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Crude #1-6
Crude Vol. 1
Killers once feared Piotr Petrovich.
Now, they've sent his son home to him, in a body bag. Haunted by his failures, Piotr journeys across Russia to learn what type of man his son really was while hunting the bastards who killed him. And once Piotr finds them, they will learn to fear him once more...
GLAAD Media Award-nominated writer Steve Orlando (Virgil, Midnighter) and artist Garry Brown (Black Road) deliver an emotional, bone-shattering account of murder, masculinity, and mayhem.
Collects Crude #1–6.
Now, they've sent his son home to him, in a body bag. Haunted by his failures, Piotr journeys across Russia to learn what type of man his son really was while hunting the bastards who killed him. And once Piotr finds them, they will learn to fear him once more...
GLAAD Media Award-nominated writer Steve Orlando (Virgil, Midnighter) and artist Garry Brown (Black Road) deliver an emotional, bone-shattering account of murder, masculinity, and mayhem.
Collects Crude #1–6.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
136 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 14, 2018
This comic has biting someone's throat out on page 5, and bisexuality by page 8; two of my favourite things beginning with bi-*. It comes as no surprise for a Steve Orlando comic to combine ultraviolence and queerness, but the setting here is new - a lucrative but lawless town on Russia's petrochemical frontier, in which a former killer arrives looking for answers about the death of his son. Yes, it's pretty much the old 'stranger comes to town, fucks all factions over' story, crossed with "I love my dead bi son". But while there isn't much nuance, there is depth, from the tragedy of even well-meaning parenthood through to the horrors of the Spectacle. Plus, it does do the whole violent revenge bit very well.
"Sad story. You think any of us gives a shit?"
"Think any of you will live to give it?"
*Not that there aren't plenty of others: I also like Billy Mackenzie, biscuits, and big butts (and I cannot lie).
(Edelweiss ARC)
"Sad story. You think any of us gives a shit?"
"Think any of you will live to give it?"
*Not that there aren't plenty of others: I also like Billy Mackenzie, biscuits, and big butts (and I cannot lie).
(Edelweiss ARC)
October 3, 2020
Starts out quite interesting, but the in the last two issues turns into overcomplicated exposition dumps punctuated with bursts of violence (the artist sure likes the fist-smashing-against-face-that-is-then-turned-towards-us frame!). It dampens what should be a cathartic, emotional finale. It all becomes a bit silly.
The way homo- and bisexuality is handled feels off, as it's not taking into account Russia's problematic relationship with non-hetero sexuality.
The way homo- and bisexuality is handled feels off, as it's not taking into account Russia's problematic relationship with non-hetero sexuality.
March 14, 2020
Violent.
Great artwork.
Interesting story.
Great artwork.
Interesting story.
October 14, 2018
In one of the weaker justifications for a vigilante character, our hero wants to get revenge for the death of his son, who wanted a more exciting life in the dangerous realm of a petrochemical processing port. Oh if only he had known that his old man was a killer back in the day! Anyway, in the port trying to see what life the son wanted as Plan B, the old man finds himself back with his own old Plan A, as the place is rife with rival protection gangs, and he has to battle his way through them to get to the truth. There's not much that's exactly fresh here – the biggest positive I could find for the design, for instance, was the sound FX being in Cyrillic. You might find all the gayness and daddy issues to be novel – I found them uninteresting. It's not dreadful, but nor is it exactly memorable. One and a half stars.
March 10, 2019
Ex-killer Piotr Petrovich goes on a revenge rampage after his son is killed in a work camp, but quickly realizes he may be in over his head as he gets tangled up in a three-faction gang war. Commentary on masculinity within LGBT communities, and I thoroughly enjoyed the artwork.
March 1, 2019
Crude has a lot of sharp ideas, but it's too fast-paced and on-the-nose to do much with those ideas. A retired hitman heads to a company town to get revenge for his murdered son. Once there, he discovers streams of human tragedy underneath the Petropinnacle monolith, as well as several underground armies looking to give the people what they desired from Petropinnacle in the first place - true freedom. Specifically, religious, sexual, artistic freedom, that kind of thing.
So, there's the cool concept of fiefdoms underneath a corporate overlord, each vying for power. There are some great ideas about free expression. The hitman must ultimately come to terms with his son's sexuality, not to mention how his son was tied up among the warring powers. He also has to kill a bunch of people, which is fine and fun, but basically just Taken. And everyone has like ten names, which is quite confusing (maybe that's a Russian custom?).
Ultimately, while Crude's big concepts are in the right place, the execution is lacking. The pacing is frenetic, with a big twist arriving every few pages, followed immediately by a brutal fight scene. All we know about the hitman is that he's super really definitely grieving for his son - and we know even less about the other characters. The only traits that are hammered home are the characters' sexualities. This is fine and important for plot purposes, but you want multi-dimensional characters before you say, "oh, and it doesn't even matter that they're polyamorous." I enjoyed Crude for the most part, but I definitely caught a glimpse of how much more thrilling it could have been.
So, there's the cool concept of fiefdoms underneath a corporate overlord, each vying for power. There are some great ideas about free expression. The hitman must ultimately come to terms with his son's sexuality, not to mention how his son was tied up among the warring powers. He also has to kill a bunch of people, which is fine and fun, but basically just Taken. And everyone has like ten names, which is quite confusing (maybe that's a Russian custom?).
Ultimately, while Crude's big concepts are in the right place, the execution is lacking. The pacing is frenetic, with a big twist arriving every few pages, followed immediately by a brutal fight scene. All we know about the hitman is that he's super really definitely grieving for his son - and we know even less about the other characters. The only traits that are hammered home are the characters' sexualities. This is fine and important for plot purposes, but you want multi-dimensional characters before you say, "oh, and it doesn't even matter that they're polyamorous." I enjoyed Crude for the most part, but I definitely caught a glimpse of how much more thrilling it could have been.
August 6, 2023
The art certainly doesn't help this book. A lot of the characters looked the same. It's about a retired hitman in Russia who has a poor relationship with his son. His son leaves to find work in a company town (which is bad but aren't sure why.) Year later he returns in a body bag and the father heads there for vengeance. A lot of this book just feels like we need to know both Russian geography and its sociopolitical nature. There's some stuff with the son being bisexual that doesn't strike home properly because it doesn't address Russia's poor record at dealing with anyone who isn't hetero at all. The story is too complicated with double crosses that had no impact since I couldn't keep track of who was who half the time.
May 26, 2019
Revenge comic series based in Russia - quite good but a bit predictable
Piotr, a former hitman, goes to Blackstone to find out about the death of his son. We discover warring factions and it’s impossible to know who to trust. A good deal of violence and bloodshed ensue and the story moves along at a healthy pace. Characters are reasonably well-developed and, although original in its location, the plot follows familiar lines. OK but there’s better around.
September 24, 2018
It's an enjoyable revenge action series with some leftist themes sprinkled in. The story is a bit pulpy, so be sure to suspend your disbelief before reading and you'll enjoy some bloody fights and twists. I liked the art, too, it does a good job of portraying the grime and violence of the comic's world.
April 13, 2019
If not for Brown's artwork, I would never finish this. Everytime I try something written by Orlando, I'll quit after first issue. This was so ... okej nechce sa mi pokračovať ani v angličtine písať, proste tieto queer hovadiny fakt nezvládam, ešte keby to tak netlačil ale on to skrátka musí čitateľovi vyslovene otrieť o ksicht. Ne.
Akčné scény super.
Príbeh ne díky.
Kresbu milujem.
Akčné scény super.
Príbeh ne díky.
Kresbu milujem.
January 3, 2019
Sexo y violencia. Una historia bastante estereotipada del padre experto en matar gente que busca vengar a su hijo. Sólo que está vez tiene un componente muy actual respecto a la bisexualidad y la libertad de género.
November 22, 2018
A gritty crime story about identity that still has cyphers for characters.
March 3, 2019
Blood soaked 3.5. Lots if grit in story of revenge.
July 22, 2019
Incoherent.
December 23, 2019
Some decent action, but the story is kinda weak.
November 20, 2020
Loved the story and was moved by the father/son dynamic. Not my usual graphic novel read, but I really enjoyed it.
December 21, 2021
ow but also wow
January 1, 2022
Unexpectedly entertaining.
May 10, 2024
A Mediocre 2/5 Graphic Novel Volume
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews