The Black & White, Good, Bad, and Ugly of Comic Books – A review of Frank Miller’s Sin City and other grayscale comic gems.

As with other forms of modern visual media (Film and Television, to name a popular two), the roots of comic books are black and white. For those looking to study the deep, colorless but significant, roots, search out the works of the Geneva-born Rudolph Töpffer (considered by some to be the first modern comic creator), Wilhelm Bush, or Brazilian illustrator Angelo Agostini. And though these artists certainly established significant precedent, it is common to point to Richard Fenton Outcalt’s Yellow Kid as the first modern comic. Though originally a four-panel, black and white strip, the Yellow Kid quickly made the transition to four-color, setting its own precedent and establishing what would be the industry standard for decades to come. With notable exceptions such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, the films of Hollywood’s classic era, though masterpiece’s and the foundations of modern cinema, failed to deliver the rich and varied palette of color our world has to offer. In contrast, nearly every example of Comic’s Great Era sprang to life bursting with vibrant color. From their inception, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman, (cultural icons all) have thrilled us in brilliant blues, rich reds, and gorgeous yellows. And so it was for mainstream comics, color dominating the form. Yes, there were exceptions, and some fine examples at that, many of which I will touch upon later in this review. But one of the greatest black & white comics, to my mind, did not appear until 1991 when Frank Miller and Dark Horse Comics brought us the stark, harsh, and all too real, world of Sin City.

Originally serialized in the anthology comic Dark Horse Presents #’s 51-62, and later reprinted in the graphic novel titled The Hard Goodbye, Frank Miller’s original Sin City story introduces us to, and chronicles the final, tragic days of, one of the city’s most ‘colorful’ characters, Marv. Marv is a down-on-his-luck, two-time loser of a criminal, with a mysterious past and a ‘condition’ that further unbalances his already unbalanced nature. He is the unredeemable type of character who finds redemption in the arms of an angel; an angel named Goldie. Goldie is a high-class hooker (a fact unknown to Marv), and running scared, pursued by a predator as big as Sin City herself. She throws herself at Marv, hoping this giant bruiser of a man can offer her some measure of protection against the beast chasing her. And in one night of unbridled passion, shows Marv a tenderness and love he had thought denied him in this life. In one, beautiful night Marv falls in love. But love, or Marv, are not enough to save Goldie. In their bed, as Marv sleeps, drunk and oblivious, Goldie is murdered. What follows is classic tale of love, murder, and revenge (involving many more murders). Marv, briefly shown the shining light of love, is cast down into darkness; darkness he embraces and feeds upon, fueling his rage and leading him, eventually, to the source of his pain.What separates Sin City from other black & white comics, from most comics in general, is the perfect marriage of story and art. Many great comic book stories have been well written, and there are no shortage of fine artists working in the field, but rare are the books whose art so precisely convey the essence of the writer’s words, and whose words seem to breath the pencils and inks to life. Yes it is true, Mr. Miller is both writer and artist for the Sin City tales, but not always can a single creator produce such a powerful and emotionally truthful work. Miller’s simple and powerful words are mirrored by his simple and powerful art. Where many artists working in black & white will use grays and shadowing to create depth and mood, Miller uses only the black pen on the white page. There is light and absence of light. For me, this is the Black & White Comic in its most true and honest form.Frank Miller continued the Sin City saga with tales that would eventually fill seven trade paperbacks, and though most are great tales (That Yellow Bastard being my second favorite…you can skip Hell and Back), none quite capture the brilliance of The Hard Goodbye. In a library of great works, Sin City stands as one of Frank Miller’s greatest.

My rating: 10! Feel the love!What!? You’ve already read Sin City? And you’ve seen the film? Well, aren’t you hip and cool one. Ok, so here’s a list of other B&W masterpieces, in no particular order, you should treat yourself with.

Love and Rockets- By Los Bros Hernandez is a curious mix of real life, sci-fi, fantasy, and all with a surrealistic, sexy twist. First published in 1981, Love and Rockets is often praised as one of the more successful and groundbreaking independent comics of the modern age.
Rating: 9

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- (The first dozen or so issues) – Eastman and Laird’s quirky creation that spawned many a pale imitator (Pre-Teen Dirty Jean Kung Fu Kangaroos one of the more unfortunate), and has since fallen woefully into the realm of camp filled with childish humor and pranks. But the original series is a gritty, samurai inspired tale, and well worth the read.
Rating: 8

Walking Dead- By Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. If not for the importance of Sin City to the form, I would have made Walking Dead the focus of this review. I read about 40 comic book titles a month, but Walking Dead is the only book I read the day it hits the stands. Kirkman is absolutely one of the best working in the field today. Compelling, believable characters, interesting dialogue, and Zombies! What more do you need? Tony Moore drew the first 6 issues, and as always his work is fantastic. The very capable Charlie Adlard took over at issue 7 and has made the series his own. Even if Zombies aren’t quite your cup of tea, you’ll enjoy this book. Less about the eating of the flesh and more about human relationships, and what it takes to survive in a crumbling civilization, the Walking Dead is an intense exploration of the human condition.
Rating: This one goes to 11!

Strangers in Paradise – By Terry Moore. This is the comic book for those of you who thought they would never read a comic book. SIP follows the lives and loves of Francine, Katchoo, David, Casey and their ever revolving and growing cast of friends and foes. One of the true Soap Opera comic series.
Rating: 9

And as always, all these fine titles can be found at the Universe’s premiere comic book establishment, Comicopolis, located at 829 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA. USA, Planet Earth, Outer Spiral Arm, Milky Way Galaxy.Read On!J.D. Arnold has been reading comics for the past 35 years, selling them for the past 15 years, writing them for the past 5 years, and now owns his own comic selling shop, and is therefore more qualified to review them than you.