Hell Here (Sin City: Hell and Back - Frank Miller)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Sin City: Hell and Back - Frank Miller
Date:	03/11/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Incredibly evocative artwork, strong story telling

Disadvantages: Graphic, adult nature of the content may offend. After this, there is no more Sin City

Once again demonstrating his mastery of comic book story-telling, Miller once again changes the format for his final visit to Sin City. Most of the Sin City titles have featured three or four single, but interconnected stories. Sin City 6 contained eleven short stories each providing a small vignette of life in the titular town. Hell and Back, meanwhile, presents just a single tale which, at over 300 pages is by far the longest of the yarns.

On some levels, there is nothing hugely original about the basic which introduces us to Wallace, an artist and former Special Forces soldier who makes it his goal to rescue Esther, a woman he has only just met, after he sees her kidnapped and forced into sex slavery.

On the face of it, this is your basic "damsel in distress tale, by way of Rambo and revenge thrillers like Taken. It's been done before - lots of times, but, by focusing the story on just a handful of characters, it really feels as though Miller is adding something new. The character development is believable and well defined. His character is carefully and slowly developed so that you gradually get to know him and what he is capable of, but at no point does his character development seem absurd. So, when he suddenly turns out to be a dab hand at guerrilla warfare, it's no real surprise. Wallace is so well written and apparently honourable (no-one in Sin City is clean) that you can't help but like him. Even when he starts exacting cold-blooded murder on his enemies it doesn't shake your faith in the man - and it takes some very skilful writing to make a killer into a hero.

The story is well structured, too. From relatively small beginnings, it opens up as Wallace's attempts to rescue Esther reveal a huge conspiracy that is being covered up at all levels, meaning that he can trust no-one. Again, there is nothing particularly new or imaginative about this. Yet because Sin City has never been afraid to confront issues explicitly, this is a far grittier, more realistic and downright dirty treatment of the subject matter.

And it's at this point that Sin City becomes offensive for some. Wallace is not your traditional day-glo, spandex-wearing superhero type. He is a thug, a human killing machine. Life in Sin City is bleak, brutal and often short and Miller does not hold back from depicting any of this. The book is very explicit in a lot of ways - with plenty of overt violence, sex and nudity. If you are easily offended you may find Sin City hard to stomach. Still, this is the seventh book in the Sin City series, so if you've lasted this long, you probably appreciate Miller's unique perspective and won't find have a problem with its adult nature.

Artistically, Hell and Back follows the now established Sin City pattern. It may mostly be in black and white, but the drawings are always clear and of excellent quality. It's all very heavily stylised, with deliberately exaggerated, grotesque characters and locations, giving Sin City a sordid look and feel, perfectly suited to the tale. The lead character of Wallace is particularly well drawn. Miller pays special attention to the eyes making them hostile and angry or soft and concerned, depending upon the demands of the plot and its incredible how much emotion this little detail adds to the plot.

Miller uses his drawings to maximum effect, refusing to be constrained by the usual boundaries of comics. Panels do not sit squarely next to each other with a fixed amount per page. Sometimes there might be as many as 12 panels, other pages are feature just one or two drawings. Miller lays out the pages superbly, reflecting what is happening not just in the drawings, but in the way they are located on the page. When Wallace is in a tight spot, the artwork is small and cramped, reflecting the sense of danger or claustrophobia. When he is out in the open, the panels are bigger showing more of his surroundings and allowing the reader to soak up the extra detail. It sounds simple and it is - you just wonder why no-one has ever really done it before because it gives the comic a life of its own.

It's clear that Miller is a highly visual person and all of his artwork is carefully planned. When he changes style it is for a genuine dramatic reason. At one point, the stark black and white images give way to full colour pictures. This is not a gimmick; there is a very relevant plot reason behind it. The sudden splash of colour lasts for around 10 pages and really makes the reader sit up and take notice, adding a new dimension to the plot and giving it a far greater impact than you might expect. Plot interlude over, it's back to the more mundane black and white images, reinforcing the point that "normality" (or what passes for normality in Sin City) has been restored. Like a good film director, Miller seems to instinctively know what style to select for what situation and how best to frame his story for maximum dramatic effect. It's a talent which has been apparent throughout the Sin City series, but Hell and Back is probably where it all comes together best, allowing the series to sign off with a real flourish.

In common with the other Sin City books, dialogue and "Meanwhile..." type text boxes are used sparingly. Speeches are short, terse and to the point, and the artwork is allowed to do most of the talking. If you come from a traditional comics background, this can be a little hard to adapt to. Once you get used to it, though, it works well. Miller refuses to spoon-feed his readers, preferring to tell the story through his drawings, rather than relying on clunky dialogue and clumsy plot exposition. It's a risky strategy, but the drawings are so clear and the story so well structured that once you've adapted to the style, you being to wonder why more comics don't ape Sin City's style.

Hell and Back is the last of the Sin City tales and it's very possibly the best of the lot. The basic plot might be hackneyed, but the way Miller constructs it makes it seem fresh, interesting and vibrant. If you're not offended by the graphic violence and nudity, the only downside is that this is the last of the Sin City tales. Violent, cruel and debauched as it is, our farewell to Sin City is still a fond one and leaves us with a yearning to return there one day.

Basic Information
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Sin City 7: Hell and Back
Frank Miller
Dark Horse, 2005
ISBN: 978-1593072995

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: Just when you thought your chance had passed, Miller goes and saves the best til last