Thursday, October 27, 2011

100% Trade Paperback Review

100%
DC Comics - Vertigo
Softcover Trade Paperback
256 pages
$24.99 (2005)
$39.99 (2009) Hardcover
ISBN 9781401203498

Contributors: Paul Pope, Lee Loughridge, and John Workman

Reprints: 100% #1-5 (of 5)

Synopsis: New York 2038 is a dirty place where life is cheap and thrills are expensive.  The current fad is gastro - seeing inside the guts and intestines of other people while they perform, specifically professional athletes and strippers. 

A dead stripper is found in a dumpster outside the gastro club where Kim works.  She freaks out, buys a gun and starts wearing it under her clothes.  Strel is Kim's friend and manages the club, but she's a single mom and dreams of opening a coffee roasting company.  John was once a promising lit major in college and is now a bus boy at the club after realizing academic life is purgatory.  Daisy replaces the murdered gastro dancer and is a fiery drifter never staying in one city too long.  Eloy is a janitor by day and a struggling artist by night.  Haitous is a gastro fighter and built like a tank.  All he wants is to be reunited with his wife and child. 

Six desperate, poor, and lonely people living their lives at 100% without a chance to look back at the consequences.

Pros: Marijuana is legal, mild nudity, some cool sci-fi concepts, interesting story and art by Pope

Cons: Black and white, Pope's manic art can be rough/difficult to decipher at times, don't ever trust a stripper, the ending is too gimmicky

Mike Tells It Straight: Paul Pope's book is a roller coaster ride through the lives of these desperate characters.  His art is always energetic, can sometimes be too dark/confusing, and will immerse you in a grimy, believable world.  I was surprised at how good his writing and dialogue were - it's a worthwhile read if you're a hopeless romantic.

TO BUY and Recommendations:
   

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