100 Bullets #50

June 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Huh?
Title: Prey For Reign

As a bunch of crooks wait for the fallout of a job, one of them tells a story of a long time ago.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo

I’m told this book marks the halfway point in this critically acclaimed Vertigo series, and it appears to fill in some needed backstory. However, if you haven’t been reading 100 Bullets – and I haven’t – it’s just going to leave you scratching your head.

A group of criminals called together for a job, Reservoir Dogs-style, sit in a bar and wait for a straggler to arrive or turn up dead. While they wait, one of them begins to tell the others a story of a time long ago when a group of 13 power-hungry men took actions that would place the world in their hands. This of course raises another question, like in the recent 1602, does every comic book title with links to colonial times have to invoke the Roanoke colony? (Yes, I know 100 Bullets was planned out long before 1602, but that doesn’t make the whole thing any less repetitive.)

This is clearly intended to be backstory on the main recurring plot of this series – the mysterious Mr. Graves who gives people guns and 100 untraceable bullets to take revenge on whomever they wish. However, the details and pieces of the puzzle are completely lost on someone like me, who hasn’t really been following the title. It’s a terrible issue if you’re looking for a jumping-on point, but if you’ve been reading the series it’s probably pretty good at filling in some of the gaps you’ve been wondering about.

Risso’s art style was tailor-made for this book. He keeps things dark and gritty, with characters that are basically very realistic, flawed people. His scenes set in the past work well too, employing the same style but translating it to fit 16th century warriors, clerics and explorers.

As confused as I was, I still enjoyed this issue more than any issue of Azzarello and Risso’s “Broken City” run on Batman. This is more the story they are suited to tell, and I’m sure legitimate fans of the book will have much better things to say about it than I do.

Rating: 7/10

100 Bullets #49

March 9, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: In Stinked Conclusion

A band of poachers meet their fate.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo

People who read my reviews regularly know that I haven’t been a big fan of Azzarello and Risso’s run on Batman. This book proves that it’s not their style that I don’t like, it’s their style applied to that specific title, because with 100 Bullets they provide a smart crime drama that works on levels that their work on Batman just doesn’t.

This issue concludes the “In Stinked” storyline, about particularly cruel group of poachers having fun with some big jungle cats in their supposed care. Azzarello wisely avoids the temptation to turn the story into any sort of political statement and instead serves up a simple story of betrayal and revenge. While this is the last issue of a story arc, it’s fairly simple to jump in and understand who the players are, who wants to kill who, and who we’re supposed to be rooting for in the end.

Eduardo Risso’s artwork is perfect for this book. If you put an issue of 100 Bullets next to an issue of his Batman, it’s clear that he uses a different style for each title – not drastically different, mind you, but noticeably different. It’s good that an artist is capable of stretching themselves, but Risso is far stronger doing his own thing than he is when he tries to emulate classic Batman artists. Along with good colors by Patricia Mulvihill, they put together a great visual package that compliments the hardcore, angry world that Azzarello has created for this title.

Not being a regular reader of this book, it’s hard to say whether this story arc has advanced the overall plot of the title – looking at the elements I have seen, it doesn’t really appear as though it has. This is not a criticism, mind you, merely a statement of fact – every book deserves the chance to take a little time off from the main storyline and tell sidebars now and then. Next month will be the 50th issue of 100 Bullets – I don’t know if anything big is planned, but this issue has got me interested enough that I may just look into that anniversary issue as well, and any comic book that makes you want to read the next one in the series is a comic book that has done its job.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #625

March 30, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Broken City Part Six

Azzarello and Risso leave Batman with a cap to the mystery of Angel Lupo.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis and Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Eduardo Risso
Publisher: DC Comics

And the “Broken City” arc comes to its conclusion, with some fans sorry to see it end and others, myself included, relieved that another creative team will be taking over this title with the next issue. I’m sorry, folks, but “Broken City” just didn’t deliver for me. This issue gives us a clichéd cap to a clichéd “hardboiled” mystery, an inexplicable appearance by the Joker (this isn’t a spoiler, he’s right there on the cover) and an overwhelming feeling that I’m just glad its done.

Aside from the fact that the mystery of the arc never really grabbed me, the sudden inclusion of the Joker feels entirely superfluous, as though he’s only there so that Azzarello can say he wrote a Joker story. Plus, with him running around on the loose over in Batman: Gotham Knights but laced up in Arkham here, it’s no wonder some fans feel intimidated by so many bat-books. I don’t mean we should necessarily keep a chart somewhere showing where villains are at all times, but especially in the Batman books I don’t feel like there’s any effort at reason with them at all anymore – a villain is incarcerated when the writer needs him to be and on the loose when he needs him to be, rarely if ever showing him escape and rarely if ever showing him actually getting captured. There’s no sense there.

Risso for all the skill he’s shown in 100 Bullets, sacrifices more and more of his style to a Frank Miller pastiche in this issue. From body type to facial structure to the weird “chapped lips” look Batman has in come panels, it’s like looking at something Miller drew 20 years ago instead of something Risso drew in the here and now.

I’m sorry to the fans who enjoyed this run, but I simply don’t see what the appeal was. “Broken City” never felt fresh or original to me, it felt like a halfhearted attempt to pay homage to the Miller days and never quite lived up to it.

But at least we’ve probably seen the last of the Killer Croc’s ‘fro.

Rating: 4/10

Batman #624

February 23, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Broken City Part Five

Batman finally finds Angel Lupo… but will it do any good?

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis & Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics

With only one issue remaining in the “Broken City” story arc, try as I might, I just can’t find it in me to care about the overriding mystery. I don’t care about Angel Lupo and Margo seems just another stereotypical femme fatale. To tell a good mystery, you’ve got to have the audience engrossed, wondering, yearning to know the outcome. I’m just yearning for the next story arc to begin.

Batman has a little chat with the Penguin that leads to another confrontation with Fatman and Little Boy, who turn out to be far more brutal and effective in this issue than we’ve been given any reason to expect. The fight scene seems to exist solely to pad the issue.

Even the artwork, which has thus far been the high point of the “Broken City” arc, suffers in this issue. Eduardo Risso wants to be Frank Miller so badly it hurts, and any style of his own gets lost in this issue. Whether you’re a fan of Miller’s style or not, I’d still prefer to see Risso develop and evolve on his own rather than just ape someone who did his best Batman work almost 20 years ago.

There’s only one issue left for this title to wrap things up in a satisfying fashion. It seems less and less likely that will actually happen, but if you’ve been disappointed in this storyline, you can at least take heart in the fact that it’s almost over.

Rating: 4/10

The Spirit (2007 Series) #13

February 4, 2008

Quick Rating: Good
Title: One Hundred! and other stories

Three short tales of the Spirit

Writers: Glen David Gold, Dennis O’Neil & Gail Simone
Art: Eduardo Risso, Ty Templeton, Phil Hester & Ande Parks
Colors: Max Sinclair, Jim Charalampidis & Alex Sinclair
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Ben Abernathy, Scott Peterson & Kristy Quinn
Cover Art: Darwyn Cooke & J. Bone
Publisher: DC Comics

Marking time between creative teams, this issue of The Spirit gives us three short stories with different creative teams under – inexplicably – a Christmas-themed cover. None of the stories are particularly memorable, but all of them are okay.

Glen David Gold and Eduardo Risso start the issue with “One Hundred!” On Halloween, a group of thugs sets out to steal 100 blue azure diamonds, and each thug dogs the Spirit’s distinctive duds for the job. It’s an okay heist story, but nothing to write home about.

“Family Treasure,” a funny little tale by Dennis O’Neil and Ty Templeton, shows the Spirit trying to help poor immigrant who has come to America looking for a treasure left behind by a late relative. The trouble is, the place where the treasure is supposed to be buried doesn’t seem to exist.

The best of the book is “The Cold Depths of the Icicle Heart,” a silent yarn by Gail Simone, with art by Phil Hester and Ande Parks. On a freezing night, the Spirit chases after a cold-hearted queen running a protection racket. Unlike most “silent” stories, Simone and the artists communicate mainly through pictures in the characters’ word balloons, a technique you don’t see too much, but which can be quite effective.

While none of the stories in this issue are outstanding, the artwork pretty much is throughout. The three different art teams each has a different style, but all three of them are highly qualified to draw the Spirit’s world.

Great art, okay stories. Now I’m just waiting for the new regular creative team to take over.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #623

January 27, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Broken City Part Four

Batman tracks down some new hoods in Gotham town.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis & Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics

It took getting halfway into the “Broken City” story arc, but I finally feel like Brian Azzarello is starting to get a feel for Batman. But just starting. For the first three issues, this hasn’t felt right, and I think I’ve figured out why. It isn’t so much a matter of things being wrong (although there are some things that are wrong, but more about that in a minute), but it’s a matter of things being out of place. Batman is a character with many interpretations, and DC, for some time, has wisely split those interpretations among his various titles. This feels more like a story arc for Detective Comics than it does for Batman, which has traditionally focused on the more superheroic elements of the character.

Even when he’s being a superhero, Batman is still a detective, of course, but different stories can focus on different aspects of this character. That said, I enjoyed this fourth installment of “Broken City” better than the previous three — Batman seems a little less smarmy than he has before, and the inclusion of the new hoods Fatman and Little Boy adds a lot. These two characters feel like they could have stepped out of a great pulp novel or film noir, and they fit in the universe that Azzarello is creating quite well.

There are still some things that don’t work for me, though. This is still hands-down the worst interpretation of Killer Croc I have ever read, and the Batman in the fight scenes doesn’t feel right. Batman has always been, to me, a character who knows how to be violent and uses it as a necessary too. This Batman seems to relish in it, goad it on, and that doesn’t sit right with me, even if I accept this as a “detective” story rather than a Batman story.

Risso’s art, however, remains very good and very suited to the character. It looks like a great old-fashioned crime movie, and that’s definitely the feel the writer is going for. These two make a very good team and have for some time on 100 Bullets.

People are still enjoying this story arc, and more power to you if you are. It’s still not totally working for me, though, and with two issues left, I feel like I’m just sort of marking time until the next creative team comes on.

Rating: 7/10

100 Bullets #48

December 7, 2003

Quick Rating: Good
Title: In Stinked Part Two

Agent Graves presents a gun and bullets to a man connected with a cruel zoo where animals are marked for death.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo

My only prior exposure to 100 Bullets was the first trade paperback, which I decided simply wasn’t my cup of tea. That in mind, I think the best thing I can say about this issue is that it’s got me rethinking that decision, and I may wind up giving the second TPB a try in the near future.

In this story, as in every one, the mysterious Agent Graves hands over a gun and 100 untraceable bullets over to someone who wants revenge – this time, to a man tied in with a “zoo” where people pay to blow away animals in cages and then sell the parts.

Having not read the first part of the story, I’m not sure why our protagonist wants revenge on the “zookeepers,” or how he got tied up with them in the first place, but instead of being confused and irritated, I’m confused and curious. I want to find the first part of this arc to see how we got to this point.

I haven’t been crazy about this same creative team on Batman, but this book really shows how they made their reputation. They tell a good crime story with a touch of the fantastic to help strengthen the mystery. You still couldn’t really consider me a fan of this title, but I’ve been intrigued enough to give it another chance, and I think that speaks very well for this issue.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #621

November 23, 2003

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Broken City Part Two

Batman continues to seek a murderer whose most recent crime strikes too close to home.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis & Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics

This issue is a step up from the first part of “Broken City,” but I’m still not in love with the arc. Batman is looking for a killer who slaughtered a mother and father, but left their young son alive. The hero is written more in-character this issue than last issue, but some scenes still strike me as odd at best. As nice as it is to see the Gotham City PD being put to good use in a title beyond their own excellent Gotham Central, I have a very difficult time swallowing a scene where Batman calls up Det. Crispin Allen to discuss the crime and winds up swapping grilling tips. I just kept asking myself, “This is Batman?”

Killer Croc is another big problem – while some people complained about his mutated form in the “Hush” story arc, I found that preferable to the current hairy, sleazy pimp incarnation that we’re treated to in this story… which brings us to the story overall. How many times, over the past 60 years, have we had a story where Batman sees parents get murdered and broods over his own origins?

Azzarello does have a good writing style, I’d never deny that. His captions and dialogue read like an old Raymond Chandler potboiler novel, which is to say, like a classic detective story. It just doesn’t feel like a classic Batman story to me.

Risso is a much better fit for this book, fortunately. He draws a wonderful, shadowy Gotham City, essential for a town that is a character in its own right. His Batman, while clearly inspired by Frank Miller, looks very good. The character looks tough, but not superhuman. The fight scenes are good and detailed.

This is a book that looks better than it reads these days. Fortunately, we’re only two stories into the six-issue arc. There’s still time for it to get better.

Rating: 7/10