100 Bullets: A Foregone Tomorrow
Clearing out the comics backlog, I read the fourth collection of 100 Bullets. Thoughts follow. This post may be expanded/reformatted into a full review in the not too distant future.
A Foregone Tomorrow pulls the curtain back on several players in the conspiracy plotline; a couple of story arcs do not even feature Agent Graves’ briefcase of bullets. Graves’ presence, on the other hand, looms over the book. Some of the world’s most powerful people wonder about– or fear – his next move, and any number of past, present, and potential allies maneuver around one another. I’m not sure that Brian Azzarello has really answered many questions in this volume – or whether he’s answered any at all, for that matter. But he has opened up the world a little bit, moving from the street-level stories of the early volumes to boardrooms and luxury hotels and then back again. The introductory story uses parallel storytelling to suggest that there is not much different at the core of those very different milieus, which makes a certain amount of sense – after all, Graves moves between them quite easily.
Eduardo Risso and Patricia Mulvihill continue to be an effective line art/colorist team on the majority of the book .There is a special issue included in this collection that features one-page contributions from a number of different artists; each page focuses on a different character or aspect of the overall story. Narrative captions attempt to sum up the tone of what’s gone before. It’s an interesting opportunity to see different visual interpretations of the characters and take a breath before moving forward. I’m definitely on board for the next stage of the ride.
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.