BOOK TITLE: Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For
AUTHOR: Frank Miller
YEAR: 1993
GENRE: Graphic Novel
SUBGENRE: Neo-Noir
GRADE: A
We’ve seen the femme fatale trope play out across multiple
stories, most notably in neo-Noir. When Frank Miller takes hold of the reigns
for Sin City 2, it doesn’t feel stale. Ava, the femme fatale in question, comes
off like a powerful character who could manipulate her way into any authoritative
position. Every man she comes in contact with is wrapped around her finger, not
just because of her physical appearance, but also her psychological prowess.
Even if you think the femme fatale trope is problematic or overdone, there’s
still something to be said for how manipulative humans can be, if not sexually,
then in another way that plays into their targets’ sympathies. Femme fatales
may be a male gaze character archetype, but narcissists and gaslighters are
very real in our world and that’s how Ava comes off in this book. The protagonist
of this story, a down-on-his-luck P.I. named Dwight McCarthy, has a history
with her and knows her ins and outs. He’s still susceptible to her whims every
now and then. That’s what he wrestles with throughout the story and that alone
is a struggle worth reading about.
If you’re familiar with the gritty underworld of neo-Noir
storytelling, then you’ll find everything you’re looking for in this graphic
novel. I’ve already mentioned the femme fatale elements, but there’s also
smooth-flowing dialogue, morally gray criminals, and fight scenes that raise
the stakes through the ceiling. At first, I thought Dwight was just shrugging
off his pain after getting beaten so many times in the first half of the story.
Even after crashing through a window and falling onto the pavement, he walks
away like it’s nothing. He had me for a minute there. But how long could he
keep up his macho posturing? How long could he just suck it up and carry on
before all this violence nearly does him in? You’ll get your answer in due time
after reading enough of this book. I was worried that this was going to be like
a WWE storyline where Triple H gets trapped in a car and dropped fifteen feet,
only to come out on TV the next night with only “contusions”. Nope! It’s much
worse for Dwight. There are a few times where you as a reader will doubt if he’ll
be alive by the end of the story. I’m not spoiling a thing for you. If this
sounds intriguing, then buy the book and read it yourself.
Because this is a graphic novel, all I needed was an hour
and twenty minutes to read it from cover to cover. But even with this breakneck
speed, it didn’t feel like I was missing out on important details or emotional
moments. It was fast, but not excessively fast. It was just right for the kind
of story that needed to be told. Dwight tangles with his own emotions and that
plays brilliantly into the action sequences that follow his thought processes.
When he takes a beating, you feel his beating. When his pain comes from within,
you want to sympathize with him even though he has his rotten moments too. I
questioned whether I should continue rooting for him after he shoved Ava to the
ground during one of their rendezvouses. I urge you to keep reading and not give
up on him so easily. With a quick reading speed, you’ll get your answers in the
time you want them. Your guilt as a reader can only last so long before you see
the truth about Ava.
Frank Miller has an edge to him and that shows in pretty
much everything he writes. This brand of edginess won’t drive away his audience.
In fact, it’ll be a selling point. It’s the neo-Noir grittiness that will keep
you coming back for more. It can’t be a hardboiled story without a little edge
every now and then. Regardless of how you feel about Frank Miller as a person, there’s
no denying that he penned one heck of a story in Sin City 2. Do I want to read
the first installment just out of morbid curiosity? Sure, why not? This book
gets five stars out of five. No glaring flaws that I can find aside from Dwight
refusing to acknowledge his extreme pain.
