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In a last-ditch effort to fight crime and domestic terrorism, the United States has found a solution worthy of Philip K. Dick: The government will broadcast a radio signal that makes it impossible for anyone within its range to break the law.
The feds can't take such drastic measures without encountering massive resistance, so they've distracted the American public with another major upgrade: Abolishing paper currency. Instead, everyone will use government-issued charge cards, dependent on government-run machines.
That's the basic premise of Rick Remender's three-issue comic book series, The Last Days of American Crime – it's like the flip side of Minority Report.
With bold, painting-like illustrations by Greg Tocchini, Last Days invokes the feel of an old heist movie, with hidden agendas, lots of guns and a colorful cast of misfits.
Take Graham Bricke. He's the tough guy pouring gasoline on the man tied up in the bathtub. Bricke's got a plan to steal one of the government charge machines so he can live off the free money. Unfortunately, when the story leaks about the upcoming crime-busting broadcast, everyone from petty thieves to mobsters is humping to get in one last job before the government shuts down the law-breaking portions of their minds.
In the three issues of The Last Days of American Crime, the last of which was released last week, writer Remender layers plenty of sex and violence on top of a zinger of a story. The Last Days of American Crime Book 1
The second issue of Last Days
Suffice it to say that the body count is comparable to your typical Quentin Tarantino film. (Speaking of film: It's been reported that Sam Worthington has signed on to appear in a movie adaptation of The Last Days of American Crime, with Remender involved in the film development and a planned 2012 release date.)
Throughout the series, the dialogue draws heavily on tough-guy clichés – think mobster movies, Die Hard and Grand Theft Auto – and some of the fight scenes remind me of a slow-mo John Woo action flick, straining against the limits of plausibility.
The writing doesn't necessarily win any awards for originality, but somehow Remender and Tocchini make it work. Tocchini's work is superb, with just the right amount of detail and some definitely not-Marvel Comics color palettes. Many pages are almost monochromatic – sometimes a subdued blue, sometimes yellow like a flashback scene in a movie.
If it's the sort of story you dig, Last Days is the perfect blend of art, dialogue and gritty feel.
Radical Publishing brings a different approach to comics, with shorter story arcs (often three or four issues total) and eye-popping graphics that are more like paintings than mainstream comics.
The publisher often takes a little longer in between issues, but each one comes in at about 60 pages, which is hefty compared to most monthly comic books. I've read several of Radical's comics and can attest that they're worth the wait.
WIRED Old-school bank heist in Minority Report world; illustrations more like paintings than typical comic-book fare.
TIRED Definitely not for the faint of heart (or kids): sex, drugs, violence and profanity on every page.
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