Episode 1567 Talkback - BOMC: Sex Criminals, Vol. 1

Adam_Murdough

For Mature Listeners Only! The Geeks offer their reactions to the first arc of Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, the heartwarming tale of two young adults who are drawn together by their shared ability to freeze time by... carnal means, and who then make use of this special gift to (what else?) rob a bank! Plenty of lewd humor and explicit imagery lurk within, but don't be daunted--instead, listen as the Geeks plumb the hidden depths of this hilarious, but surprisingly thoughtful and sensitive, sci-fi saga of sexuality, and learn why you should give it a try! (1:12:20)

Listen here.

fredzilla

Great episode. I haven't checked this out yet as I'm in the same boat as @ShaneKelly and don't really want the trade in my house with a couple of free range small kids. Perhaps I may be able to get one from the library. Regardless, it sounds like a very interesting book with some interesting themes. I was impressed with the adult conversation despite being a "boys club" recording. I kept snickering at all the missed joke opportunities, but that's my 13 year-old trying to break through. It would have been interesting to get a female perspective on the book. Perhaps a post script in a future Comic Talk episode?

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A quick aside for you those that listened and want to be part of the next BOMC installment, the next book CGS will be reading is the Teen Titans four part story "The Judas Contract." As @wildpigcomics noted in Episode 1567, the trade can be a little difficult to locate as it's been out of print for a while.

It would be much better if you were to purchase the book from the fine retailer and show sponsor, In Stock Trades/Discount Comic Book Service, but seeing as the book is out of print and IST/DCBS didn't have any copies when I checked, you may have to seek other avenues for your fix. eBay and Amazon had some for $30+ for the trade.

But fear not, faithful BOMC readers, right now comiXology is having a sale on the Cyborg books. This includes Tales of the Teen Titans #42-44 for a whopping $0.99 each (part four is in Annual #3 for $1.99)! These four issues make up the main story. An out of print arc for only $5 sounds like a good deal to me.

After some further research, a DC wiki shows the original trade consists of:
The New Teen Titans vol. 1 #39-40
Tales of the Teen Titans #41-44
Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3

All issues are currently only $0.99 on comiXology in the Cyborg sale, except for the annual.



Only 5 days left on this sale, so don't dilly dally or you may have to find an analog copy/issue set for $30+!

mwhitt80

I think I might be alone in this boat, but I wasn't a fan of this month's selection. I dont think I'll be revisiting this series again. I didn't hate it; I just didn't like it.

I enjoyed the conversation that you had about sex criminals. It was an entertaining episode.

mwhitt80

Quick side notes:
Cerebus reprinted 2 phone books of letter columns. I don't think they are in print anymore.

My understanding is that Jon leaves cumworld as soon as he pops a woody there, and Suzie leaves the quiet when she is done refracting.

i_am_scifi

@ShaneKelly's story of having to hide Sex Criminals from the kids reminded me of when I was working as a camp counselor at a sleepaway camp for a summer about 15 years back (holy crap does time fly).

I had set up a pull-list at my local comic shop (Bulletproof Comics, right by Brooklyn College) during this time to ensure I wouldn't miss any of my regular books during the two months I'd be away. My mom was kind enough to send me multiple care-packages of comics so I would have reading material during my bunk hours. This also stood as something to bond with the campers over, as I could give them books to read once I was done with them.

That is, all except for the MAX Titles. Alias was coming out at the time, and we all know how that book started out: sex and cursing! The kids were 12 or so, so of course they all wanted to read any and everything they shouldn't read. But I set up the "Everything BUT Alias" rule pretty easily and kept those issues in my suitcase where they couldn't get to them, as it was either that or no comics at all.

As for Sex Criminals, I love it. Still need to read Volume 2, but with humor, story, and art like that, I'm on board for the long haul.

nweathington

I came (forgive the wording) to Sex Criminals a bit late, despite being a fan of Casanova (get on that Chris) and some of Matt's other work. And unlike most Sex Criminals readers, I knew who Chip Zdarsky was more than ten years ago, back when he was doing Monster Cops minicomics and sharing a studio with Cameron Stewart, Kagan McCleod, and Ben Shannon. So I actually had a pretty good idea of what he'd bring to the table. I knew Matt was a pretty thoughtful guy from a discussion I had with him a few years back at Heroes Con, but I also knew that Zdarsky’s sense of humor didn’t always match up with my own. I was worried the book might end up a little too crass for my liking, so I decided to wait and see what kind of response it got.

Yes, that means I'm reading the book in trades. I've got the second volume but haven't read it yet, but what I've read so far I've thoroughly enjoyed. The series kicks off in the best possible way: letting the readers get to know and respect (or at least sympathize with) the characters before getting into any lewd humor. And the lewdness is tempered by honesty and charm so as not to overwhelm the story.

My only concern with the series going forward is that as we get deeper into the action side of the story, we may lose some of the sense of intimacy that makes these first few issues so special. But it's only a minor concern, and I'm looking forward to reading what happens next.

nweathington

Just as an aside, back when I was in college, one of the biggest local bands was called Sex Police. Saw them play several times. They had a great horn section. They are basically my internal soundtrack when reading the book.

Edit: Holy crap. I decided to check Spotify, and they actually have Sex Police albums available to stream. If you like rock a little on the funky side with horns, look ’em up.

JDick

Picked up Sex Criminals Vol. 1, Southern Bastards Vol. 1, and Airboy Issues 1 and 2 yesterday.
Should be a good weekend.

bralinator

nweathington said:

Just as an aside, back when I was in college, one of the biggest local bands was called Sex Police. Saw them play several times. They had a great horn section. They are basically my internal soundtrack when reading the book....
....If you like rock a little on the funky side with horns, look ’em up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbSaqq24vY

nweathington

bralinator said:

nweathington said:

Just as an aside, back when I was in college, one of the biggest local bands was called Sex Police. Saw them play several times. They had a great horn section. They are basically my internal soundtrack when reading the book....
....If you like rock a little on the funky side with horns, look ’em up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbSaqq24vY

Yep. That's them. A couple of them played with the Squirrel Nut Zippers later on. Good times.

Agitprop

Just wanted to post that I also experienced a serial pooper while I was at college! Ours was given the nom de guerre "The Mad Crapper."

alienal

nweathington said:

bralinator said:

nweathington said:

Just as an aside, back when I was in college, one of the biggest local bands was called Sex Police. Saw them play several times. They had a great horn section. They are basically my internal soundtrack when reading the book....
....If you like rock a little on the funky side with horns, look ’em up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbSaqq24vY

Yep. That's them. A couple of them played with the Squirrel Nut Zippers later on. Good times.

I enjoyed that music clip, but HEY! The drummer is dressed like Gilligan, and the trombone guy is the Skipper...uh, maybe the secondary lead singer is the Professor (okay, I'm stretching it a bit..)

nweathington

alienal said:

nweathington said:

bralinator said:

nweathington said:

Just as an aside, back when I was in college, one of the biggest local bands was called Sex Police. Saw them play several times. They had a great horn section. They are basically my internal soundtrack when reading the book....
....If you like rock a little on the funky side with horns, look ’em up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbSaqq24vY

Yep. That's them. A couple of them played with the Squirrel Nut Zippers later on. Good times.

I enjoyed that music clip, but HEY! The drummer is dressed like Gilligan, and the trombone guy is the Skipper...uh, maybe the secondary lead singer is the Professor (okay, I'm stretching it a bit..)

Glad you liked them. That bit of cosplay there was just for the benefit of this particular song. It wasn't something they did in concert.

alienal

nweathington said:

alienal said:

nweathington said:

bralinator said:

nweathington said:

Just as an aside, back when I was in college, one of the biggest local bands was called Sex Police. Saw them play several times. They had a great horn section. They are basically my internal soundtrack when reading the book....
....If you like rock a little on the funky side with horns, look ’em up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbSaqq24vY

Yep. That's them. A couple of them played with the Squirrel Nut Zippers later on. Good times.

I enjoyed that music clip, but HEY! The drummer is dressed like Gilligan, and the trombone guy is the Skipper...uh, maybe the secondary lead singer is the Professor (okay, I'm stretching it a bit..)

Glad you liked them. That bit of cosplay there was just for the benefit of this particular song. It wasn't something they did in concert.

Oh, I see. I don't know if you got it from my message, but actually I really liked the cosplay aspects too!!

Anyway, on to Sex Criminals Volume 1. I don't why I picked this up starting with issue #1...I guess I thought "Well, there has to be something better than that comic called "SEX"....which is also from Image. Anyway, the first 6 or 7 issues really "wowed" me and I thought the it was funny, informative, insightful, and heartwarming. Now....I don't know if it's because of how often it comes out (or doesn't come out) but I've lost the connection a bit. Also, the Sex Police aspects don't really "turn me on." (Haha!) The artwork has been and continues to be GREAT and I do like the letters section. Right now, I don't really think that getting that extra back matter from the trades would be worth buying them. Eh, I'll consider it. Oh, I caught that "same-Halloween-scene-from-a -different-perspective" that Adam mentioned. I thought that was one of the coolest things in the story so far and I hope there's more to it!