100 Bullets

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

After reading some of writer Brian Azzarello's work on Hellblazer (on which there is a seperate thread here), I decided to have a look at the comic that established Azzarello's stature in the comics world: 100 Bullets.

What I managed to get a hold of was the DC Vertigo graphc novel pictured above, Split Second Chance, featuring issues 6-14 of the comics and first published in 2001.

The story hinges on a mysterious Agent Graves, apparently a member of some covert quasi-governmental organisation in the US. Graves will turn up in some wronged individual's life, give them evidence of who it is that's responsible for their sorrows and hand over a gun and the eponymous one hundred untracable bullets with which to pursue revenge.

What I've read of the story works on two levels - as a series of slices-of-life, in which we are shown the private, mundane tragedies of various normal people and their reactions to the opportunity for revenge. There is also a larger story arc which would eventually unveil Graves' motives, his relation to a mysterious group of 'minutemen' and various other mysteries.

But not knowing the big answers didn't stop my enjoyment of this comics hard-boiled plot, realistic dialogue (major marks to Azzarello for his grasp over spoken English and its fragmentary patterns, something I am trying to develp a ear for right now) and Eduardo Risso's impactful, well-balanced art. Risso's covers in particular are a treat, taking a minimalist, graphic approach that really cuts through the costumed heroics cluttering the comic shelves.


Has anyone read this comic? What do you think? Does the overall story arc deliver on the early promise? Is a satisfactory premise ever arrived at or does the story eventually fragment under its own weight, like the X-Files?

Below: Another great cover, and a close-up of Agent Graves.

PS: If anyone's wondering where I'm suddenly getting all these comics from, a lot of credit is due to my friend George who's been collecting comics and graphic novels from all over the world for a long time now. He even has a huge stack of manga in the original Japanese, which you have to read backward and can't understand anyway unless you know Japanese.

 

[kstr]

I've heard very good things about this comic from a few other sources, looks like it's going to have to be added to my shopping list.

 

[$andokan]

100 Bullets rules!!!

 

[$andokan]

To elaborate a little...

When 100 Bullets first appeared, I didn't buy it because I was rather sceptical, mainly because I believed that the gist of the plot was problematic (a mysterious man named 'Agent Graves' hands attaché briefcase to some poor slob, containing irrefutable evidence that this person has f***** up their life, a gun and 100 untracable bullets, giving them the opportunity to act on this information without legal consequences (all examinations will cease as soon as the bullets return from the forensic lab))
The problems I foresaw were basically:
- At one point the creators would have to give a rational explanation for how Agent Graves was capable of doing this, and why he was doing it in the first place. I think most experienced comics readers will agree that these kind of things usually end in disappointment.
- If every issue or storyline was to begin with Graves' giving someone a briefcase, repetitiveness seemed almost inevitable to me.

I decided to purchase the first paperback (first shot, last call) only recently, after Bullets had become a major (paperback) hit, was given at least a quote by almost everyone who meant anything in comics and was recommended to me by many people whose opinions I trust. At this point, I've read all the collections up to and including The Couterfifth Detective, and I must admit that I'm very, very impressed and highly fascinated.

So how do Azzarello and Risso handle the plot, and keep it from becoming repetitive? Well, in the most old-fashioned way you can think of: by telling great stories. Reading 100 Bullets is like solving an enormous jigsaw puzzle. I find myself constantly evaluating what I know, what I suspect and what this means to the big picture.

The storytelling in this book is amongst the best ever in comics: character design & development, pacing, dialogue, page composition, plot, panel to panel storytelling... if you're a fan of comics storytelling, this book will make your mouth water. Azzarello and Risso are up there with the Alan Moores, the Will Eisners, the Dave Sims on this one.

100 Bullets is not something you read in five minutes on the toilet: this book demands your full and undivided attention (but if you have wallowed through my flawed, prosy non-native English droning to this point, I suspect you can handle it ). Seemingly irrelevant events in the background might contain essential information on what is going on, or become of crucial importance in later storylines. Even the smallest things people do raises or answers questions about who they are or what they are capable of.

I could go on for hours, but let's conclude by saying:

I like it a lot. Much recommended.

Collections available (to my knowledge):
1: First Shot, last Call
2: Split Second Chance
3: Hang up on the Hang low
4: A Foregone Tomorrow
5: The Counterfifth detective
6: Six feet under the Gun
7: Samurai