No way, but I’m totally getting the second trade this Wednesday, provided my shop has it.
OH! You’re only on the second on. Sorry, I read wrong.
Not for long, this shit is like crack by the panel.
Okay, so last Wednesday I picked up Vol. 2-4, since my shop had a sick deal on trades, and wow. Maybe, I should have made a post for each trade, because in that time I’ve burned through all three. And now, my head is spinning with all the details, wondering if I missed something major.
So far, I’ve got a very basic understanding of what the Trust is, what the Minutemen were and what purpose they served. I guess the most confusing aspect so far is Mr. Sheperd and his relationship with Dizzy. I understand that he is an ex-Minuteman, and that he is currently employed by the Trust, but aside from that his meetings with Dizzy, Cole, Mr. Branch, and Benito confuse the hell out of me. Seems to me like his loyalty sways at the drop of a dime.
All of the stories so far have been amazing, but I’m particularly fond of the “Sell Fish & Out To Sea” arc, because it’s surprise ending hearkened back to old EC comics stories.
I managed to find a copy Jonny Double at a used bookstore a couple of weeks ago. I finally read it last night. Thought it was pretty great. The artwork isn’t as accomplished as what Risso’s producing today, but it’s still great. The story’s about a P.I. getting involved in a heist gone wrong. Yeah, it’s ten years old now but it still feels harder than most comics today that try to be gritty.
DC should really bring Jonny Double back for some more action. They could cash in on the crime comics/noir genre - and bring back the Human Target while they’re at it.
A Dash of Dashiell
LOVED. Johnny Double. As for DC/Vertigo, they are bringing back the genre in a sense.
http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2008/07/news-dc-launches-vertigo-crime/
Good to meet someone who read EC comics! I hardly even hear them mentioned. Wait until you pick up Counterfifth. Pure Dashiell Hammett/Pulp Noir throwback.
Feel free to ask about it. Trade by trade or issue by issue. People take different things and views from it and I’ll gladly chop it up with you to see what you’ve come up with, as well as adding to it if I can.
Oh man I’m tripping, I just realized that all the names for the trades actually match up to the number of the trade.
#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 - (Seven) Samurai
#8 - The Hard Way (read: craps, rolling an 8)
#9 - Strychnine Lives
#10 - Decayed (Decade…?)
#11 - Once Upon A Crime (…?)
#12 - Dirty (Dozen)
…yeah, couldn’t figure out 3, 10, or 11. So maybe not. Am I crazy here?
once is 11 in spanish (pronounced “on-sey” like in Ponce de Leon)
I have no idea what 3 is. It might be a gambling term, but I have never heard of something even close to that.
10 is definitely “decade”
EDIT:
I just checked wikipedia and there’s no entry for this at all except they have a title for the upcoming 13th trade already called “Wilt”. lol. Chamberlain’s jersey number.
EDIT 2:
nm, reading comprehension/add, etc, etc… lol there are entries on the Wiki about it now. Apparently 3rd was renamed from “Charmed”.
Yeah, I think the third volume kept the title of the story of the issues because of an Eisner nomination. Someone in marketing probably thought it would be a good idea to roll with the original title so that all the pretentious Eisner Award Whores would know in which volume to find the story.
Yeah. It was initially named “The Charm”
It’s also for Wilt’s 100 Point game in March 1962
Nah. Not crazy at all. You’ve got it. 
Ah, what? This was all already in the Wikipedia entry? I’m a loser.
You figured it out on your own. That’s not stupid. You should be able to fish out the other tie-ins just as easily.
Fuck yeah, I read EC books! I might even go as far to say that it they were the greatest comic company in the history of ever. It doesn’t matter if the plots to the stories were redundant, those guys had serious fucking talent. As far as The Counterfifth Detective, I was extremely satisfied. It’s my favorite arc thus far, hands down…without a doubt, and all that jazz. Milo Garret was a fucking baller, and after reading it about three times I’m seriously craving some Raymond Chandler, despite having never read any of his work. ;/
Raymond Chandler kicks ass. The Long Goodbye is one of my favorite novels. Also, if you dig the hardboiled crime noir stuff, also check out Ross MacDonald’s work. MacDonald isn’t as famous as Chandler or Dashiell Hammett, but I think he is my favorite of the old-school hardboiled crime novelists. The Chill, The Galton Case, and The Goodbye Look are all amazing MacDonald books. And Brubaker will swear by him, too. Dude loves Ross MacDonald. (That’s how I got turned on to MacDonald, actually. Met the Bru at a comic book store and he told me to. Simple as that.)
Speaking of whom, Brubaker and Michael Lark’s Scene of the Crime is another Vertigo treasure. It’s not as action-packed as Jonny Double or Azzarello’s other stuff, but it definitely hearkens back to the classical Chandler/Hammett pulp style, with modern sensibilities.
Lark also did a wonderful adaptation of Chandler’s The Little Sister.
Looks like it might be out of print, but it’s a fantastic read. His art style is still more like his old Terminal City style, but you can see how it gets more realistic and evolves into the way he draws now. There are a lot of comics adaptations of novels that aren’t all that, but The Little Sister is the truth.
You’ll have to let me know what your thoughts are on “The Hard Way”. What trades do you have?
Wow. Thanks for this! I had no idea these existed. My wife and I are going to love this. We’ve found a copy on ebay that we’re snatching up.
As soon as I get more monies, will do. I think I want to start with the Big Sleep since it was his first novel in that particular series, just for the simple fact that I’m an elitist.
Currently, I own vol. 1-5, but my store doesn’t have vol. 6 or 7, and my bank is weak as shit.
Does anyone pick up the singles or is it still mostly a Trade crowd?