Monday, July 27, 2009

From the Reading Pile: Sin City Volume 1: The Hard Goodbye


The Hard Goodbye
By Frank Miller

Having seen the movie, I was a big enough fan that I own the entire series in the big over-sized hard covers, but have never actually gotten to reading them - hence the name of this new feature, brought on by my illness this past weekend, where I didn't read anything new to review and pretty much just lied around reading things from the big pile in my comics room.

This was a solid story. It easy to see why they made the movie focus on this story. Marv is a great character and there is a nice balance between the noir darkness and Miller's sense of humor.

The art is amazing. Miller utilizes the black and white to the nth degree. He has a sense of shadowing seldom seen in comics and the simple palate accentuates this. The detail is amazing.

The only thing that holds this book back is the ham-fisted dialogue. Of course, it is perfect coming from Marv, but still unbelievable. What was once kitschy enough to make The Dark Knight Returns a breath of fresh air is over the top here.

Still, all and all, a great read deserving of the accolades and status it has obtained in fandom.

5 comments:

  1. I hope you are feeling better, Lee. I thought it was strange no tweets from you about the SDCC! Anyway I pretty much own all Sin City minis and one trade. The first is still the best. At the end I found Sin City repetitive and indeed "over the top". It started as Mickey Spillane on acid but turned into a bad coke habit!

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  2. Thanks, I am doing alright. Just taking it easy cause I get fatigued easy. Feel great in the morning after a good nights sleep but drag in the middle of the day. I will survive though.

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  3. Oh and if you like Sin City. I highly, highly, highly recommend The Hunter. It is amazing!

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  4. The Hunter? By whom? Though I am not a big fan or expert of "comic/crime noir". Digged Black Kiss, then I read Sin City and Murder Me Dead in floppies.MMD, so damned depressing. Though The Killer is awesome! The lead is so much "layered".
    Luckily The Killer will be released by Archaia Press in two hardcovers. Collecting the first 5 part story arc.Thus I can complete my collection as well, Albeit in English. In French new volumes will be made. Also Blacksad. Don't let the animal.cat like humans put you off. Blacksad is so good I just wanna cry! ;)

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  5. Darwyn Cooke, look a few post before this one, review at BF. I have MMD in the pile. Killer is indeed probably the finest crime book ever. I think DH has the rights to Blacksad now, I will give it a try when the new printings come out.

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