Line #53 ComicBook/SexCriminals


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sexcriminals1_cover.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''Did [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure za]] [[MemeticMutation warudo]] move for you, too?"]]
3	''Sex Criminals'' (2013-2020) was a 31-issue creator-owned Creator/ImageComics series by writer Creator/MattFraction and artist Creator/ChipZdarsky. To say the premise is a little out there would be putting it mildly, it's...sort of a crime/romance/sci-fi story.
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5	In 1997, Suzie Dickson was a normal middle-class middle-school girl when her father was killed in a random act of workplace violence. In the aftermath of his death, Suzie's mother began drinking heavily and their relationship suffered; Suzie was particularly bothered that instead of talking, her mother would pretend she was fine and then wait until Suzie left the room to break down. Suzie found that if she drew a bath and ducked under the surface, she couldn't hear anything, and took to doing this at night so she couldn't hear her mother crying.
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7	And then one night as she submerged herself, Suzie's "lower region" slid a little too close to the running water, if you get the meaning. Having heard the standard gossip, she understood what was going to happen, and [[TheModestOrgasm then it did.]] But as she exited the tub, she realized something ''truly'' weird had occurred: [[TimeStandsStill accompanied by swirling lights and silence, time had stopped for the world and everyone in it but her]].
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9	Understandably freaked out and guessing that this probably wasn't normal, Suzie embarked on a weeks-long quest to get answers about what ''does'' happen after sex/an orgasm, but repeatedly struck out. Finally, she decided on a regimen of "private research" to document the effects of "The Quiet", as she called it. But after compiling a list of results, she had no idea how to organize it until a trip to the local library introduced her to a method of cataloging the data, which began a life-long fondness for libraries. 16 years later, she's drifting in life a bit, trying to buy as many books as she can from her local library before a bank shuts it down. At a fundraising party she meets an interesting man named Jon, who wears glasses and can quote ''Literature/{{Lolita}}''; [[OneThingLedToAnother one thing leads to another]]...
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11	->'''Suzie:''' ''Boy'', that felt nice.\
12	'''Jon:''' Mmm.\
13	'''Suzie & Jon:''' [[BigWhat How are you here?]]
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15	Surprise! Jon can do it too. And what better use for their power than to save their precious libraries by robbing banks? Thus begins one of the more original -- if odd -- plots in recent comic history. The series has been a hit from day one, and won Best New Series in the 2014 Eisner Awards.
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17	It was recently announced that Fraction and Creator/KellySueDeConnick will be producing a television adaption of the series (as well as Creator/KieronGillen and Creator/JamieMcKelvie's ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'') with Universal through their company Milkfed Criminal Masterminds -- no creative talent have been attached to the project as of yet.
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19	----
20	!!Tropes:
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22	* AdultsAreUseless: As part of her quest to understand why what happens ''happens'', Suzie turns first to a gynecologist and then her mom. Neither are any help. Somewhat justified in that they have ''no'' idea what Suzie is talking about, especially since she's not expressing herself very well, and is reluctant to press the point due to embarrassment.
23	* AnachronicOrder: The first issue begins in the present, then loops back to the past, then to the present again, then the past again, and finally back to the present. Issues that introduce new characters tend to follow this process as well to explain their motivations.
24	* AnatomicallyImpossibleSex: In the first issue, [[spoiler: from one of the 'bad girls,' clearly illustrating she's got no idea what she's talking about.]]
25	* ArcWords:
26	** "Don't judge me/us."
27	** "This guy. This fucking guy."
28	* BigBad: With [[spoiler: Myrtle's HeelFaceTurn]] in issue #25, Kuber Badal is shaping up to be the series' chief villain, especially with the implication that [[spoiler: his meddling with the stock market may been the ultimate cause of the murder of Suzie's father.]]
29	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Badal vanishes into the timestream permanently; Suzie does so temporarily but manages to pull herself back to reality by focusing on Jon's love for her; Rachelle & Robert end up married with kids; Bud and Dewey get married; Ana and Alex are in a relationship; Dave and Myrtle are in a relationship; but Jon and Suzie broke up -- seemingly for good -- in the time between the end of the last issue to this one. Though, it does end with [[MaybeEverAfter the both of them deciding to stay on the island for a little while longer]].]]
30	* BlackComedy: Suzie begins her narration with [[spoiler: her and Jon about to be arrested]], then goes on to relate the story of her father getting murdered, all the while insisting she's going to start joking soon.
31	* BreakTheCutie: Suzie notes that her "whole world" ended when her father was killed. Later, Jon gets hit with this hard: the Quiet detector/Cumpass prevents him and Suzie from enjoying sex, the relationship starts to cool down, he suffers so much stress and paranoia he gets a breakout of shingles - a conga line of problems that forces him to go back on his medication. Even this isn't a positive step; when on his meds, he's coloured in black and white and is completely numb to everything. And then [[spoiler: the Sex Police destroy Suzie's library out of sheer spite.]]
32	* CannotSpitItOut: In issue #10, [[spoiler: Jon realizes he's fallen in love with Suzie, but is afraid to tell her.]]
33	* ChekhovsGun: Suzie still doesn't know that the Sex Police primarily figured out her and Jon's bank-robbing scheme because a worried Rachelle called the cops (which would have been bad enough, but it was Kegelface, the precinct receptionist, who answered the phone).
34	* CommonalityConnection: Several. Jon works for the same bank that Suzie's dad worked for; one of the bank's owners is a member of the Sex Police; Suzie's new OB/GYN is a childhood friend of Jon's who then ends up dating Rachelle, and all seven of the main characters (Suzie, Jon, Rachelle, Robert, and the Sex Police) live in the same town.
35	* ConvenientMiscarriage: Definitely not so much 'convenient' given that she's very upset about it, but [[spoiler: Rachelle has a miscarriage in issue #20, just after finding out in issue #19 that she was pregnant]].
36	* CreatorCameo: Zdarsky seems to love this trope. Lots of characters have more than a passing resemblance to Chip. Once he (alone, by the way) won the Harvey Award for Humor, he draws himself in the background of a coffee shop wearing a top hat, smoking a cigar lit off of a burning newspaper, and getting a foot massage from co-creator (and not Harvey-award-winning-humorist) Matt Fraction.
37	* {{Crossover}}: with ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine, and one of the more complicated examples. In issue 9, we watch a porn scene being filmed where the two actors are cosplaying characters from that comic book, which we later find out was sold under the {{pun}}tastic name of "The Licked and the Divine". For bonus references, the Wic-Div creators, [[CreatorCameo Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie]], are featured in this scene, too. The real crossover happens in issue 14 of "The Wicked and the Divine", which slightly alters these images to make it look like the character Woden is producing and directing this porn video, presumably for self-gratification purposes.
38	* DeadpanSnarker: The letter column in the back features... questionable sex advice. This is also the gimmick of Fraction and Zdarsky's satirical "Just The Tips" mini-book.
39	* DistantFinale: The comic's final issue [[TimeSkip jumps over two dozen chapters to arrive at #69]], showing how everything turns out for the cast members who survived to the end of it.
40	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Played with; the series often uses its sexy parts to reflect Jon and Suzie's emotional well-being.
41	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Suzie refers to the totally silent, frozen-time post-orgasm world as "The Quiet". Almost everything for sale in the sex shop Jon visited as a teen. There are boxes marked "Half a Tit: Because Why Not?" and "Sex Elbow: Have Sex with an Elbow!".
42	* ExperimentedInCollege: Going by the mental 'snapshots' of her former partners, Suzie has had at least one lesbian encounter. Jon has had sex with men, at first as a search for people who can enter The Quiet and then apparently explored more off-panel, as he is confirmed bisexual by WordOfGod.
43	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: See ParallelPornTitles below.
44	* GenreBusting: It's a Romantic Crime Drama with elements of Sci-Fi. It's telling when Website/TheOtherWiki simply lists it as "Crime" when it's really not exclusively that.
45	* GoodBadGirl: Invoked; with the books "present" taking place in late 2013 and it having been probably 10 years since she lost her virginity, Suzie's been with around seventeen other people since then, but this isn't presented as out of the ordinary.
46	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Possibly averted with Suzie. When she and her doctor are discussing forms of contraception other than the Pill, he notes that statistically only 2 out 100 women become pregnant when using condoms. Suzie replies that she's "been one of the two", though it isn't said whether she had an abortion or miscarried.
47	* HeelFaceTurn: Seems to be happening with Alix as of issue #19. She was already becoming disillusioned with Kegelface and Badal's actions, but appears to have been legitimately angered by Badal's insinuating that he could use his wealth to harm Jon.
48	** [[spoiler: Myrtle and the Bus Driver eventually turn against Badal themselves in issue #25.]]
49	* HormoneAddledTeenager: After the first time, Suzie tries to suppress her urge to masturbate until she can figure The Quiet out. This doesn't last.
50	* HowWeGotHere: The first few issues are dedicated to what led to Suzie and Jon having sex in the bank bathroom.
51	* ImprobableWeaponUser: The [[spoiler:Bus Driver]] member of the "Sex Police" smacks Jon across the face. [[spoiler: With a dildo.]]
52	* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: The first sex scene in the book is [[spoiler: Suzie and Jon trying to enter The Quiet to escape from their latest robbery]].
53	* IntroductionByHookup: Suzie and Jon meet at a party she's throwing to raise funds to save her local library. NextThingTheyKnew, they find out they have the same ability.
54	* LemonyNarrator: Suzie and Jon at times.
55	* LivingADoubleLife: Suzie is a fairly average woman who likes books. In her spare time she uses her time-freezing power to rob banks so she can support libraries. Most of the people in the book, actually. The Sex Police [[spoiler: turn out to be little more than self-appointed busybodies, though they do have a point about Jon and Suzie's antics possibly attracting attention.]]
56	* LousyLoversAreLosers: PlayedWith in [[spoiler: Rachelle and Robert's relationship]]; she's ''[[ReallyGetsAround much]]'' more experienced than he is (the implication being that he spent most of college actually doing schoolwork, while she was a party girl), and says he's afraid of being too "vanilla" for her. So far, he hasn't been, as she seems to like being able to take it easy. [[spoiler: His insecurities about being able to satisfy her sexually lead them to break up briefly, though they get back together in issue #18. Just in time for Rachelle to find out in issue #19 that she's pregnant.]]
57	* LoveConfession: After chickening out in issue #10, Jon finally tells Suzie that he loves her in issue #15. She's mildly freaked out by this and gets up to make coffee without returning the sentiment, which puts yets another wrinkle in their relationship.
58	* ModestyBedsheet: Suzie grabs the sheet when she panics after realizing Jon wasn't affected by her power. On the other side of the bed, Jon now has [[MaleFrontalNudity nothing to cover himself with]].
59	* NighthawksShot In issue #16.
60	* OddFriendship: Suzie and Rachelle didn't get along in middle school, but later became best friends and are roommates at the beginning of the series.
61	* PairTheSpares: [[spoiler: Rachelle and Robert hook up in issue #10. Ana and Dave go on a date in issue #19.]]
62	* ParallelPornTitles: Surprisingly, they didn't go with the modern title standards of "This Ain't X" or "X: A XXX Parody" but instead have titles such as [[Film/BartonFink Hard-On Fink]], [[Film/TheHurtLocker The Squirt Locker]], [[Film/KillBill Fill Bill]], [[Film/{{Moon}} Poon]] and surprisingly enough, [[Film/UpstreamColor Upream Colon]] to name a few. Issue 9 has a truly weird one in the form of "[[ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine The Licked and the Divine]]," which we actually get to see some of.
63	* PowerGlows: When Suzie and Jon have sex for the first time, she notices this about him.
64	-->'''Suzie:''' Jon...is your dick ''glowing?''
65	* PubertySuperpower: In middle school, Suzie learns that she has the ability to freeze time when she has an orgasm. Averted with Ana, who as a child suffered a nerve-damaging injury to her genitals that made it extremely difficult for her to orgasm; she never actually had one (and didn't discover her power) until filming her first porno film during her early 20's.
66	* RageBreakingPoint: A few months after she first enters The Quiet, Suzie finally snaps and takes the opportunity to angrily scream out her feelings at her time-frozen mother. The narrating older Suzie notes this isn't the last time this happens.
67	** When Jon finds out that his therapist is ignoring everything he says, he winds up storming outside and screaming [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "Shit on a dick!" in public.]]
68	* RapeAsDrama: Rachelle was raped in college by a star athlete who got away with it. At least until Suzie went into The Quiet to plant a huge stash of weed on him, leading to him getting his scholarship revoked and the end of his athletic career.
69	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Alix rips into Jon in issue #16, pointing out that he's acting out of anger because the Sex Police are messing with his life, and that his actions could easily land him and his friends in jail.
70	* RepetitiveName: Douglas D. Douglas. Jon and Suzie immediately assume the middle "D" is also for "Douglas". For some reason, he goes by Dewey for the rest of the series.
71	* SexAsRiteOfPassage: When Suzie sleeps with her high school boyfriend Craig, she thinks it will be this. Turns out all that happens is that she ends up in The Quiet again.
72	* SexComedy: It's about two people who can freeze time when they orgasm and rob banks to use the money to help support libraries. That's not the most serious of premises.
73	* SexMagic: The premise is that certain people have a TimeStandsStill power when they reach orgasm (as it's not something they can just ask about and they're still preteens or just-turned teens when they discover it, their names for it range from The Quiet to Cumworld). Two of them randomly hook up with each other (with a mutual "How the hell are you in here?!"), and eventually decide to use their power to rob banks. However, there are others with similar powers, who act as a self-appointed police force.
74	* SexualKarma: {{Averted\|Trope}}. Neither Suzie nor Jon are fundamentally bad people, but they are screwed up, and that factors into their sex lives.
75	* ShoutOut:
76	** To ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine.'' In that Fraction and Zdarksy do a porn parody of it. The cover of issue #16 is also drawn in the same style, with the title changed to "The Sexual + the Criminal".
77	** You can also see Wic-Div creators [[CreatorCameo Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie]] in the scene, too.
78	* SlutShaming: Played with; in Suzie's middle school there are a group of "dirty girls", but ''Suzie'' ends up being the one who's ashamed to speak to ''them''.
79	* TheTalk: Inverted; in her quest for answers Suzie asked her mother, only to get shot down rather brutally.
80	-->'''Suzie's Mom:''' What, Suzie?\
81	'''Middle-school Suzie:''' I had a few questions?\
82	'''Suzie's Mom:''' About ''what'', Suzie?\
83	'''Middle-school Suzie:''' You know. Sex questions.\
84	'''Suzie's Mom:''' Great. Now I'm raising a whore. (''takes drink'')\
85	'''Present Suzie:''' (''narration'') Strike three.
86	* [[WhamEpisode Wham Issue]]: After Suzie finds out Jon was lying to her, the end of issue #19 shows her [[spoiler: taking an interview with the owners of a library in another city, and saying that she'd be willing to relocate. And then on the very back page, Rachelle, who just got back together with Robert after a short break-up, finds out she's pregnant.]]

Context ComicBook / SexCriminals