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It is a pulp-driven extravaganza, striving for deeper meaning about the history of American violence. The story finds a level of complexity unique to the storytelling in comics, and that's what makes 100 Bullets truly special. Any police investigation that comes across the rounds will halt immediately. But as the stories unfold one after another, characters start to return as the reader learns that they are all connected by something more than the mysterious man and his attaché briefcases, and then a larger plot and conspiracy begins to unfold, keeping readers on the edge of their seats until the very last pages of chapter 13, "Wilt." The individual stories as well as the overall arc in 100 Bullets feel like good old-fashioned crime fiction, with beautiful, big-breasted blonde women, suave men in business suits carrying out some of the most violent action around, with everyone trying to stay one step ahead of the other in a plot that will keep readers thinking the entire time. A mysterious man in a suit named Agent Graves approaches her and offers a way to avenge their deaths--an attaché briefcase with a handgun and 100 rounds of ammunition that by some method, initially unknown, have been rendered untraceable. Essentially, it is a way to get away with murder, seemingly without consequences, and a nudge in the right direction. And Dave Johnson doesn't leave one cover in the entire series unmemorable. After a serial publication history spanning nearly 10 years, the final issue of 100 Bullets was published by Vertigo in April, followed in October by the final trade paperback collection, bringing an incredible, extended noir tale by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso to an absolutely explosive conclusion.
Cordova's initial short story wraps up in three issues, and then 100 Bullets moves onto a man wrongly sentenced in a child pornography case and the woman who set him up. But 100 Bullets also stays away from major clichés, and we also get women who, while, yes, are still almost universally big-breasted and beautiful, are such in a less traditional sense. From the scenes bathed in sunset oranges to the nighttime blues and blacks, she possibly does the most in creating the true tone of 100 Bullets. This is accented by colorist Patricia Mulvihill. As 100 Bullets progresses, we meet a full cast of characters who learn in their own short stories that there is someone to blame for the way their lives turned out. And while the ending wraps things up in grand fashion--and fans wouldn't have it any other way--the real fun is in the journey.One hundred issues for 100 Bullets seems like such perfect construction, and from the very begging, Azzarello's story is smart. We are introduced in the very first issue to Dizzy Cordova, who goes on to play a bigger role in the series. And unlike most other ongoing series, 100 Bullets never lets go.
But arguably none of Azzarello's story works without the art of Risso and his supporting staff. Likewise, the guys are all cool in their own way, but each of them has a unique back story, leaving different reasons to both root for and despise them. Some question the consequences of a higher power; some question the contents of the briefcase; some question their own accountability for where their lives are at; some simply take the opportunity to kill.and not always just the person responsible. It's hard to find a dull moment or an uninteresting character, dilemma, or story along the way, making 100 Bullets a true testament to what can only be accomplished with collaboration in the comics medium.
The dialects Azzarello tries to recreate can be jarring at the beginning, but whether he gets better or the readers simply become accustomed to his incredible work along the way, it doesn't take long for things to sink in, and then the story and the visuals grab hold. For the most part, 100 Bullets hits its mark, and like the crime saga greats of cinema, it is always entertaining.-- William Jones Like most ongoing series, 100 Bullets has some rough edges at the very start, as Azzarello and Risso try to click and find their groove. Cordova's family is murdered in Chicago.
Risso's management of designs for an incredible cast of characters is noted, but the real treat is how he handles perspectives, panel construction, focusing on small details and most notably his shadings of characters and shadow. No matter what, they all deal with the moral dilemma of that briefcase and their actions following it. The case also includes indisputable evidence regarding the culprit. In each case, Graves offers the individual a way to rectify it with an attaché briefcase and 100 untraceable bullets.
While this book offers no extras (no intro, cover art reproductions, etc) - if you're hankering for a good, gritty hard boiled crime saga this certainly is a series worth exploring. In this first book we encounter 3 individuals and their own unique perspectives on whether or not to act upon such an opportunity. The compilation of Brian Azzarello's, "100 Bullets" series kicks off with this particular volume, containing the first 5 issues of the original comic books. First time readers will quickly acclimate themselves to the basic narrative structure of this series - Agent Graves makes contact with a (typically) hardscrabble soul eking out a meager existence and offers them a chance at revenge toward the person responsible for their current state of existence by way of a gun and 100 untraceable bullets along with complete legal amnesty for taking their revenge action.
MOST OVER RATED COMIC EVER. I thought the whole point of a comic was watching a story unfold, someone should tell this author. It was 3 stories filled with stereotypical characters saying and doing nothing of importance until a character at the end gives a ton of ridiculous and unbelievable exposition in an attempt to make sense of the stupidity.
Volume 1 concludes with a related short story that previously appeared in a Vertigo compilation. The mysterious, seemingly omniscient Agent Graves offers Dizzy undisputable proof of the identity of her family's murderer (two crooked cops) along with the titular untraceable 100 bullets and a handgun. In the second story arc, Agent Graves makes a similar offer to a ruined restaurateur who lost his family and reputation after being framed for a sickening computer crime. This TPB, now in its seventh printing, collects the opening five issues of the Brian Azzarello/Eduardo Risso crime series that is widely considered among the very best of the decade. I am looking forward to reading Volume 2 and beyond. Azzarello explores themes of revenge and moral ambiguity in the realistic, sometimes violent narrative. Starting in 1999, the series recently concluded with its 100th issue, and there are a total of thirteen trade paperbacks in the series. The first three issues center on recent parolee and widow Dizzy in the slums of Chicago.
THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN THE CITY. I'M A STUDENT IN VICTORIA MORSE'S CLASS AND THIS IS A REVIEW OF A BOOK SHE BOUGHT FOR THE CLASS. THE THING I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK IS IT GETS STRAGHT IN TO THE ACTION AND IT SHOWS THE STRUGGLE OF A STRONG GIRL. THE MAIN CHARICTER OF THE BOOK IS A 23 YEAR OLD GIRL NAMED DIZZY AND HER PROBLEM IS HER FAMILY WAS KILLED BY SOME CROOKED COPS. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS 100 BULLETS FIRST SHOT, LAST CALL. THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT A DIZZY WHO JUST GETS OUT OF JAIL AND IS GOING TO GET REVENGE FOR MURDER OF HER FAMILY.
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