It's weird that a book can work so well in both trade paperback and serial format. I love reading 100 Bullets in trades, but this issue, even with a callback to a previous storyline, is accessible and stands on its own as well as tying into the ongoing story of the conspiracy at the center of the book. Azzarello explores the nature of the life of a junkie, someone who willingly throws his life away night after night and is just intelligent enough to know he's doing it, and Risso as always provides the most believable bit of squalid urban or country nightmare to go with it.
Though the title of the book is 100 Bullets, it's long since been clear that the story isn't just about what you would do with a gun and 100 untraceable rounds of ammunition. The gun is more of a prop than anything else in this story, another example of the power that Jack, the protagonist, has, even though he doesn't have the will to use it. No, Azzarello's stories are about people and the many screwed-up things they do to themselves and others, and about how the smaller stories can all relate into one big one. Though Jack, Mikey and the rest are about as far removed from Agent Graves and the Trust as I can imagine, I have no doubt that their story will tie into that story when all is said and done.
In the meantime, it's an interesting little vignette about the life of lowlives, who don't live for the 9 to 5 or the weekend or anything that most folks live for but instead they just chase the next high, the next place to crash, the next relative or friend who'll put up with them for a while. This is a fascinating story filled with interesting characters, from the unusual friendship between Mikey and the constantly stoned and quiet Jack to the loud redneck criminal behavior of Jungle Garvey. As always, Azzarello's dialogue has a certain ring to it, where it might not be true but it sounds right and it's so distinctive that it draws you in. He also has a way with the metaphor, as Jack contemplates the tiger and starts to relate its life to his own self-chosen fate.
Then there's the artwork, which has the same amount of layered, distinctive work put into it as the writing. Risso has a familiar stylistic look for some of his characters (Lono and Jack could be related, for example, and the sexy Wendy and beautiful Mary remind me of some of the other femmes, fatale and otherwise, in the series) but they all have such great looks to them, and most of them are strikingly original. All of them have curves, creased and lines in bodies and faces where they need to so that they have a ton of character. In addition, Risso has a mastery of important storytelling tools like the use of shadows, the placement of camera angles and the expressions of the characters that makes him one of the best in the business.
These guys are about to take up the daunting gauntlet of following up on the sales juggernaut of the Loeb/Lee Batman. Their style is completely different, and I am sadly awaiting the reaction of those who will decry their work as "nowhere near as good as 'Hush.'" Me, I'm really looking forward to seeing what these masters of noir can do with Batman, and with any luck, some of the Batman readers will make their way over to 100 Bullets to see what else that creative team is up to. When they do, they'll find another great starting point for a 100 Bullets story arc, and will no doubt be drawn deeper into the mixture of serial noir and deeper conspiracy, just like the rest of us.
