100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call

100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call (2000) Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso

I’m not sure how I feel about this. The premise is Noir Crime meets the graphic novel, and although the graphic novel part is well done, I’m not as sure about the noir crime bit.

Your life has been ruined. A man comes up to you with an attache case proving who ruined your life, a gun, and 100 bullets. You’re told that if you use the gun and the bullets, the crime will never be traced back to you.

Would you take the offer?

This first volume of 100 Bullets looks at three different people who were made the offer, and what they decide to do.

The premise is fabulous: revenge at no cost to yourself.

The actuality however, didn’t live up to my expectations.

The third story–which was the shortest–I thought was the best of the three. It had all the hallmarks of a very good short story.

The first story was okay. Not bad. And the mystery as it unwound was interesting, as was Dizzy’s reaction to everything she learns.

The second story, however, I didn’t like at all. It created more questions than it answered and was just unsatisfying. We spend far more time with the extraneous background details than we do with the main character, and although the main character’s story had possibility, it didn’t particularly go anywhere that interested me.

I’ll let Michael read it, and see what he thinks, but as he’s not a fan of mysteries, I’m thinking he won’t much care for it.
Rating: 5/10

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