How does Lapham resolve a story he didn’t have any reason to do? Poorly.

He fractures Beth’s search for Virginia, cutting in scenes in their past, scenes of Beth’s investigation, lots of little cameos from other cast members. And then he turns it into an action movie. The entire issue has a frantic pace, so having a car chase at the end only seems logical. And having an open ending? Well, it’s Stray Bullets after all.

I don’t think I’ve ever said something has jumped the shark before and it’s unclear if this issue signals a downward trend for the series, but it’s a terrible, terrible comic. It’s inept. Lapham takes one of his two best characters and reduces her to a crying mess before building her into Charles Bronson. But a bad Charles Bronson.

The issue’s a bunch of manipulative scenes strung together. Every one of them is pointless.

How does Lapham resolve a story he didn’t have any reason to do? Poorly.

He fractures Beth’s search for Virginia, cutting in scenes in their past, scenes of Beth’s investigation, lots of little cameos from other cast members. And then he turns it into an action movie. The entire issue has a frantic pace, so having a car chase at the end only seems logical. And having an open ending? Well, it’s Stray Bullets after all.

I don’t think I’ve ever said something has jumped the shark before and it’s unclear if this issue signals a downward trend for the series, but it’s a terrible, terrible comic. It’s inept. Lapham takes one of his two best characters and reduces her to a crying mess before building her into Charles Bronson. But a bad Charles Bronson.

The issue’s a bunch of manipulative scenes strung together. Every one of them is pointless.

F 

CREDITS

Broken; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Purcell; publisher, El Capitán Books.

And now Lapham just decides to mess with the reader. The story has Amy Racecar–you know, Virginia’s alter ego–kidnapped by a bad guy, along with her male friend. She escapes, leaving the male friend behind. Is Lapham finally going to break from the Amy Racecar stuff into Virginia’s real life, where she’s escaped from the pedophile in the previous issue (Lapham’s worst?). No, no, he’s not.

Speaking of worst–this issue is actually awesome at the end and Lapham really does some great stuff with the Amy character but it’s so cheap. He’s learned how to manipulate the reader with forced machinations. Or maybe he always intended to manipulate the reader and there’s some Stray Bullets story bible out there with all the plans.

It’s doesn’t matter because Lapham’s still produces a great comic here. The manipulation hurts, but Amy Racecar can’t be defeated by cheap narrative tricks. She’s bitching.

A- 

CREDITS

Wild Strawberries Can’t Be Broken or Don’t Blame God Your Dog’s Dead; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Dragovic; publisher, El Capitán Books.

It’s another outstanding issue. This one goes a little cute, with Virginia now a babysitter to a mob guy’s bratty kids and searching the house for his missing fortune. Not missing fortune, the money his wife has stashed he now needs. He’s out with the wife. And there’s a mistress in the mix and one of the kids reminds Virginia of herself.

What’s particularly interesting about the issue is how Lapham shows his nostalgia. There are some big nods–with Virginia standing in for Lapham’s nostalgia and the reader’s. Doing a sincere, loving tribute to Stray Bullets should be impossible given the comic’s content, but Lapham does it. He can even use it to get away with logic gaps; he knows the reader is on his side.

There’s some lovely art in the issue too. Lapham’s very careful with the people and especially the sequences with the older daughter and Virginia.

A- 

CREDITS

The Five Fingers; writer, artist and letterer, David Lapham; editors, Renee Miller and Maria Lapham; publisher, Image Comics.

After threatening it since issue five or so, Lapham finally has a pedophile attack Virginia. He appears to be an equal opportunity pedophile because he goes after Virginia’s friend, Bobby, too.

Lapham sets up the issue differently than usual–by usual I mean the usual for when he’s threatening Virginia with rape and possibly murder–and spends the first half of the issue showing her on the run from a truant officer. There’s some better stuff in that part of the issue. The stuff with the creep is weak.

The creep also looks a lot like Sideshow Bob.

It’s a hell of a “promise” to fulfill and not one Lapham really has to do. He’s already shown he’s capable of hinting at it and going another direction, threatening it and going another direction, it’s unclear why–given he uses a hard cliffhanger–he wants to do it now.

Except explotation.

C 

CREDITS

Compulsion; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Dragovic; publisher, El Capitán Books.

Sometimes–and this issue is definitely one of those times and in its entirety too–Stray Bullets feels like Lapham hasn’t realized he isn’t doing a Love and Rockets with crime and violence. This issue has Monster in L.A., after Beth and looking for the money and cocaine. Beth has a couple ex-boyfriends there and the girl from a few issues ago who likes breaking up marriages or whatever.

Why are they all together? The “nice girl,” the “nice guy,” the greaser and the strumpet? Because they look interesting together. Maybe all the dark hair reminds of Love and Rockets too. But it’s a talking heads issue where no one has anything to say and the situation isn’t particularly engaging because it’s all supposed to be about making sure Virginia is safe from Monster and Lapham doesn’t resolve it.

He instead apparently does a perfunctory, disappointing resolution to the entire plot line.

C 

CREDITS

Man Or HU-Man; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Dragovic; publisher, El Capitán Books.

Lapham is still uneven. He’s trying too hard. This issue has the reveal Spanish Scott is Rose’s brother, which no doubt Lapham also had set up–it makes things make sense (her and Joey being around)–and it’s got a bunch of stuff with Joey getting traumatized. Joey grows up to be the guy who goes berserk in the first issue.

See how it all connects? Who cares. Lapham should have gone in and taken out the reveals and put the comic out. The texture would all be there without the painful exposition.

And this issue has some really good stuff. Scott and the kid, Scott and Rose, Scott and the kid’s babysitter. Great dialogue, great narrative flow. But then the ending goes too far to traumatize Joey. If the comic were somehow centered around this character and the first issue’s events, maybe, but it isn’t.

Lapham’s attention is erratic.

B- 

CREDITS

The Secret Box; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Dragovic; publisher, El Capitán Books.

Lapham’s floundering. He finally brings Beth back, but now she’s in LA and Virginia is nowhere to be seen. She’s getting drunk at a bar and some married guy tries to pick up on her. Of course, she’s not the protagonist of the issue, it’s the married guy. His wife’s out of town and he’s trying desperately for female company.

Everything in the comic is forced. Someone Lapham has misplaced his ability to get sympathy for the dregs of humanity; about the only time there’s any life in the issue is when Beth’s life is threatened. Not because she might die, but because she’s been a regular cast member for so long. Her death would be interesting as it relates to the narrative, not as a loss of a character.

It’s a shame; she’s been one of Lapham’s strongest creations.

The art’s got some energy and it does read fast.

C 

CREDITS

Bring Home the Devil; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Dragovic; publisher, El Capitán Books.

Maybe, instead of actually putting the money into publishing this issue, Lapham should have sat down and thought about a different one. A non-imaginary one. Because an imaginary story breaks the series. It means Lapham doesn’t have to play fair–and he doesn’t here. (I’m not talking about Amy Racecar, which has a context).

This issue takes a character and breaks him into pieces. Lapham props up the villain of the story and twists him into a hero. It’s all a big joke and it’s a complete waste of the reader’s time. It’s predictable, manipulative and unimaginative. It also shows how Lapham has established the series as one where the fantastic seems possible, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

It makes him an untrustworthy writer, especially given it’s a periodical.

The rushed art doesn’t do the issue any favors either.

I’m shocked at the poor quality of this one.

D 

CREDITS

Little Love Tragedy; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Dragovic; publisher, El Capitán Books.

Odd theme Lapham’s developing now–cruel women. This issue has a coed having an affair with her professor and she calls the wife during their lovemaking. It partially redeems the unfaithful husband, who seems weak instead of cruel himself. How else would he have fallen in with such a girl.

Then Monster shows up for an incredibly contrived reason–the mystery big boss needs something in code translated and the professor is the guy for it–and Lapham does a very lengthy action and suspense sequence.

There’s some really good art during that sequence. It’s set in a motel in the woods and the absence of anything but trees around it plays quite well on the page.

The writing on the professor and his wife are good, but the thing with the coed isn’t just shallow, it’s simplistic. Unfortunately, Lapham can’t imagine her situation, just her dialogue.

It’s too bad.

B 

CREDITS

Motel; writer, artist, and letterer, David Lapham; editor, Deborah Dragovic; publisher, El Capitán Books.