A little over a week ago on November 25, we reported that Image Comics The Knives: A Criminal Book by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips was abruptly removed from digital services, without much explanation beyond a “technical issue.” While fans online expressed frustration and suspected foul play worthy of the characters in the graphic novel, it turns out the removal comes from a surprising source: the creators of the book.
Specifically, while Image Comics declined to comment when we first reached out to them, they were willing to talk to Bookwire, the ebook partner of IPG (Independent Publishers Group) who is currently distributing Image’s books online. Initially, Bookwire told Comic Book Club that it was possible the book might have “slipped through the cracks” in the process of transferring the Image Comics catalog over to the service, as the publisher is still “in the process of auditing what’s missing.” However, after contacting Image, Bookwire explained it was a different story.
“I reached out to Image Comics, who explained that the the authors of The Knives requested to take the digital version down and release it again once the paperback version is released,” Winona Youngblood-Sultze, the Customer Experience Specialist for Bookwire told Comic Book Club over email. “At this time, they’re opting to let the hardcover version of this title be what’s in the market. I know this is a frustrating update given that paperbacks can sometimes take up to two years to produce and distribute, but that’s all I can share at this time.”
Given the book was released physically in hardcover and digitally on August 27, 2025, and was available on services including Apple Books, Amazon’s Comixology and Kindle, GlobalComix, Google Play and more, it’s surprising the book was removed without any notice nearly three months after release. Perhaps it’s to focus interest to this week’s Giant Size Criminal #1, or to create a second hit once the paperback comes out/when the Criminal TV show hits Prime Video… Though on the latter, no dates have been announced for either the paperback or the TV show.
Regardless, if you did buy The Knives: A Criminal Book digitally, you should hopefully have gotten reimbursed, even if you lost access to the book. As is, the only way to get it — for the time being — is in hardcover. And that’s criminal.
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