I once made a journal post on DeviantART about how the prison system in America is a fucking joke since criminals leave in a worse state of mind than when they entered. After reading “100 Bullets: Samurai”, I don’t feel any better about the prison system being fixed anytime soon. In this graphic novel, you’ve got prisoners beating on each other like war drums, prison guards beating them with even more sickening violence, “fresh fish” being treated like animals, and that’s just the first half of the book. The second half deals with the back story of a cop killer named Jack who was introduced to a “zoo” where wild tigers are butchered for meat and trophies. From beginning to end, this graphic novel is a violent assault that takes over your senses and makes you feel like there’s not one ounce of hope left in this world. If nothing else, it’s a wakeup call to the reader to stay out of prison and stay even further away from the life of a degenerate criminal. Once you enter the criminal underworld, there’s very little chance that you will escape with your bones intact or your sanity preserved. But let’s not forget that this story is called “100 Bullets”, which means of course that there are, hello, 100 bullets somewhere in this long narrative. The title of this series refers to a special kind of bullet that isn’t traceable by any crime lab or medical examiner. No matter who gets shot or who’s doing the shooting, the user of these bullets will get off Scott free if there aren’t any other witnesses who can corroborate his murderous actions. While these bullets won’t do any good to a guy behind bars (where surprise searches with latex gloves are quite frequent), it’ll do that same guy wonders when trying to foil the tiger slaughtering business funded by a corrupt cop. But here’s where the story gets interesting. If the bullets are untraceable, how did Jack end up behind bars? Take note that this particular graphic novel is part of a larger series and takes place in the lower 40 issues. If you want to know the whole story, you’ve got a lot of comic books to collect, buddy. If you’re ready for a violent thrill ride with sex, drugs, and murder written all over it, you’d better get started on that collection. It may cost you a shit ton of money since there are a lot of graphic novels in the “100 Bullets” series, but I guarantee it’ll be worth it. You don’t even have to read them in order, this one is almost standalone in nature. Almost. Do yourself a favor and grab this graphic novel from your local bookstore or library. You may be sick to your stomach or paranoid out of your mind afterwards, but such is the way of a novel that packs a stiff punch.
***POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY***
“Homeland security is a governmental phrase that is as oxymoronic and crazy as saying military intelligence or the US Department of Justice.”
-Mumia Abu Jamal-
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