100 Bullets: A Short Appreciation
I was laid up in bed for most of December and January, which sucked, but it did give me an opportunity to catch up on my reading. I used some of the time to reread comics I’ve bought in recent years, something that I don’t get to do much anymore. It’s a shame, because second and third readings often offer up a lot of nuance and depth that I miss as I’m rushing through the first time. With 100 Bullets, for example, my first impression of the last three collections I read (Books 8, 9, and 10) was that the series had started to wander. The storytelling has always been cryptic and roundabout in reaching its goals, but the latest stories seemed aimless and convoluted.
When I read through the books again recently, however, I saw that I was way off base in my initial assessment. The stories are as tightly plotted as ever, and the writing is just as involving ten books in. I don’t know why I was so surprised; my estimation of 100 Bullets is always miles better after the second reading than the first. I’m not going to go into a detailed discussion here, but I did want to post a couple of pages that stood out to me on this read through.
Oddly enough, after arguing how terrific the story is, both pages I selected are nearly wordless, a better showcase of artist Eduardo Risso's talents, than writer Brian Azzarello's. Both pages, I think, are masterful examples of staging. The first is the tail end of a shootout on the street; pay attention more to the orange panels than the blue:
The second is this rich mustache guy barking at his goons to go whack someone, until he spots creepy old Agent Graves, who sends everyone scurrying just by being his creepy old self:
It's an all around great book, and you should be reading it. Just remember to read it more than once before you make up your mind on what you think about it.
When I read through the books again recently, however, I saw that I was way off base in my initial assessment. The stories are as tightly plotted as ever, and the writing is just as involving ten books in. I don’t know why I was so surprised; my estimation of 100 Bullets is always miles better after the second reading than the first. I’m not going to go into a detailed discussion here, but I did want to post a couple of pages that stood out to me on this read through.
Oddly enough, after arguing how terrific the story is, both pages I selected are nearly wordless, a better showcase of artist Eduardo Risso's talents, than writer Brian Azzarello's. Both pages, I think, are masterful examples of staging. The first is the tail end of a shootout on the street; pay attention more to the orange panels than the blue:
The second is this rich mustache guy barking at his goons to go whack someone, until he spots creepy old Agent Graves, who sends everyone scurrying just by being his creepy old self:
It's an all around great book, and you should be reading it. Just remember to read it more than once before you make up your mind on what you think about it.
posted by Davinder | 5:53 PM
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