Supercrooks is a four part comic series from Mark Millar. There’s already a movie on the way. In the hardcover edition all four are put together in a single book and it’s a fantastic way to dive into the clever story.
As the name suggests – Supercrooks follows a band of super powered villains. They’re fed up with the superheroes always being able to foil their crimes and so come up with a new plan. Ever heard of a Spanish superhero? No? Neither had they.
Supercrooks is a super-powered heist story set in Spain. It’s a bit like Ocean’s Eleven in that the super villains are relatively charismatic and approachable. In some cases Millar goes out of his way to ensure you can related and emphasize with some of the anti-heroes and he’s successful.
Is there such a thing as a typical Mark Millar story? Not sure but Supercrooks feels like a Mark Millar story. There’s personal drama, conflict, a bit of sex appeal, tension and plenty of twists. There’s a blackmail too and, for me, it’s the part of the book feels the least clever with the danger of dropping to even lower levels of disappointment. The good news is the opposite happens. The blackmail is twist with a satisfactory resolution.
The artist is Leinil Yu. What a fantastic job. The panels are packed with goodness, expression, tension and drama. Take all the elements you would expect with a great Mark Millar story and Leinil manages to express that all in many of his scenes.
This is a compelling graphic novel. I didn’t read the series and I’m glad I didn’t as the frustration in waiting for the next book would have been too great. It’s a pleasure having the complete collection bound together in a hardback.
My copy of the book was provided for review. Supercrooks is available from Titan Books. £14.99.
