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justiceofkalr's review against another edition
3.0
Reread this book since it's been a while and I'm trying to actually make it past book two this time. The basic idea is that this mysterious guy comes along and gives someone who has been wronged (whether they know it or not) a briefcase with evidence against someone who has hurt them in some way and an untraceable gun with 100 bullets. There's also some sort of secret organization rivalry or something going on that vaguely gets set up as well. I guess someone tried to take out briefcase man and his friends. But the coolest part is the idea of an untraceable revenge for people.
There were two revenge stories in this first volume. Dizzy's story was pretty good if a bit predictable, but the bartender was just kind of weird. Some chick sent him kiddie porn as a drunken joke or something, and oh by the way she's also part of the organization that tried to kill briefcase man.
So I guess an interesting start, but I'll have to see where it goes.
There were two revenge stories in this first volume. Dizzy's story was pretty good if a bit predictable, but the bartender was just kind of weird. Some chick sent him kiddie porn as a drunken joke or something, and oh by the way she's also part of the organization that tried to kill briefcase man.
So I guess an interesting start, but I'll have to see where it goes.
kandicez's review against another edition
4.0
I still hold to the four stars I gave this the first time I read it. I recently bought the whole series so felt the first installment deserved a reread before I dived in. It was a bit muddled. The idea is a good one, and especially topical right now.
Someone who has been horribly wronged is approached by Agent Graves, given a briefcase of irrefutable proof and a gun with 100 bullets. Untraceable. If the bullets are found at a crime scene the investigations stops. What would you do?
What the receiver of the gun and bullets would do and why is enough for a lot of volumes. I think the real story, however, is going to be who is this Graves.
Someone who has been horribly wronged is approached by Agent Graves, given a briefcase of irrefutable proof and a gun with 100 bullets. Untraceable. If the bullets are found at a crime scene the investigations stops. What would you do?
What the receiver of the gun and bullets would do and why is enough for a lot of volumes. I think the real story, however, is going to be who is this Graves.
barrybonifay's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
k15hore99's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition
I really enjoyed the concept behind this and will definitely check out more of the series.
lordenglishssbm's review against another edition
3.0
Solid couple of crime short stories, though the volume feels more like a lead-in to something larger than anything that could stand on its own. Interested to see where it's going, and the art is quite good.
oneangrylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
I am conflicted about this book. I found the second half to be great but the first half was so forced it almost felt racist. I will keep checking out the series but it was not a great start. I do like the pulpy art and retro feel, but there is a point where one is doing a characterization and when one is simply being racist. Brian Azzarello walked a very thin line with me.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
2.0
The turn of the millennium hasn't aged well. The politics. The jokes. The politicians. The comedians. The writers. Sure, some have become better people. Some were just young and rebellious at a time when rebelliousness was looked at as "edgy" and somehow that was cool. Azzarello wasn't exactly young when 100 Bullets came out, but he was newish to writing professional comics. And his work fits right in with Frank Miller's "Sin City"; there's crime, strippers, crooked cops, and people who need justice after having been done wrong. There's also slang that was already dated in the late 90s that now reads as both dated and racist.
I really enjoyed this when it came out. I still like the theoretical concept of a story about a vigilante passing out guns with one hundred untraceable bullets to people who've been framed by corrupt cops, and elite stock traders. It's conceptually very interesting. And, in the hands of 2019 Azzarello would probably have turned out much smoother and more evergreen than what 1999 Azzarello turned out. But it's tough to read now. It's clearly a white dude who learned slang from watching movies rather than living a life where he'd encounter the way people actually speak.
I'm hoping the series gets better as it goes along. I imagine it will, as, again, Azzarello is a writer who has grown better the longer he's been writing, in contrast with some of his peers and influences.
Risso's art seems very late 1990s Batman/Vertigo. You can almost envision Risso and [a:Sean Phillips|22671|Sean Phillips|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1266072564p2/22671.jpg] hanging out and comparing art. I don't enjoy that as much now as I did when it came out, either. But it's still solid and stylistically angular.
I want to get further into the series before I say who I'd recommend this to. I don't think it's a good introduction to the series. It's certainly not a good indicator of Azzarello's or Vertigo's potential for storytelling. I guess if you really enjoyed Sin City, and wanted more comics in that vein, you could do worse than picking up this volume.
I really enjoyed this when it came out. I still like the theoretical concept of a story about a vigilante passing out guns with one hundred untraceable bullets to people who've been framed by corrupt cops, and elite stock traders. It's conceptually very interesting. And, in the hands of 2019 Azzarello would probably have turned out much smoother and more evergreen than what 1999 Azzarello turned out. But it's tough to read now. It's clearly a white dude who learned slang from watching movies rather than living a life where he'd encounter the way people actually speak.
I'm hoping the series gets better as it goes along. I imagine it will, as, again, Azzarello is a writer who has grown better the longer he's been writing, in contrast with some of his peers and influences.
Risso's art seems very late 1990s Batman/Vertigo. You can almost envision Risso and [a:Sean Phillips|22671|Sean Phillips|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1266072564p2/22671.jpg] hanging out and comparing art. I don't enjoy that as much now as I did when it came out, either. But it's still solid and stylistically angular.
I want to get further into the series before I say who I'd recommend this to. I don't think it's a good introduction to the series. It's certainly not a good indicator of Azzarello's or Vertigo's potential for storytelling. I guess if you really enjoyed Sin City, and wanted more comics in that vein, you could do worse than picking up this volume.
zorpblorp's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0