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tobin_elliott's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is the first 100 Bullets installment—though, to be honest, it's 100 Bullets adjacent at best—that doesn't earn a 5-star from me.
The art is still up to the usual calibre, the colouring is glorious, and the writing is sharp and witty. Unfortunately, in this one, the story is a somewhat tired one that's been used time and time again. It doesn't help that Lono was never even close to my favourite character from the group that ran through the series. I always found him a bit more of a caricature than a character.
Still, we see Lono trying to, if not atone for his sins, at least leave them in his rearview. So, of course you know that resolve is going to be tested. I think, for me, the thing that was missing was the agonizing over falling back into that old lifestyle. If he really wanted to change, we should have seen more struggle at falling backward.
Just me, though.
Overall, a vicious yarn, and quite cinematic, but it didn't seem to hold the same crackle as the main series.
The art is still up to the usual calibre, the colouring is glorious, and the writing is sharp and witty. Unfortunately, in this one, the story is a somewhat tired one that's been used time and time again. It doesn't help that Lono was never even close to my favourite character from the group that ran through the series. I always found him a bit more of a caricature than a character.
Still, we see Lono trying to, if not atone for his sins, at least leave them in his rearview. So, of course you know that resolve is going to be tested. I think, for me, the thing that was missing was the agonizing over falling back into that old lifestyle. If he really wanted to change, we should have seen more struggle at falling backward.
Just me, though.
Overall, a vicious yarn, and quite cinematic, but it didn't seem to hold the same crackle as the main series.
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
Although I often love graphic novels - I found that all of the characters were too distant for me to really care what happened.
highflyer's review against another edition
4.0
Reminiscent of Breaking Bad in terms of subject and quality.
captainfez's review
4.0
Turns out you can't kill an enormous hard-arse that easily.
I mean, we're talking about Lono here – assassin, arsehole and walking slab o' beef – so it shouldn't be surprising that he's still alive. He wasn't exactly comprehensively erased during the course of 100 Bullets, so it makes sense that his story didn't conclude in the dying issues of the series.
In Brother Lono, we discover that the human headbutt staggered into a small church in Durango, Mexico, bloodied and beaten. He gives the padre a shocking confession, and proceeds to spend a couple of years under vow: working for the church and attached orphanage, a dogsbody with fists the size of one's head, trying to forget his past, or at least work on why he should be.
Of course, being Lono, there's no way trouble can avoid him. And in a world of cartel cabals and gang-bangers who rule the roost with multiple murder, you know trouble's coming in a big way. Secret agents. Drug deals. Wife-fucking threats and a copious amount of blood.
Ultimately, despite Azzarello's gleeful exploration of the thug's fistic arts, there's an underpinning of questing to this work: to figure out why the world is who it is, and to figure out who deserves punishment – whether they receive it or not. Hubris looms large in the fates of several characters, and the idea of redemption is always by the ropes, goading on the leads as they work towards their ends.
Is it as good as the mainline 100 Bullets entries? That all depends on what you're looking for. If you're keen on backstabbing and devious planning, then that's here, sure. It's not as sophisticated as other Minutemen-heavy storylines, but it's present. Are you looking for intricacy, for a tangled web? Not so much. But if you're looking for some ridiculous violence, and a sense of Bad Dudes Getting What They Fucking Deserve?
Oh yes.
Enough time has passed since I finished reading 100 Bullets earlier this year for me to approach this book on its own merits. It's throwaway, sure, and certainly a little bit of fan-service, but fuck, who doesn't want to see the inhuman Lono crack heads? It's what he's for, after all.
(He's certainly a more interesting character to follow than some of the others in the series. Admit it: you know it's true.)
Get down in the dirt. You're already grubby if you've read this far.
I mean, we're talking about Lono here – assassin, arsehole and walking slab o' beef – so it shouldn't be surprising that he's still alive. He wasn't exactly comprehensively erased during the course of 100 Bullets, so it makes sense that his story didn't conclude in the dying issues of the series.
In Brother Lono, we discover that the human headbutt staggered into a small church in Durango, Mexico, bloodied and beaten. He gives the padre a shocking confession, and proceeds to spend a couple of years under vow: working for the church and attached orphanage, a dogsbody with fists the size of one's head, trying to forget his past, or at least work on why he should be.
Of course, being Lono, there's no way trouble can avoid him. And in a world of cartel cabals and gang-bangers who rule the roost with multiple murder, you know trouble's coming in a big way. Secret agents. Drug deals. Wife-fucking threats and a copious amount of blood.
Ultimately, despite Azzarello's gleeful exploration of the thug's fistic arts, there's an underpinning of questing to this work: to figure out why the world is who it is, and to figure out who deserves punishment – whether they receive it or not. Hubris looms large in the fates of several characters, and the idea of redemption is always by the ropes, goading on the leads as they work towards their ends.
Is it as good as the mainline 100 Bullets entries? That all depends on what you're looking for. If you're keen on backstabbing and devious planning, then that's here, sure. It's not as sophisticated as other Minutemen-heavy storylines, but it's present. Are you looking for intricacy, for a tangled web? Not so much. But if you're looking for some ridiculous violence, and a sense of Bad Dudes Getting What They Fucking Deserve?
Oh yes.
Enough time has passed since I finished reading 100 Bullets earlier this year for me to approach this book on its own merits. It's throwaway, sure, and certainly a little bit of fan-service, but fuck, who doesn't want to see the inhuman Lono crack heads? It's what he's for, after all.
(He's certainly a more interesting character to follow than some of the others in the series. Admit it: you know it's true.)
Get down in the dirt. You're already grubby if you've read this far.
hobbes199's review
2.0
Much the same as movies, extreme violence is more palatable if the story is strong enough to justify it, otherwise it's just boring and deeply unpleasant.
kenningjp's review
5.0
This is my introduction into the world of 100 Bullets and what an intro it was. Azzarello's writing is matched perfectly with Risso's visuals. A thrilling read from beginning to end.
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