Customer Reviews

100 Bullets Vol. 5: The Counterfifth Detective

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, the last reviewer, Michael K. Smith, hasn't read the four books in the series before this one, so please, only take his review seriously if you are sastisfied reading one chapter form the middle of a given story, and no more.

On a most different scale, I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It's a great series (overall, 5 out of 5 stars, for sure), but the ironic detachment seeping out of the punny characters of this storyline tends to slow it down. I can't say that I think endless, breathless puns make one's writing remarkably appealing. The Counterfifth Detective is too much in the shadow of the last book, which tremendously advanced the storyline and our understanding of the Trust, the Minutemen, and Graves. Very little is revealed here, and in the end, there's a bit of a feeling of disappointment that not much actually happened.

The book is spectacular when read in series with the rest, but, by itself, it falls a bit short of the standards set by the rest of 100 Bullets.

The Counterfifth Detective is the fifth collection in the 100 Bullets series, and quite possibly the finest storyline yet. Counterfifth tells the story of Milo Lewis, a private detective on the mend from injuries received in an auto accident, who gets a visit from the series central character Agent Graves and his mysterious briefcase. Unlike other previous beneficiaries of Agent Graves' lethal gifting, Milo senses that all isn't quite what it seems and sets out to do some investigating, the results of which...well, you'll have to read it for yourself to find out! In all, The Counterfifth Detective raises the bar for the already outstanding Tarentino-esque 100 Bullets series, with a tip of the hat to old film noir crime dramas. By the way: If you haven't read 100 Bullets yet, you're really missing out. This series is to books, as The Sopranos is to television; completely landmark and visionary, and totally reinventing the genre. What are you waiting for? Go read it!

In this fifth collection of the truly great "100 Bullets" comic, we are introduced to private eye Milo Garret, a man who recently got out of the hospital after going through the windshield of his car face first. Obivously, he doesn't look too good (he spends the majority of the story with his head in bandages) and is curious how he ended up the way he has. After meeting a man only known as Agent Graves (a constant character in the series)who gives him an opportunity to find out who is responsible for his string of bad luck and the chance to pay them back. But as he's about to find out, the truth of it all may just put him under permanently. The solid writing by Brian Azzarello and the vibrant art of Eduardo Risso continue to amaze me. While you may need to have read the previous volumes of the series to understand several minor plot points, it is still a solid read, with a truly dark, noir-ish ending that will leave you reeling. Recommended.

Reading 100 Bullets trades can be a frustrating and confusing endeavor. After all, its' entire lengthy run was precisely one complete story, making it possibly the longest story in comics history, so just picking up any trade beside the first will leave one starting clearly in the middle of things. Most are comprised primarily of single or double issue episodes requiring previous familiarity of events while ultimately concluding with little resolution themselves, except for one. Counterfifth Detective is the one trade in the entire group of thirteen that can be even remotely considered a standalone arc. It's also the only one that comes close to being correctly classified as classic noir, with the rest of the run more accurately described as contemporary gangsta. Like most Azzarello books, it can be difficult to follow, especially considering the smaller role it plays in a much bigger picture. His writing as usual is caustic and clever, although the repetitive nature of the banter between practically every character does get a bit tiresome. The plot plays out like an old fashioned private detective tale, replete with crooked clients, dangerous dames, and enough booze and bawdiness to satisfy any aficionado of the genre. However like previously mentioned, do not expect everything to make sense upon first reading. If you're not intrigued enough in the 100 Bullets saga to contemplate purchasing the entire run but would just like to sample arguably the best and certainly the most self contained book of the series, this is the logical one to consider.

Even if you're not a big 100 Bullets fan you ought to give this one a spin because it's unlike the rest of the series and crawls into dark noir territory. Murderous Megan is around and the ubiquitous Agent Grave is there, too, but the multi-issue curve follows a cool personality crisis tale that's beautifully designed by Eduardo Risso. There's loads of sex and death here. Highly recommended.

A beautifully dark and gritty journey. The plot and dialog are comic book film noir at its finest. The artwork is muscular, where even the simple act of stubbing out a cigarette or throwing a wadded paper on the street is rendered in a way that evokes action and violence. Not for kids.

This is maybe stretching the the title joke a little far, but we have your classic down and out private eye here, that knows more, and is involved more than anyone can think. Of course, there is a deceitful, stunning, femme fatale in the picture, as well.

Much pain and bandaging ensues for him, and others.

Brian Azzarello, 100 Bullets: The Counterfifth Detective (Vertigo, 2003)

The fifth volume of the 100 Bullets series is something new for Azzarello, at least within the scope of this series, and it's quite refreshing. This is more classic-noir style than the rest of the series, something Azzarello doesn't normally do. I can't say it's a surprise to see that he does it well (after all, he treaded the line, without ever going across it, in Hellblazer: Freezes Over), but it's a surprise to see that he does it, overall, better than most of the things he does. And Azzarello does everything well.

As most noir does, The Counterfifth Detective starts out with-- what else?-- a private investigator (whom we saw receive his hundred bullets in the background in A Foregone Tomorrow). Milo Garret's stay in the hospital, he finds, wasn't an accident, and Graves has offered him the opportunity to get even. From there, you have the basic revenge storyline that informs most standalone 100 Bullets stories, but filtered here through Dashiell Hammett and a dirty sweat sock.

The best volume so far. If you haven't discovered 100 Bullets yet, you want to. *** ?

The fifth installment in the ongoing crime noir series with a brilliant story from Azzarello and extraordinary art from Risso,comes a six-part story arch following private detective Milo Garret who was seen in hospital in book 5.He is met in hospital by the mysterious man with the brief case only known as Agent Graves,he then tells milo that his 'accident' was no accident, but a message.From whom? he wonders,so milo intends to delve deeper into this case full of clues,and figuer out who set him up and why.
This features everything you could expect from the series,that is language,violence,sex,nudity,strip clubs,smokes,guns,and bullets.A must-have.

If you love film noir than i guarantee you will love this collection. Actually if you love noir you will love every 100 bullets book but especially this one. This is very classical noir in a modern day setting. Brian Azzarrelo is probably the best writer in comics today and one of the best in any medium in my opinion. He writes incredibly complex storys that revolve on the incredibly simple human nature. And with fantastic and witty dialogue. I think this trade shows Brian at his best with snappy dialog and a Chinatown like plot that the casual reader can enjoy but also ties into the big picture of the whole 100 bullets series. They all tie into one another to create an amazingly realized noir world that instead of focusing on the flashy aspects of sex and violence (which 100 bullets has plenty of) but of each individual character caught up in a larger game. Each book focuses on a character, each book is a beautiful piece of a puzzle. Highest Reccommendation Possible.