100 Bullets help

[Ajax]

I just read 100 bullets 56, and it was my first issue. I am extremely confused, could someone explain what is going on?

[rob_react]

From what I gather, 100 Bullets might be, of all the series on the shelves today, the one that you most need to have read everything to really get. Everything is interconnected and works off of stuff that happened before (and will happen in the future....)

 

[edit] ChrisCo, yes, I'm going to start catching up

[DKB]

100 Bullets has, and by a wide margin I think, the most complex and interwoven plot you'll find in comics. In a good way though.

 

You reaaaaly need to start from issue 1 and read everything. In the process of reading, forget nothing, because characters reappear after 20 issues of being gone, clues are dropped all over the place, great stuff.

[rjpb]

Many of the story arcs work pretty well as stand-alone reads, but "Wylie Runs the Voodoo Down", which concluded in issue #57 was confusing to even long -term readers of the series ( well, me anyway). The final issue does clarify a few things, but I'm sure a new reader would still be lost.

[chrisco37]

I just read 100 bullets 56, and it was my first issue. I am extremely confused, could someone explain what is going on?

 

Yep. Agree w/ the others. This is one series where you really can't cut any corners. You've got to read the previous issues if you want to follow the story.

 

And this latest arc was the most complex of them all. No way you could possibly know whats going on or figure it out.

 

I'd try and explain to you whats going on, but there's just way too much backstory necessary.

 

Go buy the first two or three trades and read them. See if you want to invest the time and money into the rest of the series.

 

Someone wrote in the 100 Bullets thread last week that the series is actually one gigantic story (the entire series will run to issue #100). #56 is past the halfway point. You've missed all the back story associated with the characters involved.

 

Case in point, Wylie (the main character in the most recent arc) has only showed up in a few issues prior to this one. Only one of those issues (#42 or #43?) really even go into his past.

 

Don't be frustrated. It's a great series. You just have to start at square one.

[Ajax]

This series is just something different, and I kinda like it so ill pick up the first 2 trades

[seank]

"Wylie Runs the Voodoo Down" is probably the worst starting place for a new 100 Bullets reader. It furthers existing plots by presuming that the reading knows what's happened in the past with three major characters. Plus, it's very post-modern, told out of order and relying on the reader to make connections. (Not to mention some fantastic foreshadowing, perhaps the best ever in comic books.)

 

My recommendation, which echoes others here, is to start with the trade paperbacks, starting with #1. The first arc isn't the best. At the end of the second arc (both in trade #1), I was hooked. The best thing to do is to read all the trades, then get the individual comics after the trades and read them in order. Next best is to read the first few trades, figure out what's going on, then you can start with the new arc that starts in the next issue. Fill in the middle as you go -- Azzarello will set up a situation or character, drop it for a year or two, then come back to it. Wylie is a prime example, but I won't give anything away.

 

As I've said, read 100 Bullets. You won't regret it.