Even though they’re anti-heroes and undeniable fuckups, I really liked Ricky and Mal as a couple too. Their relationship is a sweet and genuine-seeming one and I was rooting for them the whole time - two damaged kids who were lucky enough to find each other for a brief time of happiness.
And this is what you get with Brubaker and Phillips: an always entertaining, great story with even better characters and dialogue that keeps going - hard - all the way to the end. This creative team, once again, shows everyone how damned good comics can be when done well. Five Gears in Reverse is another triumph in the Criminal series - imaginative, thrilling, and enormous fun to read. This is easily one of the year’s literary highlights and a masterpiece in crime fiction.
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