100 Bullets

100 Bullets starts off by indirectly presenting its audience with a question: if you were offered a gun with one hundred untraceable bullets and absolute proof that one person was responsible for everything wrong in your life, what would you do?

For the first several arcs of the series this question appears to be the title’s focus, as we see different characters from different walks of life offered the chance to write wrongs. Some take it, some don’t. We follow their stories regardless. Some of those we meet, such as Dizzy who appears in the first three issues, return to the series and become important later. Others never appear again. It’s almost like they’re red herrings introduced to mislead us as to the series’ overall direction.

That opening question becomes the backdrop to the series but it gradually becomes clear that it is not the sole focus. The title introduces mysteries and factions and conspiracies, which all flesh out to become the true plot. By the end of the second collected volume you’ll be wondering who the next Minuteman will be revealed as, as well as who that group answers to. You’ll be wondering about the significance of Ms Dietrich’s golden badge, the true nature of the man with the attaches, and what exactly happened in Atlantic City. Answers are a long time coming in 100 Bullets but when they arrive they always prove well worth the wait.

The level of plotting and planning that has gone into the series is astonishing. Writer Brian Azzarello did a phenomenal job crafting the densely layered history of his characters and their fictitious world and does a great job of transferring his thoughts to the page in a compelling and entertaining way. 100 Bullets has a huge cast coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, and all of them are written believably. The central characters all have their own distinctive voices. It’s all perfectly judged form beginning to end.

Artist Eduardo Risso does a wonderful job of bringing this cast and their world to life. Each main character is instantly recognisable, with the Minutemen in particular being a wonderful collection of different looks that don’t look out of place as a unit. Whether it’s Lono in his Hawaiian shirts, the swaddled-in-bandages detective from The Counterfifth Detective, or the short and stumpy Mr Branch everyone is instantly recognisable and allows the artist to create a shorthand of silhouetted figures that are used sparingly but effectively throughout the series.

The arc titles and covers are worthy of praise too. Each cover is a sumptuous collection of images that bear a relevance to the story that occurs within. Fans of Marvel and DC superhero titles will be aware of how rarely that happens these days. The titles are all puns of one sort or another, with the collected volumes getting the treatment too. It’s something that helps to set the series apart, adding to its feeling of being special.

Interesting names aren’t just saved for titles. Many of the characters have a name that reflects their persona, grants them an equally intriguing nickname, or just sounds cool. Wylie Times, Cole Burns and Victor Ray are my personal favourites. I’ll always like the way Agent Graves’ name reflects his sombre personality too.

The end result of 100 Bullets is part crime noir, part conspiracy thriller, and part Reservoir Dogs. In fact it’s easy to imagine the series as a TV series directed by Tarantino. Whether that’s your cup of tea or not 100 Bullets is one of the most stylishly executed comic books ever. It’s a title that revels in its own creativity and ingenuity, examining the nature of secrets and the true nature of The American Way. Anybody, comics fan or not, will enjoy reading it.

 

Critical information:

Writer: Brian Azzarello

Artist: Eduardo Risso

Locke & Key: Head Games

One of the central aspects of Locke & Key's second volumes is so brilliant that other creative teams would milk it and force it to last far longer than six issues. In Head Games Bode Locke tinkers with the key he fished from the pond of Keyhouse at the end of volume one, eventually discovering that it grants access to people's minds. Memories can be looked at or removed completely, and gaining knowledge becomes as easy as stuffing a book into your head.

The concept is approached in a fun manner that makes use of the visual aspects a comic book provides. Every person’s mind is depicted as an assortment of miniature people living inside their minds, acting out the memories they represent. It gives artist Gabriel Rodriguez the chance to give us some memorable splash pages and have some fun. Young Bode’s mind is a colourful and eclectic mix of superheroes, dinosaurs, and monsters, while Tyler’s is a sombre grey landscape of guilt, angst and teenage lust.
 
Easy to imagine a 70 issue Vertigo series centred on this concept isn't it?
 
Joe Hill shows great restraint, refusing to wear the idea out. Instead he focuses his attention on his cast. Bode is as infectiously carefree as he was in Welcome to Lovecraft, behaving just as we'd all want to if we discovered the magic of Keyhouse for ourselves. Tyler remains stoic, but we get a little of his playful side too. It's a welcome change and keeps the book feeling fresh.
 
It’s Kinsey that gets the most to do of the three Locke children. She is the most affected by the key gimmick and grows the most as a character. We can identify with all the players, but her most of all. Her decision in issue three when it’s realised that things can be taken out of the mind is a pivotal moment for the series.
 
Rodriguez remains as reliable as he was during the title’s first volume but is given more moments to shine thanks to the more fantastical nature of the new key. In addition to the splash pages mentioned above we also get a brief glimpse of a stage play that turns out to be very important in a later volume, some worryingly cute evil memories and emotions, and a highly inventive way of crediting those who worked on the book at the start of issue four. The quiet moments are handled delicately, with the mostly black-and-white epilogue issue being a moving affair.

Head Games showed that Hill and Rodriguez hadn’t been lucky first time round and that Locke & Key was a consistently enjoyable title. More to the point it showed that the series was going somewhere. This is a second outing that doesn’t disappoint.

Batman: The Long Halloween

I'll begin by saying that I'm not a fan of Jeph Loeb. He relies too heavily on continuity references and crowbarring in as many characters as possible. Perhaps his most infuriating trait is the constant attempts to introduce mysteries into his writing. More often than not you'll be left without a definitive answer, unable to decipher one for yourself because Loeb's plotting is so haphazard.
 
Unfortunately Batman: The Long Halloween epitomises all of the above points.
 
The story unfolds over the period of a year in Gotham City. It concerns the corrupt Falcone family's stranglehold on the city and a pact formed by police captain Jim Gordon, Gotham district attorney Harvey Dent, and Batman to bring them to justice. It’s gangster intrigue DC Universe style.
 
The first hint that this title is full of nonsense comes from just flicking through its pages. Loeb has gone out of his way to cram in as many members of Batman's rogues gallery as possible. You'll see the usual suspects such as Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Two Face, who actually receives a revamped origin story. It all feels too busy. There's no need for the majority of these villains to be included, leaving you with the feeling that they're present because Loeb gets a thrill from it and falsely believes it lends the book credibility as a Batman title.
 
Another part of the trouble is that Loeb expects everyone to be as well versed in the character's history as he (thinks he) is. Why should a casual reader care who Calendar Man is, for example? Loeb has plucked elements from history to appease fans, overlooking anyone who may be picking up a Batman title, or even a comic in general, for the first time. The Batman mythos is placed front and centre but so much is made of it that it actually detracts from the comic.
 
The Long Halloween's biggest crime has to be its laboured mysteries. Without wishing to give too much away one of the book’s sub-plots sees one of the Falcones murdered. Nobody is revealed as the killer in the pages of the comic though Loeb insists that all the clues are there if you look for them. If they do exist then they are skilfully hidden because nobody ever seems entirely clear on who did it. It’s easy for Mr Loeb to say people should be able to work it out, he wrote the blasted book!
 
While it’s not recommended reading Long Halloween still has its merits. Loeb writes the Batman character very well, acknowledging that he's a detective as well as a superhero and Gotham's conscience. Anyone who's seen Bale and Nolan's The Dark Knight should also enjoy seeing part of the film's inspiration and source material.
 
It’s Tim Sale is what gives this title its greatest selling point. His dark, brooding art is the perfect fit for a Batman tale. The deep shadows suit 'The Caped Crusader' as well as they do the film noir attempt of a plot. Sale gives us an interesting take on each character, with the Joker standing out alongside Batman as warranting particularly high praise.
 
It's the non-superheroes that really show how good the artist is. While most people could draw something approaching a recognisable Batman thanks to the character's distinctive costume Sale creates a cast of people in suits that have their own instantly recognisable looks and personalities.
 
Visually pleasant it may be, but Batman: The Long Halloween is an utter disappointment for anyone who values a logical plot.

The Ultimates

You wouldn't think it to look at the imprint now but when Marvel first launched its Ultimate line it was considered one of the greatest things the company had done in years. Ultimate Spider-Man launched the line in 2000 and was followed by Ultimate X-Men in 2001. Both titles reimagined their titular characters in a more contemporary, (slightly) more realistic world than the regular Marvel Universe, allowing for origin stories updated to suit the 21^st century.
 
As successful as both books were both pale in comparison to The Ultimates. To this day the original 28 issue (26 regular issues and two annuals) run by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch remains one of the line's greatest hits. It’s a stylish, exciting comic that helped Ultimate Marvel to flourish.
 
The first thirteen issue series opens with a first instalment flashing back to World War Two to detail the origin of Captain America, after which we're gradually introduced to the rest of the team. Hank and Janet Pym are biologists working on the advancement of superpowers. Tony Stark is the billionaire playboy we've seen emerge in the films.

There are hints of Bruce Banner’s famous alter ego having already made his presence known to the world (specifically New York). Nick Fury is famously redesigned to look like Samuel L Jackson, hence his casting as the S.H.I.E.L.D. boss is Marvel's films, and is written as a more shadowy, slightly sinister individual than his mainstream counterpart.
 
The greatest recreation is Thor. As the story begins he is either the genuine God of Thunder or an environmentalist lunatic with some very special powers. The way this is introduced is superb and answers that are teased across multiple arcs is incredibly rewarding.
 
What makes the series work is Millar's understanding of the characters at his disposal. He knows what tweaks to make and never goes overboard, meaning the cast remains recognisable but still capable of surprising us. The pacing is quick and the balance between action and plot is perfect. Hitch handles everything required of him perfectly.
 
The first twelve issues are split into two stories. The first details the recruitment and formation of the team and a rampaging rogue troubling New York. The second arc shows the Ultimates' clash with the Chitari, an alien race that had been allied with Hitler during the war.
 
The action, pacing and characterisation are all perfect and there's not a bad line of dialogue throughout the entire run. It’s an essential read for anyone who wants a modern take on superheroes done correctly. Millar and Hitch introduce a sense of wonder that mainstream comics, generally speaking, lack today. Very impressive when you consider how well known the characters at their disposal are.

Ignition City

 

Ignore the “Volume 1” slapped onto the cover and spine of this book. Volume two is not coming. These five issues are a complete tale in and of themselves and Warren Ellis has no plans for more. Although the world that’s constructed is so rich that it’s easy to imagine this becoming an ongoing series.

In a way that is Ignition City’s greatest downfall. There are so many hints at a wider world and an unseen history between the characters we meet and it’s a great shame these won’t be taken further. It feels very much like the first half of a TV series cancelled before its time by 20^th Century Fox: there’s lots of invention but everything’s over before you can fully appreciate it all. It’s sort of a comic book equivalent of Firefly.

As ever with Warren Ellis one of the central motifs of the title is technology. Whereas Ellis usually enjoys writing about the future of technology here he plays around with its past, imaging a world that’s a mixture of steampunk, early rocket science and space exploration.

The story takes place in the eponymous Ignition City, Earth’s last remaining spaceport. There’s a sassy, foul-mouthed, empowered female lead on hand (another Ellis trope) to guide us through this world, acting as a cross between an exposition device and a vehicle for Ellis’s femdom fantasies.

Mary Raven is fleshed out a little with a backstory concerning her father being a famous space pilot and wanting to follow in his footsteps. It’s not the most touching story you’ll ever come across in a comic, nor is Raven the most empathetic character, but you find yourself warming to her anyway.

The real strength of the title is in its cast of supporting characters and Ignition City itself. As comic book locales go Ignition City seems very real, and its various cast of characters never feel too ridiculous. That’s pretty impressive when you consider that the list includes giant green alien crabs and a man who was once “Russia’s greatest cosmonaut.” Gianluca Pagliarani does a great job making a grimy town built on mud seem varied and interesting and gives us a surprisingly wide range of facial expressions.

The plot is centred on the tried and tested murder mystery formula. It’s not especially inventive but doesn’t need to be. The real joy of this book is discovering its secrets, not following a complex story. If you’re looking for something you can breeze through in a day then this is for you. It will leave you wanting more though.

 

Critical information:

Writer: Warren Ellis

Artist: Gianluca Pagliarani

ISBN: 9781592910878