Zeb Aslam
Jun 7, 2004, 06:47 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0604/100BulletsCVR50.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0604/100BulletsCVR50t.jpg"align=left alt="100 BULLETS #50"></a>Reviewer: Zeb Aslam, shrinkingleviathan@hotmail.com
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Story Title: Prey For Reign
We go an entire issue without seeing a reference to the bullets…
Written By: Brian Azzarello
Pencilled By: Eduardo Risso
Inked By: Eduardo Risso
Colors By: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters By: Clem Robins
Publisher: Vertigo Comics
100 Bullets…now here’s a title that has been largely ignored by me for a long time. Usually I tend to buy every single new Vertigo title that comes out. Call it growth, or call it snobbishness, but I tend to enjoy the mature titles more than I do my super-hero fix. This title however, I largely ignored because the initial concept bored me; a secret agent who gives wronged parties 100 untraceable bullets, and proof against their enemies. Until the wronged party accomplishes their goal, the bullets remain untraceable, and then once the goal is reached, the bullets just become regular bullets.
While this scenario sounds great to most people, I thought it would be tired out quite quickly, and grow stale and boring. What I didn’t reckon for was the conspiracy theory Brian Azzarello placed in the series.
So, anyway, I finally caved and picked up the first trade 2 months back. Loved it…went back and bought the next 3 trades, and so on until I owned all the available trades. Then I started buying back issues…while the actual gun stories were fun, they never interested me as much as the back story with the Minutemen, the island of Roanoke, and the Trust did. So, of course, this issue was like a Godsend for me…a whole issue almost entirely devoted to the truth behind both the Trust, and the secret of Roanoke.
This issue starts off much like most others…with swearing, drinking, and a conspiracy theory. Essentially, this issue is actually two stories in one. The first story, which acts as a framing sequence is about a hitherto unseen character called Victor (someone I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of again…more on that later) and the second story is a tale of the origins of the Trust, as told by Victor himself.
Of the two segments, I must say I enjoyed the Trust segment a lot more than I did the heist segment. The heist segment was just a pure, unadulterated, action movie. We started with a discussion about the Ku Klux Klan, moved on to discussions about the actual heist, and finally came to the one they left behind. Excellent stuff, but nowhere near as good as the other tale. The second story focused entirely on the Trust. Azzarello has obviously done his historical research thoroughly as he presents an origin for the Trust which not only makes sense as a story, but also seems realistic in a historical perspective. The resistance by the Queen of Roanoke especially was a nice touch, and I feel sorry that we couldn’t get to see more of her Highness.
We also get a partial origin of the Minutemen. If nothing else, we finally get to know their original motivation in working for the Trust, and also it was incredibly interesting to see the changes in the Minutemen. The Minutemen of old have very little in common with today’s ragtag bunch, and it makes for a very interesting character study. Coming to the new character introduced in this issue; Victor. Victor is enigmatic enough to be literally anyone!! As he is the narrator of this particular tale, then obviously he is a part of the organization in question…but who is he? There are quite a few theories which come to mind, Victor can either be a Minuteman…a theory which I personally am leaning towards, or he could be The Saint…something which makes a lot more sense considering the cross tattoo on his hand..
Moving on to the art…Risso is supremely brilliant. His line-work throughout the issue, but most especially during the flashback sequences was fantastic. It truly felt as if he had actually been there, and was drawing from live examples. It was very noir-ish and effective, especially for a tale such as this. I honestly cannot imagine this book without the pencils of Risso supporting it. Another excellent point this issue was the coloring by Patricia Mulvihill. Mulvihill’s work is incredibly intricate. The shadowing, and the lighting is perfectly balanced within these pages. The bar feels like a bar! When Victor’s cronies go out into the sun after being in the bar…you can almost feel the glare on your eyes. Usually I don’t notice coloring, but this was so fantastic that I simply had to mention it!
Brian Azzarello truly shines in this series…it’s his baby, and it shows. When compared to his other work (which I’ve always found average at best) this is like a shot in the chest of pure adrenaline. The story hits on all cylinders and doesn’t give up until the final page. The art also complements the story so completely that sometimes it’s hard to believe that there are two separate people writing and drawing this book. It all seems to be incredibly in synch that you’d almost think one person was responsible for the whole thing. This issue has definitely whetted my appetite for more…and waiting 1 whole month is now beginning to seem like torture! Trust me…try this book, one read and you’ll never want to go back…ever!
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vhalf.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vnone.jpg
ISSUE OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=11541)
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Story Title: Prey For Reign
We go an entire issue without seeing a reference to the bullets…
Written By: Brian Azzarello
Pencilled By: Eduardo Risso
Inked By: Eduardo Risso
Colors By: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters By: Clem Robins
Publisher: Vertigo Comics
100 Bullets…now here’s a title that has been largely ignored by me for a long time. Usually I tend to buy every single new Vertigo title that comes out. Call it growth, or call it snobbishness, but I tend to enjoy the mature titles more than I do my super-hero fix. This title however, I largely ignored because the initial concept bored me; a secret agent who gives wronged parties 100 untraceable bullets, and proof against their enemies. Until the wronged party accomplishes their goal, the bullets remain untraceable, and then once the goal is reached, the bullets just become regular bullets.
While this scenario sounds great to most people, I thought it would be tired out quite quickly, and grow stale and boring. What I didn’t reckon for was the conspiracy theory Brian Azzarello placed in the series.
So, anyway, I finally caved and picked up the first trade 2 months back. Loved it…went back and bought the next 3 trades, and so on until I owned all the available trades. Then I started buying back issues…while the actual gun stories were fun, they never interested me as much as the back story with the Minutemen, the island of Roanoke, and the Trust did. So, of course, this issue was like a Godsend for me…a whole issue almost entirely devoted to the truth behind both the Trust, and the secret of Roanoke.
This issue starts off much like most others…with swearing, drinking, and a conspiracy theory. Essentially, this issue is actually two stories in one. The first story, which acts as a framing sequence is about a hitherto unseen character called Victor (someone I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of again…more on that later) and the second story is a tale of the origins of the Trust, as told by Victor himself.
Of the two segments, I must say I enjoyed the Trust segment a lot more than I did the heist segment. The heist segment was just a pure, unadulterated, action movie. We started with a discussion about the Ku Klux Klan, moved on to discussions about the actual heist, and finally came to the one they left behind. Excellent stuff, but nowhere near as good as the other tale. The second story focused entirely on the Trust. Azzarello has obviously done his historical research thoroughly as he presents an origin for the Trust which not only makes sense as a story, but also seems realistic in a historical perspective. The resistance by the Queen of Roanoke especially was a nice touch, and I feel sorry that we couldn’t get to see more of her Highness.
We also get a partial origin of the Minutemen. If nothing else, we finally get to know their original motivation in working for the Trust, and also it was incredibly interesting to see the changes in the Minutemen. The Minutemen of old have very little in common with today’s ragtag bunch, and it makes for a very interesting character study. Coming to the new character introduced in this issue; Victor. Victor is enigmatic enough to be literally anyone!! As he is the narrator of this particular tale, then obviously he is a part of the organization in question…but who is he? There are quite a few theories which come to mind, Victor can either be a Minuteman…a theory which I personally am leaning towards, or he could be The Saint…something which makes a lot more sense considering the cross tattoo on his hand..
Moving on to the art…Risso is supremely brilliant. His line-work throughout the issue, but most especially during the flashback sequences was fantastic. It truly felt as if he had actually been there, and was drawing from live examples. It was very noir-ish and effective, especially for a tale such as this. I honestly cannot imagine this book without the pencils of Risso supporting it. Another excellent point this issue was the coloring by Patricia Mulvihill. Mulvihill’s work is incredibly intricate. The shadowing, and the lighting is perfectly balanced within these pages. The bar feels like a bar! When Victor’s cronies go out into the sun after being in the bar…you can almost feel the glare on your eyes. Usually I don’t notice coloring, but this was so fantastic that I simply had to mention it!
Brian Azzarello truly shines in this series…it’s his baby, and it shows. When compared to his other work (which I’ve always found average at best) this is like a shot in the chest of pure adrenaline. The story hits on all cylinders and doesn’t give up until the final page. The art also complements the story so completely that sometimes it’s hard to believe that there are two separate people writing and drawing this book. It all seems to be incredibly in synch that you’d almost think one person was responsible for the whole thing. This issue has definitely whetted my appetite for more…and waiting 1 whole month is now beginning to seem like torture! Trust me…try this book, one read and you’ll never want to go back…ever!
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vhalf.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vnone.jpg
ISSUE OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/vnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=11541)