Customer Reviews

Stray Bullets Volume 1

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

 

 

With the demise of the absurdly moralistic comics code, it is now possible for the artists and writers to exhibit gore and the hopelessness of the lives of people. Child abuse, drug usage, sexual situations and brutal murder with the gore of splashing blood are all now legitimate topics for the pages of comic books.
This book is my first lengthy exposure to the new genre, where wicked people do wicked things to screw up their lives and the lives of others. There are a lot of people trying to survive and make something out of difficult situations. Love for others does peek its leveling head on occasion, but it is rare and not all that assertive. There are also times when you have sympathy for the people in the stories, the pathetic and hopeless nature of their lives is so sad.
My favorite story is the last one called "Bonnie and Clyde." It is a great story, you think you know exactly what the brutal end is going to be and then it takes a very surprising twist. In ordinary circumstances, it would be a good one, but in this case it is not and you feel very sorry for the young girl.

The first volume of Stray Bullets collects issues 1-7 of the series, and I was surprised by how good this book was. The start of this volume hooks you to the story, and one learns more about the characters through an ever changing time frame in this volume. The volume starts in 1997, and the second story takes place in 1977. I certainly would recommend this series, and I am personally going to continue to the read the books.

"The Collected Stray Bullets" is among the finest noir I've ever seen or read, and I've seen and read quite a lot.