Ethan Reckless’s voice has matured into his own distinct flavor and as such, we trust his ability to fill us in rather than feeling dependent on discovering his idiosyncrasies. The book begins exactly where it needs to without wasting a page.

The advantage here is that there is very little introduction. All exposition, mentions of prior books and continuity are streamlined and make sense within this book’s own context. Brubaker by this point has perfected the setup for each installment. As such, each book in the series largely functions on its own terms this isn’t Reckless Vol 3, this is specifically Destroy All Monsters, a book in the Reckless series. Reckless is in the well established tradition of pulp adventure and detective novels, with Brubaker citing Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer series and Don Pendelton’s Executioner as inspiration. When all is said and done, we not only have another touchstone work by the iconic duo but also a timely examination of growing up and growing old.

And once again that is exactly where I find myself with Destroy All Monsters. Each installment of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ partnership shows consistent growth, making it hard not to say my favorite book by the pair is whatever their latest release is at the time. Losing your world might not be as scary as losing the people you shared it with.ĭestroy All Monsters is a thoughtful tale about how we cope with the inevitability of change. Not only has the world changed, not only have we changed, but those that help us through thick and thin have changed as well. How far along the checklist of life are you by this point? When the music stops, where will you sit? In Destroy All Monsters - the third book of the Reckless series by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Jacob Philips - we take a meditative dive into the various growing pains and anxieties of age. At the same time, leaving your 20s can be a terrifying proposition for the opposite reason: now is the time for you to solidify who you are. Going from 36 to 37, for example, doesn’t necessarily mean your material circumstances change but rather your ability to maneuver in those circumstances. Where supply and demand and most accurately reflected, where you can see which books are hot, where new orders are coming in and how retailers are reacting to new, unanticipated desire! And courtesy of Advance Reorders stats from Diamond Comic Distributors.By Steve Baxi - Aging is relative. Where retailers try to increase their orders of certain comics ahead of sale. Greetings from the coal face of the direct comics market.

Destroy all monsters ed brubaker