Quick question; what is the best Noir series in American Comic Books? Sin City, right?
No. It is not.
If you’ve followed my previous fan casts, then you know of the torch I carry for comic book scribe Ed Brubaker, of Captain America fame. He’s best known (or should be) for blending superhero and hardboiled tropes on such notable titles as Daredevil and Catwoman, and also on Sleeper and Incognito, which he co-created with artist Sean Philips.
Brubaker and Philips also created Criminal, which is devoid of any science fiction trappings, just good old fashioned American crime. The Marvel-Icon series tells the story of a handful of second-generation Criminals. Each arc being self-contained and focusing on a different protagonist, who are acquainted with each other in one way or another, and generally hang out at the same shady dive.
In my continuing quest to bring to your attention, you the comic book aficionado and-or TV-or-film producer, great comic books that would make for great TV, I have fan casted a good few of the characters of Criminal.
Jake ‘Gnarly’ Brown
Son of Clevon Brown. The proprietor of the
The Undertown bar which is more widely known as
The Undertow (and that’s where my fansite’s name comes from), who once had dreams of boxing superstardom that were shattered due to his uneasy friendship with Sebastian Hyde.
“I know it’s pretty, baby, but I didn’t take it out for air.”
Keith David is know for his roles in
The Thing,
Platoon and
Requiem for a Dream.
Leo Patterson
Son of Tommy Paterson. A criminal mastermind and expert pickpocket. His refusal to take risks or use guns lead to him being widely perceived as being a coward, but perceptions can be deceiving.
Tergesen is known for his roles on
Oz and
Generation Kill.
Tracy Lawless
Son of Teeg Lawless. As a teen delinquent Lawless was offered a choice between imprisonment and enlistment. He chose enlistment, and following a successful career in the Army where he saw action in the Yugoslav and Iraq wars, he was scarred and subsequently imprisoned following an unrevealed incident. When he was let out, he found that his brother had been killed, and so Lawless escaped to return to his hometown and find his brother’s killers.
Sutherland may be a bit weathered for the role, but he’d be pretty good at it, and it’d be nice to see him moving away from Jack Bauer.
Jacob Kurtz
An expert forger turned cartoonist, Kurtz’s troubles began when his wife was killed and he was believed to have been the perpetrator. Though eventually cleared, the ordeal left Kurtz a cripple and an insomniac of questionable mental faculties.
Livingston is known for his roles on
Band of Brothers and
Office Space.
Sebastian Hyde
Son of Walter Hyde. Center City’s undisputed kingpin, Sebastian Hyde grew up with Gnarly as his best friend on the Hyde family estate, as their own parents had climbed together to the top of organized crime, taking out the old syndicate as they did so. Sebastian and Jake’s friendship wasn’t easy, and ended terribly.
Doman is known for his roles on
Oz and
The Wire.
Teeg Lawless
Father to Tracy and Rick Lawless. A veteran of the Vietnam war, he had recurring blackouts and episodes of violent behavior, that took him down a destructive path which led him to serving as one of Sebastian Hyde’s enforcers.
And now you know where my avatar comes from.
Bernthal is known for his roles on
The Walking Dead and
The Pacific.
Father Mike
A former Army chaplain who upon being discharged and returning to Center City, was frustrated by the rampant crime and corruption.
Berkely is known for his role on
24.
Frank Kafka, PI
The eponymous hero of a popular newspaper strip penned and drawn by Jacob Kurtz. Kurtz frequently hallucinates of interacting with Kafka, who appears to be a manifestation of his darker impulses.
McCaffrey is known for his recurring role on
Rescue Me and for voicing
Max Payne.
Greta Watson
A single mother recovering junkie stick-up woman and the widow of one of Leo Patterson’s associates.
Callies is known for her roles on
Prison Break and
The Walking Dead.
Iris
Trouble.
Lively is known for her roles on
Gossip Girl,
The Town and the upcoming
Green Lantern.
Det. Jennifer Watters
A childhood friend of Leo and Tracy, whose parents were criminal like theirs were. Rather than go into the family business, she went into the opposite direction, becoming a police officer.
King is known for her roles on
The Boondocks and
227.
Mallory
Tracy’s brother’s lover at the time of his death, and an armed robber.
Siff is known for her roles on
Sons of Anarchy and
Mad Men.
Det. Max Starr
The police officer investigating the disappearance of Kurtz’s wife. He suspected Kurtz himself was responsible, but couldn’t prove it which frustrated him. His frustrations grew when Kurtz lampooned him in his Frank Kafka strip as Officer Wrong.
Cranston is known for his roles on
Breaking Bad and
Malcolm in the Middle.
Danica Briggs
The girlfriend of Teeg Lawless, Sebastian Hyde and Jake Brown at various times during the seventies. None of either’s life is better for having known her.
Tyler is known for her roles on
Ghost Whisperer and
CSI.
Chester
The Hyde family’s chief enforcer.
Parke is known for his role in Peter Jackson’s
King Kong.
Elaine Hyde
Sebastian Hyde’s distant wife.
Mol is known for her roles in
The Notorious Bettie Page,
Boardwalk Empire and the US version of
Life on Mars.