Thief of Thieves #6

Written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

There's nothing quite like a good double- or triple-crossing heist story, and as we get very close to the end of the first arc on this series, we start to understand exactly why Redmond is the 'Thief of Thieves'.

Last issue, Redmond made a deal with the police detective (or is she an FBI agent?  I forget) who has been pursuing him for years - Redmond would set up a gang of wanted thieves in exchange for his son's freedom from prison.  This issue shows how things go down, but Redmond's always working a step or two ahead of everyone else, and it's not sure that the cop is going to be too happy with how things end.  The only problem is that Redmond didn't tip off his assistant Celia, and she's come looking to even the score.

This is a very masterfully handled crime comic.  Kirkman and Spencer (whose run is going to finish with the next issue) have plotted this thing out wonderfully, and Shawn Martinbrough is second in my mind after Sean Phillips for drawing the perfect crime comic.  This is very good stuff.