Goldfish

Now you might say that it's almost overdone. The author devised a rigid formal structure that is very densely packed with points and counterpoints, comic relief, dramatic confessions, flash-backs, flash-forwards, action, anticipation, etc. His technique is a little bit too obvious, and the female characters end up a tad shrill. But that's just a tiny gripe for purists, and I'm glad to report, Bendis is completely over that now (look at Jinx, it's a true classic). Besides, many layered themes are woven into this story just as carefully as its plot twists and turns, and its final offbeat perspective makes up for whatever feels formulaic before that. So, don't pass up on Goldfish. It's a great read, it has real feeling and makes more than one good point. It definitely deserves a spot in your collection.

He is a very good writer who consistently delivers good and believable dialogue for his characters.

I do have a complaint though. I am not the biggest fan of the art. It seems murky and somewhat disjointed. Sometimes during some of the longer dialogue scenes I had trouble distinguishing which of the characters was actually speaking.

That being said, I still would advise that you buy this one. It is a large book with good characters and a surprising twist. Give it a try.

Lauren is now a bigshot crime-boss, while Goldfish is still pulling small-time cons. To give away anything else would be to do potential readers a great injustice.

Writer/Artist Brian Michael Bendis keeps the twists and turns coming, and the book is HUGE- a great value.

The drawbacks are the same ones I've had with most of Bendis' collections, including Jinx, Fire, & Torso: Poor production values. The climax of Goldfish has a few pages printed out of order, and the book is FILLED with misspelled words. (That kind of stuff drives me nuts!) Bendis' art is too murky also, and at times it was very difficult to tell who was doing what to whom.
But readers who are looking for a well-told, twisty crime drama will probably enjoy Goldfish.