By David Lapham
Publisher: El Capitan/Image
ISBN: 9781607069478
I bought the first two Stray Bullets collections when they were reissued a few years ago but for some reason didn’t complete the run, so when I saw this Über Alles Edition collating all 41 issues of the original comic into one enormous book I snapped it up. At 55mm thick it’s a behemoth of a book, and any thicker and you’d have distinct trouble holding the thing open to read it, but it is manageable, well presented and so full of promise.
Stray Bullets gives us a succession of interlocking, overlapping stories from various characters' perspectives that sit over a 20 year period and are presented in a stuttering chronological order depending on the needs of the narrative. Largely they’re consecutive, but will sometimes jump backwards to fill in aspects of story or to explain motivations. There are a core of characters at its centre, but Lapham skilfully blends supporting parts with their very own foibles, kinks and woes in and out of the story all the way through.
The tone is a little bit Cohen Brothers, a little bit Tarantino, as it explores the seedier side of life and those that get caught up in it because they know of no other way. At the heart of it many of them aren’t bad people, but they’ve fallen into a way of life very much rooted and supported by crime that they don’t really seem to recognise an alternative. There are plenty of despicable, brutal and unpleasant souls, from vicious bullies to organised crime enforcers, and it’s the people who are rubbing shoulders, or just rubbing bruised shoulders, with these hoodlums that we begin to follow as their lives intertwine with one another.
There are a number of acts, freshening up the cast list and the setting each time, even though the change of scenery never manages to offer the fresh start it should promise from the protagonists. But its real triumph is that it’s a gripping illustration of tragedy and cruelty overlaid with hope and determination. It’s gritty and shocking, but funny and uplifting too. You’ll come to love Beth and Amy/Ginny, fear Scott and Monster, and sympathise with the lost cause that is Joey as the pulp-crime stories spill from one desperate situation to another and impact upon the lives of those they encounter.
Stray Bullets is a modern classic, and if you’re a fan of the current slew of high-quality TV box sets then grab this quick and get in one the ground floor because presenting it in this fashion shows off just how brilliant it would work if approached in the same vein as Breaking Bad. I’ll say it again: a modern classic.
And if you liked that: There’s a brand new Stray Bullets series currently out there with a collected edition sure to follow
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