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Stray Bullets
Stray Bullets, Vol. 2: Somewhere Out West
Somewhere out West is a town no one knows about - a desert town whose inhabitants wait for the day a great earthquake will bring them beachfront property. Here, two young lovers on the run from the Mob will learn that love is more than just another four-letter word. A once-beautiful, now-broken woman will let the demons of her past pull her down into a thick soup of depravity and death. A betrayed little girl running from everything will decide to help someone and be scarred forever. And a big lug with big dreams will achieve fame and glory and then throw it all away. These are just some of the people whose tales will stick in your gut for the rest of your days.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published May 20, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 6, 2023
More of this modern masterpiece in telling stories around those living near or within the criminal underclass in America. At times darkly comical, at points hyper-real, even quasi-surreal in parts but it all means something and the more you read the more you know. Nina, Beth and Orson are hiding out in a town in the middle of nowhere after an unspecified run of events against Harry's mob that sees them with a lot of his money.. and Cocaine!
In monochrome and at times sparse dialogue and/or visuals Lapham teases out the relationships between the main AND secondary characters so well. But what this series is more than anything else is people's stories. The final part in this volume is earth shattering intense, macabre and funny throughout! Let the saga continue. :) A easy 9 out of 12, Four Star read.
2023, 2019, 2016, 2015 and 2013 read!!! How much do I love this series?
In monochrome and at times sparse dialogue and/or visuals Lapham teases out the relationships between the main AND secondary characters so well. But what this series is more than anything else is people's stories. The final part in this volume is earth shattering intense, macabre and funny throughout! Let the saga continue. :) A easy 9 out of 12, Four Star read.
2023, 2019, 2016, 2015 and 2013 read!!! How much do I love this series?
July 25, 2019
More slice of gutter sex, drugs and violence, and not one is beautiful, not one is admirable, not one escapes in this gritty rough monochrome pulp throwback to sixties crime comix. The fifties Comics Code was right, these stories corrupt you, and will drag you down, down down into depravity. Let the reader beware! Somewhere Out West is the second larger collection, including #8-14, of David Lapham’s Stray Bullets series from the nineties.
Once you’ve seen Pulp Fiction, you can’t help but think of it as a cultural reference for any other similarly violent story from the period, and that is true for this series, for sure. (Though I also go back to Sam Peckinpah’s ultra-violent, Straw Dogs, too). (Oh, and since I am reading Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal, too, I see this as a scratchier, deliberately less polished version of Criminal; all of the folks in Stray Bullets are criminals). As with PF, we have thus far a set of seemingly disconnected tales that seem to be slowly coalescing. Not all of them are yet connected, but you can see how they all might mesh somehow.
We’ve moved from Baltimore in Volume 1 to Somewhere Out West, also known as Seaside, a California desert town whose inhabitants wait for the day The Big One will flush half of the state into the Pacific and they will then own prime beachfront property. There’s a bit of a focus coming out of the first volume on Orson, Beth and Nina. Orson, you will recall, has graduated from a Baltimore high school, and still a virgin, meets an older woman who introduces him to the dark side of drugs and sex and then swirls with her down the drain into a cesspool of crime; he and Beth and Nina killed someone, and are on the run from the Mob. Nina is the saddest and most poignant character here, now a lost drug addict falling falling into madness.
A nice quiet little nowhere desert town to hide out? A place to settle down and start over? Forget it, with these depraved freaks! Many interesting loser characters including nice enough Nick, the new Sheriff, who tries ot give the impression he is luckier with the ladies than he actually is. There’s another psychotic Amy Racecar story I can’t seem to unsee. Yikes! And the macabre death of a five-legged cow that has the town folks weeping at her funeral: They have lost their main point of distinction! Nightmarish, accomplished, a kind of stoned storytelling carnie ride. Help! I can’t seem to get off this Ferris Wheel!!!
Once you’ve seen Pulp Fiction, you can’t help but think of it as a cultural reference for any other similarly violent story from the period, and that is true for this series, for sure. (Though I also go back to Sam Peckinpah’s ultra-violent, Straw Dogs, too). (Oh, and since I am reading Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal, too, I see this as a scratchier, deliberately less polished version of Criminal; all of the folks in Stray Bullets are criminals). As with PF, we have thus far a set of seemingly disconnected tales that seem to be slowly coalescing. Not all of them are yet connected, but you can see how they all might mesh somehow.
We’ve moved from Baltimore in Volume 1 to Somewhere Out West, also known as Seaside, a California desert town whose inhabitants wait for the day The Big One will flush half of the state into the Pacific and they will then own prime beachfront property. There’s a bit of a focus coming out of the first volume on Orson, Beth and Nina. Orson, you will recall, has graduated from a Baltimore high school, and still a virgin, meets an older woman who introduces him to the dark side of drugs and sex and then swirls with her down the drain into a cesspool of crime; he and Beth and Nina killed someone, and are on the run from the Mob. Nina is the saddest and most poignant character here, now a lost drug addict falling falling into madness.
A nice quiet little nowhere desert town to hide out? A place to settle down and start over? Forget it, with these depraved freaks! Many interesting loser characters including nice enough Nick, the new Sheriff, who tries ot give the impression he is luckier with the ladies than he actually is. There’s another psychotic Amy Racecar story I can’t seem to unsee. Yikes! And the macabre death of a five-legged cow that has the town folks weeping at her funeral: They have lost their main point of distinction! Nightmarish, accomplished, a kind of stoned storytelling carnie ride. Help! I can’t seem to get off this Ferris Wheel!!!
November 28, 2014
The first Stray Bullets book is a masterpiece – is there anything higher than that? The second volume is a double-masterpiece! I LOVED this book. I might run out of superlatives, this comic is that good, so get your umbrellas out because I’m gonna start gushing!
It’s 1982 and Orson, the kid we met in the first book who’d just graduated high school, has fallen into a life of crime. With his girlfriend Beth and their friend Nina, they’ve ripped off Harry, stealing a suitcase of blow and heading somewhere out west. They hole up in the strange small desert town of Seaside, which, though landlocked for hundreds of miles in any direction, has residents who believe that when “the earthquake” happens and swallows California, they will be the new coastline!
We meet a number of new characters in this book, from Nick, the loutish and dim but generally decent chap who’s destined to become the new sheriff, to Leslie and Lemmy, a pair of scummy residents who prey on young girls. But the life they left behind is eating away at Orson, Beth and Nina, and Nina’s mind begins to unravel, helped on by copious amounts of drugs. With Harry’s boys, Spanish Scott and Monster, on their trail, will our young protagonists get away with their score or pay the price?
The first Stray Bullets book was a brilliant collection of loosely-connected short stories spanning some twenty years with a strong crime vibe that made me think of Tarantino’s films. With this second book, David Lapham has shrugged off any such comparisons to make this series its own standalone work. It’s also much less crime-focused, though it still retains a number of those elements, particularly noir. This second volume is still structured like it’s a collection of shorts though they are much more cohesive and form a more-or-less linear narrative set within a year with the same cast.
The exception is the Amy Racecar story, or Chapter 3, which is set in the 41st century! The Amy Racecar stories (there was one in the first book too) are a puzzle to me. Are they actually set in the 41st century? Are they flights of fancy from David Lapham? We meet a character who kind of looks like a teenage version of Amy, who calls herself “Amy”, in 1982 – is she “Amy Racecar” and are these 41st century stories her fantasies? Either way, these asides are really fun and, like the other chapters in this book, her story is tied to the town of Seaside.
Reading Stray Bullets doesn’t feel like reading a comic – it’s more like watching a movie; a really, really, really excellent movie that totally immerses you. The storytelling is so fluid, well-paced, and succinctly measured, that reading it is an effortless joy. I’m not sure what I liked more, the stories or the characters, but I do know that Lapham creates characters so perfectly realised, I can’t think of an immediate comparison. Will Eisner perhaps?
Nina, Orson and Beth’s friend, is the most haunting character portrait in the book. We never see the score that these three pull off, just the aftermath, but we know that someone died, Nina feels responsible and is irreparably scarred from it and is slowly descending into total darkness. Lapham jumps from character to character so we see all viewpoints at the right moments in the story, and so we see Nina through Orson’s eyes, then through Beth’s, other residents of Seaside, and, just once, from Nina herself, catching a glimpse of her nightmarish memories that are slowly killing her.
I can’t stress how memorable and disturbing seeing Nina’s deterioration was – it’s one of the most harrowing and powerful characterisations I’ve ever experienced in a comic. It’s a bit like Jennifer Connelly’s transformation in Requiem for a Dream. She goes from being a broken but still-real person, to complete train wreck horrorshow.
Watching the first time she rebuffed the sleazy approaches of Leslie and Lemmy, two characters I don’t think I’ve hated more in a comic – because Lapham writes them so well as villains, not because they’re incompetently created – before joining them in all sorts of horrifying ways, was shocking. The way she just gave up her dignity was palpable, and yet she retained a sliver of her old self in some scenes later on – incredible.
But I loved the other character portraits too. Orson and Beth have their moments and are one of the most real comics couples I’ve come across – a bit over the top in places, to me anyway, but just because I don’t know people like that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And the way their arc completes by the end is thrilling, you can’t predict what’ll happen next.
Nick is another great character. When we first see him he comes across – like so many of the Seaside residents – as a low life, bumming around a dead-end town, feeding his sybaritic desires. Then Lapham develops him so he comes a more complex character – a hero, a saviour, and a real person.
The art of Somewhere Out West is extraordinary. I’m not just talking about the visuals, though Lapham’s expressive characters are amazing, and it’s stunning what he can do with an 8 panel grid (the format of most of the book). But the art of everything from the visuals to the writing, to the storytelling and the layouts – it all comes together in such an inspired way.
Stray Bullets is a grown-up book in every sense of the word so I hugely recommend it to everyone “of age” (though it’s fine for later teens). Stray Bullets is both high art and the best entertainment – full marks to David Lapham on every aspect of this book. There’s so much good stuff here to talk about that I know I haven’t done justice to in this review which is why I feel it’s inadequate to say, but I’ll leave it here: this is a special comic.
It’s 1982 and Orson, the kid we met in the first book who’d just graduated high school, has fallen into a life of crime. With his girlfriend Beth and their friend Nina, they’ve ripped off Harry, stealing a suitcase of blow and heading somewhere out west. They hole up in the strange small desert town of Seaside, which, though landlocked for hundreds of miles in any direction, has residents who believe that when “the earthquake” happens and swallows California, they will be the new coastline!
We meet a number of new characters in this book, from Nick, the loutish and dim but generally decent chap who’s destined to become the new sheriff, to Leslie and Lemmy, a pair of scummy residents who prey on young girls. But the life they left behind is eating away at Orson, Beth and Nina, and Nina’s mind begins to unravel, helped on by copious amounts of drugs. With Harry’s boys, Spanish Scott and Monster, on their trail, will our young protagonists get away with their score or pay the price?
The first Stray Bullets book was a brilliant collection of loosely-connected short stories spanning some twenty years with a strong crime vibe that made me think of Tarantino’s films. With this second book, David Lapham has shrugged off any such comparisons to make this series its own standalone work. It’s also much less crime-focused, though it still retains a number of those elements, particularly noir. This second volume is still structured like it’s a collection of shorts though they are much more cohesive and form a more-or-less linear narrative set within a year with the same cast.
The exception is the Amy Racecar story, or Chapter 3, which is set in the 41st century! The Amy Racecar stories (there was one in the first book too) are a puzzle to me. Are they actually set in the 41st century? Are they flights of fancy from David Lapham? We meet a character who kind of looks like a teenage version of Amy, who calls herself “Amy”, in 1982 – is she “Amy Racecar” and are these 41st century stories her fantasies? Either way, these asides are really fun and, like the other chapters in this book, her story is tied to the town of Seaside.
Reading Stray Bullets doesn’t feel like reading a comic – it’s more like watching a movie; a really, really, really excellent movie that totally immerses you. The storytelling is so fluid, well-paced, and succinctly measured, that reading it is an effortless joy. I’m not sure what I liked more, the stories or the characters, but I do know that Lapham creates characters so perfectly realised, I can’t think of an immediate comparison. Will Eisner perhaps?
Nina, Orson and Beth’s friend, is the most haunting character portrait in the book. We never see the score that these three pull off, just the aftermath, but we know that someone died, Nina feels responsible and is irreparably scarred from it and is slowly descending into total darkness. Lapham jumps from character to character so we see all viewpoints at the right moments in the story, and so we see Nina through Orson’s eyes, then through Beth’s, other residents of Seaside, and, just once, from Nina herself, catching a glimpse of her nightmarish memories that are slowly killing her.
I can’t stress how memorable and disturbing seeing Nina’s deterioration was – it’s one of the most harrowing and powerful characterisations I’ve ever experienced in a comic. It’s a bit like Jennifer Connelly’s transformation in Requiem for a Dream. She goes from being a broken but still-real person, to complete train wreck horrorshow.
Watching the first time she rebuffed the sleazy approaches of Leslie and Lemmy, two characters I don’t think I’ve hated more in a comic – because Lapham writes them so well as villains, not because they’re incompetently created – before joining them in all sorts of horrifying ways, was shocking. The way she just gave up her dignity was palpable, and yet she retained a sliver of her old self in some scenes later on – incredible.
But I loved the other character portraits too. Orson and Beth have their moments and are one of the most real comics couples I’ve come across – a bit over the top in places, to me anyway, but just because I don’t know people like that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And the way their arc completes by the end is thrilling, you can’t predict what’ll happen next.
Nick is another great character. When we first see him he comes across – like so many of the Seaside residents – as a low life, bumming around a dead-end town, feeding his sybaritic desires. Then Lapham develops him so he comes a more complex character – a hero, a saviour, and a real person.
The art of Somewhere Out West is extraordinary. I’m not just talking about the visuals, though Lapham’s expressive characters are amazing, and it’s stunning what he can do with an 8 panel grid (the format of most of the book). But the art of everything from the visuals to the writing, to the storytelling and the layouts – it all comes together in such an inspired way.
Stray Bullets is a grown-up book in every sense of the word so I hugely recommend it to everyone “of age” (though it’s fine for later teens). Stray Bullets is both high art and the best entertainment – full marks to David Lapham on every aspect of this book. There’s so much good stuff here to talk about that I know I haven’t done justice to in this review which is why I feel it’s inadequate to say, but I’ll leave it here: this is a special comic.
July 24, 2019
Hovering between 4 and 5 stars. Rounding up instead of down because Nick's character arc is fascinating and plausible (his story perfectly captures a false man who presents himself differently to everyone, which he does effortlessly because he's as hollow as a chocolate Easter bunny). And because of a superb plot device involving a head-sized hole in a mobile-home bedroom floor.
As the connections between the large cast of characters becomes clearer, this series becomes more riveting.
-------------------------------
Edit: In later volumes the inclusion of the Amy Racecar stories comes to make sense, but when I read v2 they were still an unwelcome, out-of-joint puzzle.
As the connections between the large cast of characters becomes clearer, this series becomes more riveting.
-------------------------------
Edit: In later volumes the inclusion of the Amy Racecar stories comes to make sense, but when I read v2 they were still an unwelcome, out-of-joint puzzle.
October 15, 2009
Couldn't even finish it. Tedious, disjointed to the point of needing a map - at which point it feels more like work than enjoyment.
March 29, 2017
Good god I love this series.
June 26, 2015
'Stray Bullets Volume 1: Somewhere Out West' collects issues 8-14 of the comic book series by David Lapham. It's another over the top tale of violence and low lifes and I liked it.
The town of Seaside has a boardwalk, but no waterfront. They live in the hopes of a big California earthquake that will bring them the beach and make their property valuable. It's a town in the middle of nowhere populated by nobodys. This makes it the perfect town for Orson, Beth and Nina to hide from the mob in. They've got a suitcase full of drugs, or they did until Nina started helping herself. They have a nosy neighbor kid who is spying through the holes in their floor. They try to hide out and not go stir crazy. Can they stay below the radar, especially with Nina freaking out?
Seaside also has a big talking loser named Nick. He talks a good game, but he's not as lucky with the ladies as he lets on. He might get a chance at something if Beth and Nina have anything to say. He might be the distraction they need, but what goes up does come down, or does it?
It's all black and white art, and I like Lapham's style. The book is a series of stories that intertwine and weave around each other. Amy Racecar, the psychopath from the first volume, makes an appearance. The situations and violence are quirky and filled with dark humor. The characters are strange and the stuff of garishly bad dreams. I enjoyed the heck out of the first volume and this one too.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this very good graphic novel.
The town of Seaside has a boardwalk, but no waterfront. They live in the hopes of a big California earthquake that will bring them the beach and make their property valuable. It's a town in the middle of nowhere populated by nobodys. This makes it the perfect town for Orson, Beth and Nina to hide from the mob in. They've got a suitcase full of drugs, or they did until Nina started helping herself. They have a nosy neighbor kid who is spying through the holes in their floor. They try to hide out and not go stir crazy. Can they stay below the radar, especially with Nina freaking out?
Seaside also has a big talking loser named Nick. He talks a good game, but he's not as lucky with the ladies as he lets on. He might get a chance at something if Beth and Nina have anything to say. He might be the distraction they need, but what goes up does come down, or does it?
It's all black and white art, and I like Lapham's style. The book is a series of stories that intertwine and weave around each other. Amy Racecar, the psychopath from the first volume, makes an appearance. The situations and violence are quirky and filled with dark humor. The characters are strange and the stuff of garishly bad dreams. I enjoyed the heck out of the first volume and this one too.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this very good graphic novel.
October 9, 2016
I can only see 3.0 meager stars "Somewhere Out West."
Buttons pressed:
Questions still plague me such as, Are we supposed to...
No longer confident that i'll read the entire series, i'll still begin v3, "Other People," tonight.
Buttons pressed:
Unlikable characters? v1=yes; v2=yes.
With redeeming qualities and/or moments? v1=yes; v2=not so much.
Senseless violence? v1=almost too much; v2=a bit less than that.
With plot or character justification? v1=mostly; v2=only occasionally.
Ugly visuals? v1=yes; v2=even more so (Lemmy is almost sufficient reason never to open this book).
For seemingly good reason/s? v1=i think so; v2=i don't think so.
Stereotyped behavior for many characters and events? v1=yep; v2=yup.
Of a forgivable variety? v1=often; v2=rarely/never.
Questions still plague me such as, Are we supposed to...
a) KNOW what happened to Nina at the end of the last story? (please PM or comment)
b) believe Seaside's citizens are reasonable facsimiles of real-life smalltown folk?
c) agree with Virginia's assessment of Beth and Orson's relationship?
d) be amused by Sheriff Montana
No longer confident that i'll read the entire series, i'll still begin v3, "Other People," tonight.
October 25, 2009
You first notice the hole in the bedroom floor when the protagonist steps in it on page two -- it's covered by a rug, so he doesn't fall through. But you know that David Lapham isn't gonna let a floor-hole be a mere trivial inconvenience. Later you see the rug above the hole waggling in the air -- some voyeur's head is poking up? At some point the rug clears away so that a runaway girl can prop herself up just enough downstairs, so that her head appears as an angelic apparition for her drug-addled playmate. Later still the hole is the site of one of the most degrading, despicable murders in comix history.
Of course there's more to this strange story than that floor hole. The setting is a "beachside" resort in the middle of the desert -- the town is waiting for California to split off from the mainland and grow its own east coast. And the gangsters & innocents you've seen in the first Stray Bullets stories get stranger and fuller here -- my favorite is "Twenty-Eight Guys Named Nick". Plus: exceptional violence, drug use, sex, revenge, and creepy circus clowns. I've never read anything like it -- and if we need a cinematic analogy, imagine a cross between Sam Peckinpah and David Lynch.
Of course there's more to this strange story than that floor hole. The setting is a "beachside" resort in the middle of the desert -- the town is waiting for California to split off from the mainland and grow its own east coast. And the gangsters & innocents you've seen in the first Stray Bullets stories get stranger and fuller here -- my favorite is "Twenty-Eight Guys Named Nick". Plus: exceptional violence, drug use, sex, revenge, and creepy circus clowns. I've never read anything like it -- and if we need a cinematic analogy, imagine a cross between Sam Peckinpah and David Lynch.
June 4, 2018
So here's what's great about Stray Bullets: we last saw Nina back in 1980, about to get her one-night stand killed, and we last saw Orson back in 1981, witnessing the street violence of Harry's crew. Beth threaded the stories but wasn't a major actor. Now we're suddenly in 1982, and the three have fled to California after some type of heist against Harry. Lapham doesn't feel the need to tell us the story in between (though he circles back to it decades later in Sunshine & Roses), instead he just moves us effortlessly on, en media res.
However, Somewhere Out West isn't as strong as the first volume, primarily because it focuses on a much more linear story. Though Lapham would later do well with more focused stories of this sort, in his first effort it treads water for many of the early issues, giving us great characterization, and some interesting points of view, but not the wonderful one-and-done plots that we got in the first volume. Still, Somewhere Out West gains weight as the story goes on, to the point where the last (50 page!) story is tense & otherwise brilliant. The way that various characters come together is excellent & Ginny offers some fun metatextuality. Overall, this is still quite an enjoyable read.
However, Somewhere Out West isn't as strong as the first volume, primarily because it focuses on a much more linear story. Though Lapham would later do well with more focused stories of this sort, in his first effort it treads water for many of the early issues, giving us great characterization, and some interesting points of view, but not the wonderful one-and-done plots that we got in the first volume. Still, Somewhere Out West gains weight as the story goes on, to the point where the last (50 page!) story is tense & otherwise brilliant. The way that various characters come together is excellent & Ginny offers some fun metatextuality. Overall, this is still quite an enjoyable read.
March 7, 2020
The graphic novel's answer to Pulp Fiction continues with another set of loosely connected stories all set in an absolute dud of a town out in the middle of the desert. There, a familiar casts of lowlifes, oddballs and outcasts intersect and manage to come together in a kind of chaotic jumble that offers no easy conclusions or moralizing, just a Darwinian case study in how the dumb get killed, the stupid get pinched, the tough still don't live forever, and that everyone has the ability to fall from grace.
July 2, 2015
Stray Bullets Vol. 2 was enjoyable on some levels and not so enjoyable on other levels. I enjoyed some of the story lines better than others. I didn't read the first one so I am not sure if that is part of the problem or not. I think it was a decent comic book and would probably read other installments in the series.
June 7, 2015
The first volume had its moments, but this collection is just plain bad. Hard to believe this artwork won Lapham an Eisner as best artist. The interconnected stories are just bleak and depressing and, really, rather pointless. I had to force myself to keep reading and not sure why I bothered.
February 27, 2021
(Zero spoiler review) Read my previous reviews for additional context.
Lordy, this series just keeps on keeping on. Twenty issues in now and this series is still effortlessly engrossing and brilliant, without a filler issue in sight. The newer characters being introduced punch just as hard in the compelling department as any ones have previously, with the longstanding characters continuing to build a repour with the audience only capable of in the best stories. Each new issue, it's a bit of a thrill to see who will be appearing this time, and with who. Volume 2 ups the stakes in terms of inventiveness and dialogue in what was already a tasty little gem of a series. Lapham, in true Spinal Tap fashion, went and turned it all up to 11, and the results are there to see for all. His art has improved wholesale from the original few issues, with some of the larger establishing panels being downright gorgeous, and a rival for just about anything being done in black and white. There might be a few hastily drawn ones here and there, but when the writing is this gripping, who really cares?
Again, the timeline jumping around can be a little disorientating, and on more than one occasion, I found myself trying to put pieces together that maybe weren't meant to be so cerebrally interpreted. Sometimes, its just dark, gritty fun, though with an ominous, thrilling air pervading it all. These stories can start in such mundane, ordinary situations, yet by the end of the issue, you and the characters can be a million miles away, metaphorically speaking, living out their worst day in black and white, for our catharsis or enjoyment. This review may be a little shorter than I normally write, but there are only so many ways you can keep saying 'read it' over and over again. This transcends the graphic novel medium, and deserves a much wider audience. 4.75/5
OmniBen (100 reviews).
Lordy, this series just keeps on keeping on. Twenty issues in now and this series is still effortlessly engrossing and brilliant, without a filler issue in sight. The newer characters being introduced punch just as hard in the compelling department as any ones have previously, with the longstanding characters continuing to build a repour with the audience only capable of in the best stories. Each new issue, it's a bit of a thrill to see who will be appearing this time, and with who. Volume 2 ups the stakes in terms of inventiveness and dialogue in what was already a tasty little gem of a series. Lapham, in true Spinal Tap fashion, went and turned it all up to 11, and the results are there to see for all. His art has improved wholesale from the original few issues, with some of the larger establishing panels being downright gorgeous, and a rival for just about anything being done in black and white. There might be a few hastily drawn ones here and there, but when the writing is this gripping, who really cares?
Again, the timeline jumping around can be a little disorientating, and on more than one occasion, I found myself trying to put pieces together that maybe weren't meant to be so cerebrally interpreted. Sometimes, its just dark, gritty fun, though with an ominous, thrilling air pervading it all. These stories can start in such mundane, ordinary situations, yet by the end of the issue, you and the characters can be a million miles away, metaphorically speaking, living out their worst day in black and white, for our catharsis or enjoyment. This review may be a little shorter than I normally write, but there are only so many ways you can keep saying 'read it' over and over again. This transcends the graphic novel medium, and deserves a much wider audience. 4.75/5
OmniBen (100 reviews).
December 13, 2023
"Somewhere Out West" marks a bit of a pivot for the series, but executed with sheer precision that it's barely noticeable. The initial issues in the series presented a bit of a loosely connected anthology style of storytelling whereby each issue depicted a self-contained crime drama with a rotating cast of characters. A few characters would make repeat appearances, but the stories were told entirely non-chronologically. But with "Somewhere Out West", Lapham lays out a sprawling drama set over an eighteen month period and features a much more limited cast.
The story primarily follows the exploits of Beth, Nina and Orson who have fled Baltimore in the possession of a large quantity of cocaine belonging the enigmatic mobster, Harry. They maintain a low profile in a trailer park and avoid cashing in on their haul to remain undetected. But the trio have a tough time keeping things chill as Nina begins to spiral into heavy drug use, Beth gets frustrated by the suffocating living conditions and lashes out at her boyfriend, Orson. Other previously introduced characters like Ginny come into play here, as does a new character, Nick. "Somewhere Out West" can be in a sense considered to be a slice-of-life story, but with the tense undertones of a crime thriller. Lapham balances the human drama with film noir aesthetic beautifully here, and cultivates a story that could easily be considered a classic Tarantino film. The dialogue is biting and endearing, the characters all very realized and the pacing is pitch perfect.
There is another Amy Racecar story in the middle here, which on its own works pretty well but also detracts from the main story a fair bit more. I enjoyed the previous one a fair bit more due to the heavy esoteric tone to it, whereas here it wasn't quite as whimsical.
The story primarily follows the exploits of Beth, Nina and Orson who have fled Baltimore in the possession of a large quantity of cocaine belonging the enigmatic mobster, Harry. They maintain a low profile in a trailer park and avoid cashing in on their haul to remain undetected. But the trio have a tough time keeping things chill as Nina begins to spiral into heavy drug use, Beth gets frustrated by the suffocating living conditions and lashes out at her boyfriend, Orson. Other previously introduced characters like Ginny come into play here, as does a new character, Nick. "Somewhere Out West" can be in a sense considered to be a slice-of-life story, but with the tense undertones of a crime thriller. Lapham balances the human drama with film noir aesthetic beautifully here, and cultivates a story that could easily be considered a classic Tarantino film. The dialogue is biting and endearing, the characters all very realized and the pacing is pitch perfect.
There is another Amy Racecar story in the middle here, which on its own works pretty well but also detracts from the main story a fair bit more. I enjoyed the previous one a fair bit more due to the heavy esoteric tone to it, whereas here it wasn't quite as whimsical.
September 21, 2023
collecting Stray Bullets #8–14
We skip ahead a bit and follow Beth, Nina, and Orson who are hiding out in a small town. They have stolen a bunch of drugs and money from Harry. Unlike the first volume, this volume tells one continuous story. Nina is using a lot of the cocaine herself. Orson is basically the leader of the trio and demands they keep a low profile but is negatively influenced by Nina to do wild things. We get a cool Amy Racecar (Virginia) story of her coming to town and later we see Virginia actually show up.
Lapham builds up this brilliant cast and setting then shit hits the fan pretty quick and the status quo is shifted. The characters feel so real.
This is basically the best Tarantino movie ever.
We skip ahead a bit and follow Beth, Nina, and Orson who are hiding out in a small town. They have stolen a bunch of drugs and money from Harry. Unlike the first volume, this volume tells one continuous story. Nina is using a lot of the cocaine herself. Orson is basically the leader of the trio and demands they keep a low profile but is negatively influenced by Nina to do wild things. We get a cool Amy Racecar (Virginia) story of her coming to town and later we see Virginia actually show up.
Lapham builds up this brilliant cast and setting then shit hits the fan pretty quick and the status quo is shifted. The characters feel so real.
This is basically the best Tarantino movie ever.
September 25, 2019
This is just such an exemplary series, I don't know what I can say about it. It's wild and weird and touching and strange and confusing and violent as hell and twisted and cute and just all over the map. Taking place over decades, each issue bounces around. In issue 11 you might be in the 80s while in issue 12 you're in the 70s with a whole different bunch of characters. I should not have set this aside and read slowly along from time to time because I had to go back and skim through a few previous stories to get straight who was who and why.
So if you pick up Stray Bullets, strap in, start at 1 and go straight through, no stopping. You'll thank me.
So if you pick up Stray Bullets, strap in, start at 1 and go straight through, no stopping. You'll thank me.
August 9, 2021
What a mess! I need a map to keep track of the many different characters and the many storylines.
I have read comics and novels before with many storylines, going back and forth in time, but this one is too chaotic. I have completely lost track. And I don't like the artwork.
I got the six volumes via a HumbleBundle, but I doubt I will ever read the rest.
I have read comics and novels before with many storylines, going back and forth in time, but this one is too chaotic. I have completely lost track. And I don't like the artwork.
I got the six volumes via a HumbleBundle, but I doubt I will ever read the rest.
April 11, 2024
Really great storytelling. Sometimes a bit surreal and fantastical, sometimes a bit more realistic. I think all the stories could work on their own, but they also work together to form a longer linear story. Has real feeling and depth that some comics covering similar themes do not. Excited to read volume one (volume two was available first, but I caught on to the story fairly quickly).
May 14, 2017
This is one of - if not THE best Graphc Novels out there. I can't recommend this entire series enough. The way Lapham weaves together a tapestry of characters all revolving around the Baltimore mob scene is compelling.
March 31, 2019
Nearly gave it a 5 just because the last part was so engrossing and dramatic, but the rest of it was a jarring departure in a number of ways and took a while to adjust to.
October 12, 2019
Desert envious of city,
80's grit and blood.
80's grit and blood.
October 15, 2019
Well this was bad volume
February 21, 2020
No me ha convencido el giro surrealista que está tomando la trama. Si la cosa sigue así en el próximo tomo no creo que acabe la serie.
August 1, 2020
Great read
January 30, 2022
A slow burn compared to Vol. 1, but it’s worth the payoff. The eventual reveal of Harry had better be good, if they reveal him at all.
August 12, 2015
This review originally posted at Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.0 of 5
If Quentin Tarantino were to write and draw a comic book, it would look something like Stray Bullets. The question is: Is that a good thing?
I was highly interested in reading this graphic novel after hearing that author/artist David Lapham won an Eisner Award for Stray Bullets Vol 1 (1996). But if the art in Volume 1 resembles the art here in Volume 2 ... then I don't understand what criteria is used to issue an award. How do I describe this art? Like Mad Magazine trying to be dark rather than funny.
I am not familiar with the Stray Bullets series and I don't know how Volume 2 fits in with Volume 1 or the subsequent volumes, but this set of stories seems to stand alone fairly well. In a dried up town somewhere out west, residents are waiting for the return of water for their beach front property (and they are hoping a massive earthquake will make that happen). A young couple are on the run from the Mob. A big, dim-witted red-neck becomes a hero and gets his fifteen minutes of fame, only to see it washed away. A mean-spirited police officer kills the town's five-legged cow, and a woman, once beautiful, has plenty of demons to deal with.
The community is full of depravity and it's hard ... impossible! ... to find someone to latch onto and care about. The big red-neck loser Nick comes closest as he talks a big game, but when it comes to being a man of action, he doesn't get too far. There are drugs and violence and the hints of sex, but there is nothing that makes me want to enter this community and see what the people are up to today. Just reading it I felt like I might get my nose punched or shot at. Some people like to feel this way. I am not one of them.
I did enjoy seeing how the stories came together. Early on I thought perhaps these were different, un-related shorts, but as the stories found a way to weave together, I appreciated how the stories managed to be a part of the larger picture. If I actually cared about any of the people it would have been even more interesting.
While I've come to really enjoy a wide variety of graphic novels lately, this particular one doesn't speak to me at all and I simply can not recommend it.
Looking for a good book? Stray Bullets, Vol.2 is a dark graphic novel that focuses on a run-down community that;s not good for much other than being a hide-away for people trying to avoid the Mob.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
If Quentin Tarantino were to write and draw a comic book, it would look something like Stray Bullets. The question is: Is that a good thing?
I was highly interested in reading this graphic novel after hearing that author/artist David Lapham won an Eisner Award for Stray Bullets Vol 1 (1996). But if the art in Volume 1 resembles the art here in Volume 2 ... then I don't understand what criteria is used to issue an award. How do I describe this art? Like Mad Magazine trying to be dark rather than funny.
I am not familiar with the Stray Bullets series and I don't know how Volume 2 fits in with Volume 1 or the subsequent volumes, but this set of stories seems to stand alone fairly well. In a dried up town somewhere out west, residents are waiting for the return of water for their beach front property (and they are hoping a massive earthquake will make that happen). A young couple are on the run from the Mob. A big, dim-witted red-neck becomes a hero and gets his fifteen minutes of fame, only to see it washed away. A mean-spirited police officer kills the town's five-legged cow, and a woman, once beautiful, has plenty of demons to deal with.
The community is full of depravity and it's hard ... impossible! ... to find someone to latch onto and care about. The big red-neck loser Nick comes closest as he talks a big game, but when it comes to being a man of action, he doesn't get too far. There are drugs and violence and the hints of sex, but there is nothing that makes me want to enter this community and see what the people are up to today. Just reading it I felt like I might get my nose punched or shot at. Some people like to feel this way. I am not one of them.
I did enjoy seeing how the stories came together. Early on I thought perhaps these were different, un-related shorts, but as the stories found a way to weave together, I appreciated how the stories managed to be a part of the larger picture. If I actually cared about any of the people it would have been even more interesting.
While I've come to really enjoy a wide variety of graphic novels lately, this particular one doesn't speak to me at all and I simply can not recommend it.
Looking for a good book? Stray Bullets, Vol.2 is a dark graphic novel that focuses on a run-down community that;s not good for much other than being a hide-away for people trying to avoid the Mob.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
March 18, 2019
While vol. 1 set the stage for Lapham's remarkably compelling world, with short tales that jumped to different time frames, vol. 2 is a long narrative that brings together several different characters in interesting and unpredictable ways.
Lapham, as usual, does a brilliant job capturing each character's voice, and his art creates a real sense of voyeurism, thus enhancing the reader's belief in the scenes.
I love seeing how each character evolves, and then when confronted with their past, each turns immediately back into the person that they were in the beginning of the book. Seaside was bringing out the best in Orson and Beth, and Scott and Monster show up to bring out the worst in them (particularly in Beth).
+++++++++++++++++++
The second reading confirms the first. Now, onto some Stray Bullets I've not yet read!
Lapham, as usual, does a brilliant job capturing each character's voice, and his art creates a real sense of voyeurism, thus enhancing the reader's belief in the scenes.
I love seeing how each character evolves, and then when confronted with their past, each turns immediately back into the person that they were in the beginning of the book. Seaside was bringing out the best in Orson and Beth, and Scott and Monster show up to bring out the worst in them (particularly in Beth).
+++++++++++++++++++
The second reading confirms the first. Now, onto some Stray Bullets I've not yet read!
January 28, 2008
I can't help love Stray Bullets just because of hometown...well, 'pride' isn't exactly the right word. But let's just say I love Bmore and stories about it. Even if Volume 2 takes place entirely in "somewhere out west".
The second book is weaker than the first, but only because it's locked into a smaller location and cast; the real strength of the first volume is that each story is compelling on its own, and just barely hints at connections to the others (much like the early arcs of 100 Bullets). Volume 2 slows down the pace and narrows the focus, so it loses a little bit of intensity. Still, a damn fine comic.
The second book is weaker than the first, but only because it's locked into a smaller location and cast; the real strength of the first volume is that each story is compelling on its own, and just barely hints at connections to the others (much like the early arcs of 100 Bullets). Volume 2 slows down the pace and narrows the focus, so it loses a little bit of intensity. Still, a damn fine comic.
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