Sin City (comic)
| Comic | |
|---|---|
| title | Sin City |
| Original title | Sin City |
 | |
| Sin City comics logo that appears on every cover. | |
| country | United States |
| author | Frank Miller |
| Illustrator | Frank Miller |
| publishing company | Dark Horse Comics |
| First publication | April 1991 - 2000 |
| expenditure | 13 |
Sin City is the title of a Frank Miller comic series that was published in thirteen volumes from April 1991 to June 1992 by Dark Horse Comics . Illustrated in a film-noir- like style, the comic series tells of outlaws and prostitutes in the fictional Basin City . Various other stories by the author also play here.
Plot overview
The plot of the stories set in Basin City is structured in a very complex manner, some belong together in the order in which they were published, others are completely separate and still others only tell a limited number of important prehistory for the "main plot".
The central theme of much of the story is the anti-hero Marv's search for those who want to blame him for the murder of the prostitute Goldie, whom he finds dead in her bed after the first night of love.
History of origin
Frank Miller originally wrote the first volume as a serial comic entitled Sin City in the comic magazine Dark Horse Presents (issues 51 to 62) and in the so-called 5th Anniversary Special (June 1991 to June 1992). The story was highly praised and awarded by critics and fans, so that in the spring of 1993 a hardcover version called The Hard Goodbye was released.
Sin City had meanwhile become the umbrella term for a whole series of short and serial stories as well as several longer comics, which brought Miller many other awards and was finally published in thirteen volumes.
Awards
- Sin City has received the renowned Eisner Award a total of eleven times .
- Frank Miller received the National Cartoonists Award for his performance .
- At the 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair , the comic was honored as “Best International Comic” with the Sondermann Prize .
Style and similar series
As part of the hardboiled and neo-noir sub-genres, other comparable comic series have emerged since the 1990s. The following series in particular have certain similarities with “Sin City”: “ Preacher ” by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon , “ Transmetropolitan ” by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson , “ Midnight Nation ” by J. Michael Straczynski and “ Violent Messiahs ” by Joshua DM Dysart and Tone Rodriguez .
Film adaptations
In 2005 a film of the same name based on Sin City was released , directed by Robert Rodriguez with the assistance of Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino . Numerous well-known actors such as Bruce Willis , Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba appear in the film adaptation, which was very well received by the critics. The film deals with the events in The Hard Goodbye (Volume 1), The Big Fat Kill (Volume 3) and That Yellow Bastard (Volume 4) according to the original American reading. The film adaptations of further sequels are to address the volumes A Dame To Kill For (Volume 2) and Hell And Back (Volume 7). Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For opened in German cinemas on September 18, 2014 .
Sin City in the German-speaking area
In Germany, Sin City was published by Carlsen Verlag from 1994 . After seven volumes, the series moved to Schreiber & Leser in 1999 . Another five volumes appeared here. All volumes are now out of print. Due to the limited edition, the careful marketing and the reservations about brutal comics typical of the European market at that time, Sin City was reserved for a rather small group of fans in German-speaking countries for a long time.
The small publisher Cross Cult has released a new edition just in time for the release of the movie. The individual volumes have again been given a new title, the names are again closer to the US model. The order of the volumes has also been changed again. The title and order are now based on the 2nd edition of Dark Horse Comics .
The individual volumes
The chronological structure of the individual volumes and stories of Sin City is very complex, some even claim that there is none. In fact, the first volume to appear, The Hard Goodbye , is actually the end of the saga. The US and German publication order also differ, the German is summarized in seven volumes and titled differently depending on the publisher. All known versions are listed here separately.
American editions
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Original volumes
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Second edition (7 "books")
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German editions
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German volumes from Carlsen
German volumes for writers and readers
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German volumes at Cross Cult
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Book 6 - Booze, Broads, & Bullets contains 11 short stories, some of which have also been published individually as paperback:
- "Just Another Saturday Night" - An episode from Marv's "Everyday Work"
- "Fat Man and Little Boy" - An episode about Mr. Klumb and Mr. Shlubb
- "The Customer is Always Right" - The template for the prologue of the film
- "Silent Night" - Another episode from Marv's "Everyday Work"
- "And Behind Door Number Three ..." - Episode about the Girls of Old Town
- "Blue Eyes" - First appearance by Delia
- "Rats" - There are Nazis in Sin City too
- "Daddy's Little Girl"
- "Wrong Turn" - Another Delia story
- "Wrong Track" - A shorter story with Delia
- "The Babe Wore Red" - Dwight has something to do with said babe
chronology
Almost all the events from the Sin City volumes fall within a tight period of a few months, and between the individual episodes there are always moments in which the lives of the protagonists overlap across the bands. A chronology of the events can be derived from these overlaps and the atmospheric density of the Sin City universe can be better understood. The page numbers refer to the German editions from Cross Cult Verlag.
This cowardly bastard (4) is very stretched in time. Chapters one and two take place eight years before all other Sin City incidents dealt with in the books. Chapter three deals with the eight years (see p. 91) during which Hartigan can only keep his will to live in his cell through Nancy's letters. Finally, chapters four through six are the concentrated events of the day when Hartigan is released, saves Nancy, and ends up judging himself. Since both Lucille (p. 102 ff.) And Kevin (p. 193) from Volume 1 and Mort from Volume 2 (pp. 119/120) are still alive, this eventful day takes place before the events of the first two volumes. If you look at Shellie's statement on page 171 in A Bride to be Believed in Murder , then her first encounter with Dwight was already "six months" ago, so this scene described in The Cowardly Bastard on page 125 in the background and thus also the entire plot of the last three chapters of this volume are six months before the events of volumes 1 and 2.
A completely normal Saturday evening (from 6) takes place at the same time as the fifth chapter of This Cowardly Bastard . Once again the stories of two books in Kadies overlap when Marv on page 12, a little confused, notices the reunion of Nancy and Hartigan.
Silent Night (from 6) Except that Marv is alive and Fat Man is obviously afraid of him, there are few parallels here to the other stories. The Fat Man shoes on page 39 still look very nice, so this event likely happened before Fat Man and Little Boy.
A bride for whom one murders (2) begins before the events of the first volume, and then runs parallel from chapter 7. On p. 166 ff. You can see how the plaster-strewn Marv in Kadies starts his search for Goldie's murderers, and on page 178 in chapter 8 you see him roaring with Wendy on the way to the farm to kill Kevin . Since large parts of the storyline of the first volume must have "happened" here on so few pages, it becomes clear that the events of the story of volume 2 are told here in a condensed manner. The grand finale in the villa is likely to be located a few months later than the first seven chapters, as Dwight's hair has become much longer.
In Blue Eyes (from 6) the young woman Delia becomes the professional killer Blue Eyes, who, after killing her former love, works on behalf of the Colonel. On page 71 you can see Gail visiting Kadies to tell Shellie that Dwight is still alive, so this story happens parallel to chapter 7 of A Bride to be Murdered for .
City Without Mercy (1) takes place largely parallel to the second half of the second volume. Only the trial and Marv's execution can be dated more or less later.
The customer is always right (from 6) must have happened before the end of Hell and Back , because the Colonel is still alive.
Wrong exit (from 6) must take place after Blue Eyes and in front of Wrong Track . Delia is already on the Colonel's behalf to commit contract killings.
Wrong Track (from 6) takes place directly after Wrong Exit , because Delia brings down her actual target from this story here - in a train that "three hours" (p. 120) after the events from Wrong Exit has set off.
Once Hell and Back (7) is not only the thickest of all Sin City volumes, but also the least connected to the other volumes due to the completely different main characters. Since both Delia and the Colonel die in the course of the story, Hell and Back has to go to the Delia short stories and the Colonel short story of Brides, Beer and Blue Beans (6) . Since Manute already has his wrong eye at his appearance on page 102 ff and works “freelance”, this story must be located between volume two and three (during which Manute dies at the very end).
The nun from The Bride Wore Red (from 6) is not about Wendy or even Goldie, because Dwight, who had already undergone surgery, would have had to recognize her from their mutual encounter in A Bride for whom One Murders (p. 154 ff. ). Instead, he puts a lot of pressure on Fat Man and Little Boy, who look back on these painful experiences in family ties (p. 15 ff.). This is happening on the farm (p. 145) that is for sale, so Roark Junior and Kevin are already dead and the things that have happened on the farm must be publicized.
Fat Man and Little Boy (from 6) is a short episode from the lives of the two hit men who, due to various failures in the stories This Cowardly Bastard, The Bride Wore Red and Silent Night (and possibly family ties ), are now pretty shabby are. Who is the murder witness mentioned on page 26, who the two could not kill, cannot be determined without a doubt, but when it comes to Dwight (in The Bride Wore Red), then the obedience test described here is all the more plausible because Wallenquist makes it out had to get out of prison and can also afford to test out in a way as described here whether Fat Man and Little Boy are still useful or rather a weak point that can be eliminated. As a result of the failed test, the two try in family ties to ingratiate themselves with the Mafia, i.e. Wallenquist's competition, by handing them over Dwight.
Family ties (5) definitely take place after the events of A Bride To Be Murdered For , as Dwight has already had an operation. When dating in relation to Volume 3, the Cross Cult Promotext in the 2006 program as well as the summary of contents on the publisher's website refer to the fact that the "events from 'The great dying' will be taken up again". It would suggest that Dwight definitely wants to prevent Miho from killing the policewoman at the beginning of the plot. On the other hand, it would be argued that the prostitute who was shot on page 133 (at once in hell and back) had strong external and character overlaps (alcohol problem, language) with Peggy from the pub at the beginning of family ties , and that Peggy was still quite deliberately in once in hell and back (p . 64) was written into history. Maybe there is a flaw in the internal logic of the comics.
The great death (3) takes place completely after the events of the second volume. Dwight has already been operated on, Manute has found a replacement for the eye he was torn from him in the second part and a new employer (p. 108 ff.). It is noticeable that Gail - and no longer Wendy - seems to lead the ladies.
In And Behind Door Number Three ... (from 6) , Wendy wears Marv's cross necklace, which he most likely gave her when she was on death row. That makes this story the latest from Sin City.
The short stories Rats and Daddy's Little Girl from Brides, Beer and Blue Beans (6) have no relation to the other stories. Perhaps the rat killer who kills the Nazi in the end is the underworld king Wallenquist, who has short appearances in A Bride for Who One Murders and at the end of Once in Hell and Back , which, however, does not allow any conclusions for the chronology to let go.
Web links
- Sin City at darkhorse.com (English)
- Sin City -Fansite with further information (English)
- “The world is a dark place” - Frank Miller portrait on Evolver.at