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100 Bullets no. 34
SPOILERS
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What a great issue!
Azzarello is really starting to enjoy and play with our familiarity with these characters. Like the moment Milo walks into the bar and you see the limes and the tequila glass and the cigarette in the ashtray, and you know it has to be Cole (my favourite minuteman by far).
And frequently in the past I've been slightly thrown by the labyrinthine plot twists, scheming and disingenuousness of the characters, but maybe it's just my familiarity with the story, or maybe Azzarello and Risso are getting better at telegraphing what's a lie and what isn't. Whatever it is, I really get the feeling that this comic has really kicked in and started to deliver everything it's always promised. Ever since the mexico storyline there hasn't been a dud issue.
And then, fuck me, they hit me with one of the best scenes I've ever seen in a comic. The face-off between Lono and Milo in the diner. Everything about it is perfect. You can see Lono's confidence and craziness, and the evil grin he cracks at Milo when he's telling him (without saying anything) that he's willing to kill everyone in there just to win. And the look on Milo's face that tells you that he realises he can't win against this guy - it reminds me of that scene in King of New York at the end when Frank White is on the subway with Bishop and grabs that woman - "You see this lady? Nice lady. But I will blow her away if I have to. Could you do that?" Utter genius.
Everybody always comments on Azzarello when they're talking about 100 Bullets, but this is Risso's book. The guy does not get the respect he deserves. He is a genius at conveying subtle body language cues, whether it's the petulance of the park dealers in the Shepherd and Benito scene, or the cracking of Loop's front throughout that story arc, I love it. He has a completely different take on 'urban' from that cliched Frank Miller style. Risso's cities are full of colour and motion, no lazy derelict streets and abandoned alleyways, which always make me think of the 40s - he has a true vision of 21st century urban life.
Damn I love this comic.
And then, fuck - Milo is a minuteman! Who saw that coming? I thought he was a recruit, like Dizzy, someone Graves was going to induct into the minutemen. hell no - he's one already. Which casts a whole different light on what's under those bandages. And does Megan know that the painting has the word on it? Does Graves?
Fuck me, does anything coming out at the moment have anything like this narrative depth?
I am blowed away.
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