Bass
Nexus of the World
I read the first trade and liked it.
Does the book change much after the first 6 or 7 issues? Based on the summaries I had read of subsequent trades it seemed like the book was about something different than before.
Graves hasn't given the brief case to anyone in about 11 issues.
But it's still awesome.
Basically, at first, Graves goes around giving brief cases to people and it's just wonderful. But as he goes through, we start to get a sense of a larger tapestry at work (you see it in the second story in the first trade, the guy who was arrested for having child pornography on his hard drive) and that becomes more and more focused around the seven Minutemen.
But every minuteman is introduced to us with Graves giving them the briefcase with 100 bullets. So these guys we're reading about - it's an extension of that single premise because the characters - while they had a life prior to the briefcase - their stories all start with the briefcase.
There's more to it. But the way it move seamlessly from the premise into a large crime conspiracy is ****ing astounding. It's such a brilliant comic.
Not only that - but those incidental background characters? I don't know how- but Azzarello manages to keep bringing them back again and again.
There's a background character that crops up in the third trade, HANG UP ON THE HANG LOW - when I say background - the character is a tertiary character for one the trade's sub-plots - a sub-plot that is present in only two issues.
That character returns in #85 and... well, let's say that it's possible the main cast of 100 BULLETS is one less.
It's a terrific comic that works best when read back to back because it's just so dense.
There's still a few things, major things, not revealed - like just who the hell the Minutemen set on fire in Atlantic City. But it's a joy finding out.