100 Bullets

So the end has find come for one of the longest running Vertigo titles. I remember first reading a preview for 100 Bullets in Preacher, and I was quite unimpressed. However, I did give the series a chance once the third trade-paperback was released. I was hooked.

The characters were interesting, the art was great, lettering tight, and the colouring added to the film noir hard crime style of the story. What I didn’t realize was that the story only reads well if you take the time to read it all in one go.

There are simply too many characters that are too similar in personality and design. You have to keep track of 13 families of the Trust, 7 Minutemen, and all the extra gang characters while trying to remember who is who and what is that painting and why should I care?

Don’t get me wrong the story is great, but Brian Azzarello really painted himself into a corner with a 100 issue run. The series should have been about 70 issues. There is a lot that could have been cut out of the series that would have made the plot tighter and flow much better. While it is good the whole Counterfifth Detective bit could have been cut. I would also remove the majority of the juxtaposed gang stories (especially the one from the last story arc) and the first Jack Daw story.

I only ever bought trade-paperbacks, so that means there were breaks in-between when I last read anything about croatoa, Lono, or Mr. Graves. During this time you forget who is who and when old characters are re-introduced after 40 issues you strain to remember who they were, especially if they are drawn pretty much like everyone else.

Before writing this I read all 13 volumes over a two-week span. I remembered every character and got a lot more out of the series than I had previously, but not everyone will have the inclination to show such dedication to the craft.

If you are a fan of pulp crime as a genre you will love 100 bullets, but those of you who are not already a fan of the genre or Azzarello’s or Rizzo’s work may find the series inaccessible, tedious, and a bit of test.