Frank Miller's Sin City Volume 6: Booze, Broads, & Bullets 3rd Edition

Like all the other Sin City books, this is good stuff. A series of vingettes that add to characters we know or introduce characters we see more of in book 7.

Sandwiched between the relatively short Dwight & Miho story "Family Values" and the massive "Hell and Back" (which is supposed to star Johnny Depp in the next "Sin City" movie if the Fates are kind), Book 6 "Booze, Broads, & Bullets" is a collection of "Sin City" short stories from Frank Miller. There are eleven stories, ranging in length from three to two dozen pages and for those fans who do not think that "Sin City" has been as good as when Marv was holding center stage in Book One, "The Hard Goodbye," then the fact that Marv is the main character in two of the stories and a bystander in a couple of others will be greeted with undiminished joy. But there is also the addition of new female character who insists people call her "Blue Eyes" (yes, her eyes are colored blue, but that is not as impressive as what Miller does with her blue dress). The collection gets off to a great start with "Another Saturday Night," in which Marv must have forgotten to take his medication, because he wakes up in the middle of a mess and cannot remember what is going on. We then shift to a comic little piece in "Fat Man and Little Boy," the nicknames by which a couple of low-rent hit men named Douglas Klump and Burt Shlubb do their business. They have been hired to dump a body, but Mr. Shlubb has designs on the finely crafted boots of the deceased to replace his most embarrassing and blister-inducing of pedal garments, but Mr. Shlubb points out that given their current status in the extralegal community even a minor transgression such as that could be cause fo discipline most severe. "The Customer is Always Right" is the vignette that served as the introduction for the "Sin City" movie, and then Marv comes back for "Silent Night," in which he has some business to take care of on a snowy night. Artistically this last one is my favorite in the collection as Miller continues to explore drawing figures walking through the snow. He did that a little in "Family Values," but in "Silent Night" he has some nice shots of Marv walking through a blizzard. "And Behind Door Number Three..." is a quickie that gives Miho a reason to show up, while "Blue Eyes" introduces the new recurring character of Delia, who is reunited at the bar where Marv is watching Nancy dance with Jim, the only man she ever really lived. But Jim is running from somebody trying to kill him, so hooking up with Delia at this particular point in time might not be a bright idea. "Rats" is the most atypical of these stories, although bringing the sensibilities of "Sin City" to what I see as being a Holocaust story is an interesting touch. "Daddy's Little Girl" is another "Sin City" tale where a character, in this case the title one, gets to have a little color. However the color in this case is pink. On the one hand, I am not any more crazier about black & white and pink here than I was on the cover of "Family Values." But on the other hand pink does add to the attendant irony of this grim l

Miller has defined his own noir nouveau. Sin City is a crime drama, but without the cops. It takes place in an urban world that has no sun or mercy, gritty people in a gritty place. It has heroes of sorts, but you probably don't want to look too closely at the guy you're cheering for. Most of all, it has Miller's stark artwork. Black and white, with no tones in between, every line is as sharp as a knife edge. The images are built from extremes, as are the characters, as are the stories. The stories vary. The first centers on a homicidal strongman, chasing his prey into a gangland dead end, with emphasis on dead - and he's the good guy. The next comic book in this set of reprints is an enigmatic story with only one spoken sentence, near the end. Within that framework, it uses claustrophobic view angles to suggest multiple betrayals and larger events. It also makes clear that some people are innocent, some times. Later stories use single spots of color to create characters and to focus attention, a strong visual and narrative tool. The stories are still dark and violent, based on people at their worst. Only that last story changes in tone, a bride who panics on the eve of her wedding and runs. The problem is that she runs into some bad people. She is, however, returned in time to make her vows. This is what I like about the last decade in comics - innovative artwork and stories that hang together. Others are good, but Miller's Sin City is among the best. //wiredweird

This is probably my second favorite book in the Sin City series, after the original. All of them are good, but this collection of short, self-contained stories is great. Among other things, it has two stories featuring Marv, including a very powerful Christmas story called Silent Night. There's also a story about Dwight, The Babe Wore Red. It's a great, fun-filled, existential romp through the town without pity with an incredible somewhat cynical ending. Also featured are Fatman and Little Boy, Manute, and a set of characters not featured in any of the graphic novels, including an assassains guild starring Blue Eyes. If you've ever enjoyed any other Sin City stuff, buy this one. If you haven't, I would reccomend that you read the first one (Sin City) and A Dame to Kill For first, but definitely to get a hold of this one as well.

sin city is mostly known as aseries of graphc novels but this collection of short stories is one of the better sin city works. the intensity and noirish milieu of the larger works is maintained in most of the stories the one exeption fatman and little boy is effective as dark comedy. the other standouts are rats which is astory about a war crinimal who is murdered in his grimy apartment . the murderer could be a rogue nazi hunter exercising vigilante justice or it may be just a street thug the ambiguity involved makes it particularly effective. the silent night story which is virtually wordless is an effective example of comic book eperimentalism. most silent stories i comics do not work but miller uses facial expressions closeups and contrasts of black and white to inject energy and drama into what most comic book artists would have turned into a pinup collection. the lady wore red is a first rate exmple of straight forward action and the stufff with blue eyes is interesting as well. she is a compelling anti-heroine.the other stories are not at five star level and i give the series 4and one half stars but i would round it up to 5 if the originalrating is not allowed.