100 Bullets Vol. 6: Six Feet Under the Gun [Paperback]

Brian Azzarello (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Imagine being dreadfully injured, yet uncertain of what happened or how to proceed. Imagine then being approached by Agent Graves, a craggy-faced old man with the eyes of a patient predator, who offers selected victims a gun, 100 untraceable bullets and a convincing dossier about whomever betrayed them. Early issues of this monthly comic concentrated on individuals' reactions to Graves's invitation to commit murder. Now, however, it's become clear that the "gift" isn't quite free; Graves is directing his vengeance seekers in a complicated scheme. The independent short stories here focus on people whose lives are affected more or less directly by Graves and his possible ally. The discontinuity between stories isn't bothersome; the comic brilliantly sustains a sense of nervous doubt. All that readers can be sure of so far is the basic human condition: people yearn, kill and die. Writer Azzarello is especially deft at presenting a multi-ethnic, street-level cast and at setting up images that almost connect, suggesting that the parts of the action do relate in ways readers can't quite grasp yet. And Risso nicely pictures those images in ways that are simultaneously scary and seductive. It's easy to create a threatening atmosphere in a claustrophobic Manhattan bar, but Risso can make even sunny Miami streets look menacing. He's also excellent at giving characters a distinctive look, although they do tend to flash the same feral leer. Even readers who haven't read earlier collections of this comic can pick up this book and enjoy the glossy surface and tantalizing hints of clues.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

100 Bullets is an anomaly in mainstream comics: a popular series that has nothing to do with superheroes, science fiction, or the supernatural. Instead, it involves a shadowy organization that offers wronged persons an untraceable gun and 100 rounds of ammo for exacting revenge with impunity. Departing from the series' usual extended story arcs, the short stories reprinted in this volume revisit characters from earlier episodes. Always in the background, the enigmatic Agent Graves, who gives his pawns their weapons, continues to pull the strings. As Azzarello provides backstory through these self-contained tales, he continues to trickle out information about Graves' mission and the mysterious organization behind him. Eduardo Risso's sparse, noirish art ideally complements Azzarello's twisty plotlines and hard-boiled dialogue. The acclaim 100 Bullets has brought Azzarello and Risso has landed them the high-profile gig as the new writer-artist team for Batman. That, in turn, should draw this series new readers, who, jumping aboard on this collection, may be daunted by the increasingly convoluted plotlines, so get earlier volumes, too. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563899965
• ISBN-13: 978-1563899966
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars killer, in every sense, March 6, 2007

By 

Timothy J. Mcallister "dogbreth" (black river falls, wi, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 100 Bullets Vol. 6: Six Feet Under the Gun (Paperback)

This is the sixth installment of the trade paperback editions of the "100 Bullets" comic books series, covering issues 37-42. It is difficult to review without giving away parts of the plot, and in noir literature this good, that would be as criminal as most of the characters. Suffice to say that Azzarello's writing is in top form, as in the artwork by Risso. Azzarello and Risso pack an incredible "one, two punch". The story line for this series is full of twists and sub-plots, as a good noir novel should be. The artwork creates moods that accompany perfectly, frequently taking slightly grim or humorous side-tracks in the 'extra space' of the panels. If all graphic novels and comics were as well written and drawn as this there would be no question as to whether it was an art form to be taken seriously (not that there really is, in my opinion). While all of the single trade editions could stand alone, why would you want to do that to yourself? I don't recommend starting here.... start with number 1, read this one after number 5, and before 7. You are going to want to read them all so you might as well do it right.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of The Best OF The Series., October 28, 2005

By 

Perrin Færch (Johanesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 100 Bullets Vol. 6: Six Feet Under the Gun (Paperback)

This 100 bullets collection is one of the best pieces of art and crime noir on the comic shelf. This collection features six stories following six of the most important characters in the series, dizzy, cole burns, lono, graves, benito, and wylie. It has some of the best short stories i've ever read. This is Azzarello and risso at their upmost best. Awsome.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High quality crime comic, March 14, 2004

By 

"rumbleyoungmanrumble" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 100 Bullets Vol. 6: Six Feet Under the Gun (Paperback)

This is the first and only 100 bullets Trade PaperBack that I've read, so I don't think I got all the context, but I still think that Six Feet Under the Gun is a good stand alone collection. I tend to read about comics that I'm interested a lot through reviews online before I buy them, so I had an understanding of the basic premise of "100 Bullets" and given that small knowledge, I found Six Feet Under the Gun to be pretty accessible.

This is basically a collection of six 22 page stories about individuals from the "100 Bullets" world. Unfortunately, there aren't any origin stories, and none of these are particularly expositive of the characters personal history. They all just show something important happening to the character which sets them onto a different path. It's important to know that this story utilizes the "I (Agent Graves) give you 100 Bullets to kill this man who ruined you" device very, very sparingly; these stories enrich existing characters. The characters are: Dizzy Cordova, Agent Graves, Lono, Wylie, Cole and Benito.

I don't know much about art from a technical standpoint, but I think that Edwardo Risso's artwork is pretty cool. As an interesting factoid I found out, Risso is an immigrant from South America and he speaks Spanish, so the writer, Brian Azzarello, has to find a different way to communicate ideas to him.

I don't have very much experience with crime comics; I've read the "Preacher" series and a few other graphic novels. I didn't think that this TPB was very objectionable, it's profane and mildly violent, although not like Preacher is. I wouldn't consider giving it to small children, although mature people can handle this. Six Feet Under the Gun, a good set of stories, highly reccomended.