100 Bullets Vol. 12: Dirty [Paperback]

Brian Azzarello (Author), Eduardo Risso (Illustrator), Dave Johnson (Cover Art)

Book Description

Series: 100 Bullets | Publication Date: September 30, 2008

This dark and intriguing Eisner Award-winning series features a mysterious agent named Graves who approaches ordinary citizens and gives them an opportunity to exact revenge on a person who has wronged them. Offering his clients an attaché case containing proof of the deed and a gun, he guarantees his “clients” full immunity for all of their actions, including murder.
In this volume, as more members of "The Trust" fall, one family head reaches out to a semi-retired Minuteman for help and protection. But with blood in the water and Graves and his soldiers making a final push for total control, will this old-timer be able to stop the massacre?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the penultimate arc of the long-running noir comic 100 Bullets, the body count escalates as the war between the shadowy secret society the Trust and its former enforcers, the Minutemen, enters its bloody endgame. One of the Trust’s most powerful family heads is sadistically cut down, former Minuteman Will Slaughter is lured out of retirement to execute a mysterious hit, and Lono escapes death through an element that’s in short supply in the world of 100 Bullets—mercy. Nearly 10 years on, neither Azzarello’s intricate plotting nor Risso’s elegantly gritty artwork shows any signs of exhaustion. --Gordon Flagg

Review

“The self-contained, beautiful and uncompromising little crime stories …. [are] often astonishing. Azzarello is remarkably talented at capturing dialect.”– THE NEW YORK TIMES

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140121939X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401219390
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Penultimate volume is setup, but good setup., September 30, 2009

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 100 Bullets Vol. 12: Dirty (Paperback)

Brian Azzarello, 100 Bullets: Dirty (Vertigo, 2008)

We are coming to the end of 100 Bullets (though with this volume covering issues 84-88 of the comic and Azzarello and Risso having projected one hundred volumes, the final book in the series looks like it's going to be three times as long as this one), and while it's had its difficulties over the years, I, for one, will be awfully sad to see it go. Dirty, the series' penultimate book, shows us the first blood being drawn in the long-brewing war between Graves and the Trust, and if this is any indication of what's to come after, things will not be pretty. Not at all. But then, this is the garish, violent world of Azzarello and Risso, a world that takes all the pulp-fiction luridness of Frank Miller's Sin City and crosses it with both the action-noir feel of a Mickey Spillane novel and the violence of any dozen news stories about Colombian drug cartels. Nothing is pretty in this world. That's part of its appeal. Dirty is one of those volumes that seems to lose its way on occasion; this is setup for the last volume. But still, it's good setup, and if you've come this far, I guarantee your perusal of this one will be tinged with anticipation for what's coming next. Stay tuned. Things are about to explode. *** ½

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It only teased my taste buds!, October 11, 2008

By 

Chris Risinger "I am Hollywood" (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 100 Bullets Vol. 12: Dirty (Paperback)

Okay, this is the first time I have ever left a review for anything, let alone for something that I truly enjoy reading. I will try to stay as unbiased as possible!

My biggest part that upset me the most when I found out that Volume 12 is the collection of issue's 84-88, which totally threw me off, since this series is really big on numbers. 13 families, 7 minutemen, 100 total issues. Come on now Vertigo, why in the world didn't you include more issues, I would figure there would be a total of 13 TPB, but I am sorely wrong. Secondly, why did it take so long between Volumes 11 and 12. When I purchased Volume 12, not through Amazon but at a independently owned and operated comic book store, and issue 95 is already out, so why the delay???? I mean come on now, Volume 13 could be out within months. But those are my major complaints....

As far as the good stuff, I wont give any of it away!!! For the true fans of this, the people that read the forwards and all that good stuff, Eduardo Risso SPEAKS!!! His forward was just about as enjoyable as the Volume itself. The slow moving beginning of 100 Bullets and his minimalist art is perfect even though at first I did not enjoy it at all. But now it fits perfectly. I couldn't ask for anything better than Risso. Don't get me wrong there are other very talented artist out there, but with his style it just fits with the grittiness of the story line. The true story arc is slowly coming to the end, you slowly find out that some of the minutemen, like Victor Rain and The Saint have a very brutal and darker side than normal. Plus you still don't know what angle Agent Graves has.

Like I said I wont give away any of the juicy details, but if you have enjoyed the series up to volume 11, you have to keep going, buy volume 12, you wont be disappointed. For anyone that is purely interested in this series, please start from the beginning and re-read it at least once, you will catch stuff the second time around! For the fans of noir like 100 Bullets and you want something else to keep you occupied for the time being, I would recommend Criminal by Ed Brubaker, currently there are 3 volumes out and I highly suggest again start from the beginning. And yes it is a slow moving noir but it works great with the art!

4.0 out of 5 stars 100 Bullets Volume 12 Dirty, November 28, 2008

By 

Monkey "Monkey Moniker" (Seattle) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 100 Bullets Vol. 12: Dirty (Paperback)

I have been following this series for a while and have ended up really enjoying the graphic novels that are a reprint of the comic books. This volume covers 100 bullets numbers 84 through 88, and has been delayed, most fans are annoyed by this, but the waiting for the TPB was well worth it. The book is a lot of fun to read, and while adds nothing new to the comic books; this is a great way to follow the story line without having to purchase the comic books. TPB's also hold up a little bit better than comic books, meaning you can open the pages and get a better idea of the art work which is very good.

100 Bullets is a story line about the Trust, and volume 12 covers members of the Trust that are falling in the war against Graves and his soldiers. One family of the trust reaches out to a semi-retired Minute man to help win the war, but Graves is making a valiant attempt at total control, the question is can the Minute man help stop the coming final battle?

What is interesting though is the premise that Graves allows a person to have revenge against a person who has wronged them. He also gives them full immunity against any charges that might happen for the act. This is what makes the series 100 Bullets in general very compelling, who would not want revenge? Who would turn down the chance to right the wrongs that had been personally committed against them, and this is where the Trust comes in, they must stop Graves because the deal is too compelling. Few if any would truly ever turn Graves down.

Volume 12 continues the story line, and is worth getting, 4 of 5 stars though, as you can also get the comic books if you are interested in seeing what is happening in the story line. The comics are already up to number 96 (at time of writing the review), and it looks like the series is starting to wrap up nicely. Let us hope that Vertigo does not make us wait too long for the other volumes that are coming.