The Counterfifth Detective (100 Bullets, Book 5)

Rating:
Summary: Not the best in the series, but still great
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Middle of the bell curve . . .
Review: I read almost every non-manga graphic novel I can find, so I have a basis for comparison when I say that their quality adheres to the classic bell curve. Some are pretty good, some a pretty bad, but the majority are merely mediocre -- and this interesting but confused effort fits right in the middle of the pack. "100 Bullets" is apparently an ongoing series of which this is just one installment, but I haven't seen the others, so I can only say that the set-up -- the old man with an attache case containing a pistol and a hundred guaranteed untraceable slugs for it -- doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And about one-third of the way through, the attache case ceases to have any part in the story anyway. So what do we have? We have Milo Garrett (whose name actually might be Lewis), a faceless, alcoholic private detective with a bad attitude who like to start fights. "Faceless" literally, because he was in a car wreck and has his face swathed in bandages for most of the book. Then there's an art theft, a number of murders, a number of bad guys -- badder than Milo, that is -- and a lot of sometimes well-written dialogue and interior monologue that borrows heavily from Raymond Chandler. While the separate scenes are usually pretty well done, the overall plot, as noted, wanders all over the place. I never have quite figured out what the ending meant. The design and drawing, while eye-catching, isn't all that original. So, a very average piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: "Countefifth Detective"-4 stars
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The best keeps getting better!
Review: 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!