Book #04

100 Bullets: The Counterfifth Detective by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso

In the fifth volume of the 100 Bullets saga, Agent Graves continues his puzzling behavior of providing ordinary people an opportunity to exact revenge with impunity from those who have victimized them. After receiving an attach case and the standard 100 bullets from the mysterious Graves, Milo Garret, a broken-down L.A. private detective learns that a recent mishap that left him scarred and without a face might not have been an accident. But as the mystery of his misfortune unravels, Milo must decide between having answers and having a future. 

I liked this one a lot. Once again, we're back in Graves' domain, and see him offering the 100 bullets to a private investigator with bandages on his face. As it turns out, his accident wasn't so accidental, and he has a lot more in common with the other characters than we previously think.

It's pretty standard gritty, pulpy noir; a detective with alcohol and violence issues, strip joints, femme fatales and a seriously unfortunate ending. Some of the artwork is totally brutal, but gorgeous. Lots of sex and loads of gore - what's not to like?

Again, I had to really concentrate to work out where the plot was going, and where each of the characters linked into the main thread of the story. I'm not sure if this is the fault of the author, or due to my own stupidity and/or tendency to skip quickly through frames. It seems that this volume, although small, is a link into something bigger, and more exciting.

Volume six!