Hard Boiled

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This series features cover and art by Geof Darrow, sure it has extreme graphic violence, nonetheless a fun adrenaline-filled 36 paged issue! When looking at the colour work next to the black and white pages it becomes apparent how important the colour is in directing the eye where to go. The misogyny is by far the worst in that series, as women are either femme fatales, whores, killers or all three rolled into one. I felt much more like a junior partner with Geof Darrow in most of my collaborations, because his point of view was so distinct that he dominates.

I’d rather watch a Luc Besson film, from that era (before he was cranking out mediocre action scripts) than Pulp Fiction, Royale with Cheese or no Royale with Cheese. And because it's so short, there are a few questions which answers are rather implied than answered. Miller continues this juxtaposition of horrific violence with uncomfortable humor throughout the comic. It’s usually through the hand-wringing of concerned parents – the creators often miss out on opportunities to make ironic comments about the violence they’re peddling (which is why The Last Action Hero, despite its many flaws, is an underrated movie). Along with Ramones bumper stickers, cars named after Stallone, Eastwood and Norris, highway signs named after Goldie Hawn, giant Pepsi and 7up cans on cars, snickers, butterfingers, Baby Ruth, Milky way, Cheetos – total excess and abundance, the more absurd the better.

There's a fine line between a fast-paced story and a rushed one, and there was definitely enough in here to allow deeper digging without succumbing to boredom or redundancy.

I was attracted to reviewing Hard Boiled because Miller is the kind of creator who is always interesting, even when at his worst. This encourages a fast reading of story, while the image making knowingly jams the breaks demanding full stops.

We're used to seeing Miller take both writing and art roles, creating gritty noir stories that are spare and earthy, bathed in little more than light and shade. Frank Miller για να σκαρφιστεί μια τέτοια παρανοϊκή και ιδιαίτερα βίαιη ιστορία, όμως δύσκολα θα μπορούσε να γράψει κάτι πιο ακραίο και παράξενο. Unit Four is the ultimate robot killing machine—and the last hope of the future's enslaved mechanical servants.

As it was, if not for Jose Munoz and Alack Sinner, I doubt the world would have ever seen Sin City, not to mention the change in his art style. This story by Miller bears some resemblance to Dick's story, with, let's say, less philosophical reflection and, ala Crossed, more carnage and depravity for depravity's sake.You'll need a strong stomach to handle some of the violence in this book but those that can cope are in for a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions. This old lady robot tells him that he's actually a robot made by "willeford home appliances" to kill their corporate competitors.

Barbara's robot revolution fails, and she commits suicide by hooking up to a generator and overloading her own circuits. Despite DKR’s flaws such as the outdated Dirty Harry worldview (cops are bound by red tape, politicians worry too much about criminal rights, the media are vultures, shrinks are gullible idiots) I reread it a couple of years ago and it still impresses me.

Why do we get bent out of shape by pictures in a book when horrific things are happening in the real world? Story: Set in a bleak dystopian future, Hard Boiled operates in a world of excess and depravity reflected down from its heartless corporate domination.