Stray Bullets

Stray Bullets 15-41

Stray Bullets: Killers 1-8

Amy Racecar Color Special 1-2

Yeah, I went on a binge these last couple of days, and tore through the rest of this series.  So it couldn’t have been that bad. My thoughts:

Continuing on my last post, I realize that I like the standalone stories better because David Lapham is writing about bad people.  These are characters who have, through various combinations of poor decisions and horrible environments, become unsavory characters with whom I would never wish to associate.  And because Lapham doesn’t condescend to his readers by glamorizing the violence and crimes that his motley crew commits, it’s not a very pleasant reading experience. It’s remarkably well crafted, so each introduction to a new character is exciting and gripping.  But I generally found myself less interested in spending any more time with them after their first appearance.  

The exception was with Ginny Applejack.  Here’s someone that we’ve been with from the start.  Her decisions, while often ill-advised, are a little more understandable than those of the other characters.  Plus, there’s still a chance that she pulls out of her tailspin and extracts herself from the nosedive she’s in.  (Though by the end of Killers, that’s pretty much shot to hell.)    

Hers is the story that I stuck around to read.  I cared enough about her to stick around for 21 more issues than I otherwise would have.  I wanted to know what happens to her. And now that I do, I’m glad that I stopped buying where I did (issue 28).  Her world is terrible. And the worst part is that her high school might be worse than anything she had to live through on the streets.  God, I hope my kid doesn’t have to go through any of that.  

By the way, Amy Racecar does nothing for me, except for the issue where she deals with the aftermath of Ginny’s kidnapping.  That was pretty well done.

Stray Bullets deserves the title of magnum opus.  It’s a sprawling beast of a work, executed with amazing artistry by David Lapham.  As a feat of writing, it’s really up there with the best.. But I still can’t give it a very high grade because it’s just not...enjoyable.  Kind of like Y the Last Man.  It’s good, but it doesn’t strike the emotional chord in me that would elevate it to that level of greatness.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Stray Bullets

Stray Bullets 5-14

The high quality from David Lapham continues, but I much prefer the standalone stories to the longer arcs.  Sure, they’re all tied together into one larger epic, but the Seaside story wasn’t as gripping as the death of Ginny’s father, for example

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes, No for 11-14

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good, Nice for 11-14

Stray Bullets

Stray Bullets 1-4

Issue two is one of the most disturbing things that I’ve read in my life, because it’s something that happens in real life - child on child violence, as brutal as anything that adults can inflict on one another.  I remember how horrified I was when I reached the final page of the issue, positive that Ginny Applejack was dead on the forest floor on Halloween night. Combined with the injustice of the circumstances that put her in that position in the first place and the inhumanity of the multiple cover ups that follow, the whole thing adds up to create inside my soul a seething hatred of all that’s wrong with the world.  

Impressive for a twenty seven page floppy.  I said yesterday that David Lapham was extraordinary, and this was the issue that first convinced me of that.  

Victimology is only one of four stories in the first trade, and while it’s the only one that I still vividly remembered almost twenty years later, the others are almost as strong.  The names came rushing back to me with a familiarity that I had long forgotten - Spanish Steve, Monster, Nina and Beth, Joey - I don’t recall what happens to any of them, but it was still like seeing old friends.  Except I would never want to be friends with any of these people.

But I sure am looking forward to spending the next few days with them.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good