This R-Rated Comic is a Must Read For Batman Fans

As Chip Zdarsky wraps up his run as the writer of Batman and Matt Fraction takes over, it’s a great time to revisit their collaboration, Sex Criminals. Fraction wrote the R-rated crime series while Zdarsky was the artist, and it was published by Image Comics from September of 2013 to 2020. The series takes place in the Image Universe. It was a critical hit during its run, and it has continued to cement its legacy in the years since it concluded. Now, it should serve as a good indication of where Batman is headed under the stewardship of these two creators.

Zdarsky is equally well-known for his art and writing, as well as journalism and pop culture commentary. After years working on indie comics and creating for publishers including Dark Horse, Image, Archie, and Marvel, he made his DC Comics debut in December of 2020 in the anthology series Batman: Black and White. In 2022, Zdarsky signed on as the writer for the mainline Batman monthly book, with artist Jorge Jiménez. Their run together concluded earlier this month on February 3rd — three years to the month.

Now, Zdarsky and Fraction are passing like ships in the night as Fraction takes over a re-launch of the mainline Batman series. DC announced the overhaul last week, revealing that Fraction will also work with Jiménez, though the publisher is teasing some major aesthetic changes to the Dark Knight and Gotham in general.

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Fans trying to fill the months between these two series should definitely look to Sex Criminals, which has 32 issues collected into six trade paperbacks, or one big complete edition published in March of 2024. This is a pivotal moment for Batman, and this series should be the perfect way to get some insight into two of the biggest creative forces behind it at once. However, if you couldn’t tell by the title, Sex Criminals has some significant differences from your average Batman story.

What is Sex Criminals About?

Sex Criminals begins with Suzie and Jon hitting it off at a party and then sleeping together. They discover that they both share the ability to freeze time whenever they have an orgasm. They team up to use this power to rob banks, hoping to use the money to save the underfunded library where Suzie works. It is often described as a sex comedy, though the crime drives the action throughout the story.

The series was beloved by critics during its publication, and when it ended, many sang its praises in retrospective reviews. It also won the Eisner Award for best new series in 2014, and was nominated for best continuing series as well. According to the American Library Association, the first hardcover release, Big Hard Sex Criminals, was the seventh-most banned and challenged book in the U.S. in the year after its publication.

Among fans, Sex Criminals was regarded as a cult hit in its first few years, but its following grew steadily over the course of its run. Now that it’s over, it’s in conversations about the best comics of the decade, and the must-read comics of the era. It’s among the most acclaimed work of both Fraction and Zdarsky, even as both of them have gone on to work on big franchise titles.

You can find Sex Criminals now in print and digital formats, as well as Zdarsky and Jiménez’s run on Batman over the last three years. Fraction and Jiménez’s Batman series kicks off in September with Batman #1.