For those who haven’t read 100 Bullets and are into pulp and noir I suggest you get on it immediately. Excellent writing, beautiful artwork and brilliantly crafted characters you’re bound to love or hate.
For the others who have, I just want to get insight and thoughts on things you all have noticed. I have a few theories I’ve thrown together in regards to who is making a fool of who, and I’m looking to possibly get a few extra viewpoints so I can look at things from other angles.
Graves gave the people exactly what they wanted…and a lot of them were too stupid to take advantage of it. “OMGWTF really you can give my kids monies for teh college?”
lol. But yeah 100 bullets is plain awesome loved it.
100 Bullets is far and a away has been my favorite comic book over the past five years (I came late). I bought the first collection, the accidentally bought the fifth book (the best one out of the TPBs) and I’ve never looked back. I own all of the collections and I was recently re-reading them last night. Hell I’ve said it to other people and I’ll say it again: in terms of crime fiction, my Bullets love outpaces my love for the Sopranos (the Wire is superior to both though). I think it is better than Fables and the now completed Y the Last Man. It sucks that it is going to end soon. I’ll miss it and it deserves all of the props it receives. Oh yeah: Kobe, Samuel L Jackson, and Method Man are fans of 100 Bullets as well. They know whats up. :smokin:
I think right now, Hang Up on the Hang Low is my favorite story… That’s one that I’ve read several times already, just for sheer enjoyment.
I’m behind on my reading. I think I’ve only read up to the ninth TRADE, BABY, although I have the tenth and eleventh volumes on my shelf. I’ve been meaning to reread the whole thing one of these weeks. The story’s just so layered and complicated and packed with characters and subplots that my feeble mind can’t handle it all in just one reading. And it’s been a year or two since I read the ninth volume. I got to take a refresher course.
I’m gonna try and track down Jonny Double, too. (Azzarello and Risso’s first team-up.)
You are missing some phenomenal shit, my friend. Man… “Coda Smoke” from The Hard Way and the entire “Punch Line” arc in Once Upon a Crime broke my heart. We lost some people there I never wanted to lose. Once you read Once… let me know what you’ve picked up on or things you’re noticing. I don’t want to spoil anything should my hunches be correct, and signs are quickly pointing to “Yes”.
The twelfth trade (“Dirty”) is about to come out at the end of this month. I had been joking with my wife and a few friends about this series having thirteen trades when all is said and done, but now I see it’s coming true. Cute.
I can’t believe I’ve been following this for several years of my life now and its about to wrap up. I stopped reading Fables 2 years ago and Hellblazer last year so this is pretty much the only Vertigo I still follow. Might have to checkout the other titles after this.
100 Bullets is probably the only title that I will HAVE to read again when it wraps up. Last few issues are insane! Philip Graves is really living up to his name with this entire clusterfuck of a situation. Eduardo Risso’s art and storytelling has improved tremendously too (I’m gonna cop that style for my own).
How do I do a damn spoiler cut? I have a long ass spiel to drop about Graves. This son of a bitch is a lot smarter than anyone else has given him credit for.
ah hell yeah about time 100 bullets got its own thread!!
best story line to me by far is the hard way TPB. wylie pulls some crazy shit at the anwar mansion with throwing the gas can up in the air and blowing it sky high!!
that and what happend to Gabe was some messed up stuff. they took the only thing in the world he had going for him. the panel where wylie tells him to picture where he wants to be just broke my heart.
I’m not a fan. I will admit that it’s fairly decent. It’s just not my cup of tea, and I don’t like it.
The thing is, it doesn’t focus on characters long enough for any kind of emotional attachment to develop. Yeah, there’s recurring characters like Dizzy and Graves, but after 7 volumes later, there’s still no clear indication as to what the hell’s going on.
Sandman followed the same general means of plot delivery, but at least with that, Morpheus was the common link between all of those different stories. And which each story, it revealed a little bit more about his character/flaws/history. 100 Bullets has no focal point, and no central character to care about, so it falls apart at times.
And 100 Bullets suffers from LOST syndrome. They keep on raising new characters and new questions, and nothing really gets answered. It’s frustrating. I mean
Plot stuff
Spoiler
we know that the Minutemen consisting of Graves plus a few other people refused orders from crazy powerful crime syndicate who happened to be their boss. We know that a few Minutemen survived with the aid of deliberate memory suppression. We know the Minutemen are badass. We know that Graves’ “game” is meant to satisfy his odd sense of justice and serve as a recruitment tool. But–and here’s the kicker–there’s no clear reason why I should care. Or what any of this means. Or what the context is. Too many damn questions, no answers.
The only story that I really enjoyed thus far was the one with the Private Investigator who was unraveling some crime at the behest of a mysterious woman. That story was amazing–it was pulp crime fiction at its best, with amazing dialogue and shades of Dashiell Hammet. I would buy that volume for that story alone.
so how many TBP are left??? #12 is supposed to come out this month…will that be the last one or there is still one more??? just asking because i was not aware that it was coming to an end!!!
What are some thoughts as to Graves and his ultimate plan? We’ve already established in Sleep, Walker that he met in private with Vasco and Medici to form a triumvirate of sorts. I have a nice long theory on that I’ll post later. We’ve seen that his loyalty doesn’t exactly lie with the Minutemen. Think he wants a house of his own?
Don’t read this if you haven’t read the latest issue.
about MM/Graves
[details=Spoiler] Anyone notice that any Minuteman who has ever displayed a form of dissent or failure has been put down? Milo, through his detective skills figured out about the triumvirate and how killing Trust members served to furthered Medici’s power, only to get destroyed by Lono. Wylie caught on himself, and only moments before he could explain it to Cole got popped in the heart by Remi. Cole, angry with being Grave’s “right hand” and being sent to do bitch work, defies his wishes, then gets his neck broken by Jack. Remi botches his job and Graves sends Vic to give him the business. As opposed to going out at the wish of Graves and defying Vengeance/Revenge for Wiley, Remi leaps off of the roof of his hospital and lands on a passer-by effectively killing his own brother at the same time, bringing forth the prophecy of Remi ruining his brother’s life. Dizzy might have potentially taken out Lono, Lono might have potentially taken out Dizzy. Loop leaped off a cliff (and survived, but still) Everyone seems expendable.
I actually went ahead and bought it, and I’m glad I did. I was tempted to pick up the latest issue right then, but knowing me I would have been tempted to read it. And judging by what you guys have said about reading between the lines and weaving layer upon layer, I don’t wanna spoil the story. At first I didn’t like the art work, but it has rapidly grown on me just after reading the first trade. I know the story goes deeper, but damn the initial plot with Graves offer of 100 untraceable bullets and how it ties into the title is just sick.
Just do a spoiler cut. I want to hear what others are thinking. You won’t ruin anything. I’m on issue 95.