What if you were one day given a briefcase containing irrefutable evidence as to the identity of the person or persons responsible for the way your life had turned out, and that briefcase also contained a pistol and 100 untraceable bullets?  You are given the promise that, no matter how you may choose to use the contents of the briefcase, no law enforcement agency could touch you; that you are effectively 'above the law'.  Would you take justice into your own hands, dishing out punishment to those who set your life on the wrong path, or would you attempt to settle the differences in a more peaceful way?

This is the premise of 100 Bullets.  This trade paperback is the first volume in an astounding series following Agent Graves as he proposes just such a dilemma to 2 completely unsuspecting individuals, but it also sets the stage for many more wide-ranging questions.  Who is Agent Graves and how can he make such an offer?  Where does the information in the briefcases come from, and why does Graves play this game with people's lives?

Even in this first volume some of the first threads of an amazingly far-reaching conspiracy are placed before the reader, and the first 2 stories contained in this book hint at much larger things to come.  A few of the players in the game are introduced in this volume, and you can bet that they will be seen more and more as the series continues.

100 Bullets is a remarkable read.  The characters are engaging and complex, and even though the premise would seemingly lead to nothing more than b-movie shoot outs and one-liners, the flow of the stories is quite realistic.  Readers are treated to an inside look at how these characters take the information provided in the briefcase and make their decisions about whether violence or peace should rule the day.  I've read far into this series and I can say one thing; it never ceases to amaze me the directions and turns this series takes.  If you're a fan of good comic stories and are tired of all the same old yarns about villains trying to destroy the world, then this book is a great way to escape.