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"Baby, are your troubles done?" - Darondo, Didn't I
100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo). I confess to not quite getting all the most complicated plot points in 100 Bullets. The matters and history of The Trust are never quite as interesting as those of all the Hard Cases that make up The Minutemen. And I won't reveal any of the plot details other than to say that I made it all the way through still caring for Dizzy in the end, still intrigued by Cole and still scared to death at the idea that someone like Lono might exist in the world.
What I found most compelling though over these past five months reading these ten collections is how Risso's art matures and improves over the decade of work. By Six Feet Under The Gun, his panels and set-ups are works of art page by page. The graphic novels—a medium that I usually plow through—became slow burns as I would allow my eyes to slowly take in every detail often going over pages again after the twist and turn was revealed at the end.
What also became apparent the deeper I got in was how even little moments had bigger implications later. Often much later. Azzarello never gives us throw away moments. They all are part of the larger narrative. They all give some context to the morality plays being told in each successive issue. These characters, whether small time hoods, not-so-innocent bystanders, or real movers and shakers, all impact each other. And it is always surprising how.
In the end, it's modern noir taken to a grisly, dirty, dark level that I've never read before. No one is without sin. Everyone makes the bad choice and all of it is wonderful in it's awfulness.
No one finds happiness by way of the gun.
Highly recommended.
