100 Bullets #59
Issue #59 — titled 'The Calm' — marks the structural pivot of the entire 100 Bullets saga: it is the opening chapter of the 'Strychnine Lives' arc, the point at which Brian Azzarello conclusively shifts the series from its early episodic revenge-vignette format into a single, interconnected war narrative between Agent Graves's reconstituted Minutemen and the fractured houses of the Trust. By gathering Lono, Loop Hughes, and Victor Ray into one story thread, the issue signals that the long-promised reckoning is finally in motion, raising narrative stakes that would carry the book through its final forty issues. It is also the first issue of the second half of the 100 Bullets run — a series that won both the Eisner Award and the Harvey Award — making #59 the literal midpoint hinge of one of Vertigo's most decorated long-form crime comics.
In "The Calm," Lono and Loop press Victor to join their escalating bid against the Trust, setting the stage for a tense, high-stakes alliance. Written by Brian Azzarello and brought to life with moody precision by Eduardo Risso, the issue unfolds with the weight of impending violence and shifting loyalties. The cover by Dave Johnson captures the moment’s quiet dread, a stark contrast to the storm brewing beneath.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
100 Bullets was created by writer Brian Azzarello and Argentine artist Eduardo Risso, a creative partnership that grew directly out of their 1998 Vertigo miniseries Jonny Double. The series launched under DC's Vertigo imprint in 1999 and maintained a predominantly monthly schedule throughout its decade-long run, with the full creative team on #59 listed as Azzarello (writer), Risso (pencils/inks), Patricia Mulvihill (colors), Clem Robins (letters), and Dave Johnson (cover). No issue-specific production anecdotes for #59 surfaced in available sources, but the issue sits squarely within the book's mature-content, creator-driven Vertigo context that gave Azzarello and Risso editorial latitude unusual for mainstream superhero publishing at the time.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Story title: 'The Calm' — the opening chapter of the 'Strychnine Lives' arc (issues #59–67, collected as Vol. 9 of the trade paperback series).
- Cover date: May 2005; published under DC's Vertigo imprint. On-sale date listed as March 2005 (exact date disputed between DC's own site and the DC Database wiki).
- Full creative team: Brian Azzarello (writer), Eduardo Risso (artist), Patricia Mulvihill (colorist), Clem Robins (letterer), Dave Johnson (cover art).
- Narrative role: Lono and Loop Hughes, freshly released from prison, converge with Victor Ray — the first Minuteman reactivated by Agent Graves — marking the start of the series' end-game phase.
- The issue depicts the 'revealed' Minutemen convening under Victor 'The Saint,' addressing the question of who will lead this coalition of lethal operatives and whether they will survive each other.
- Reprinted in two collected editions: the trade paperback 100 Bullets: Strychnine Lives (Vol. 9, 2006, with an introduction by Manuel Ramos) and 100 Bullets: Book Four (which collects issues #59–80).
- Also included in 100 Bullets Omnibus Vol. 2, which collects issues #59–100 alongside the Brother Lono miniseries.
- 100 Bullets as a whole ran for 100 issues (1999–2009) and won both the Eisner Award and the Harvey Award; Risso's work on the series individually earned him four Eisner Awards, two Harvey Awards, and the Yellow Kid Award.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in 100 Bullets #9 (2006), 100 Balas #10 (2012), 100 Bullets #9 (2013), 100 Bullets: The Deluxe Edition #4 (2013), 100 Bullets #15 (2014), 100 Bullets #4 (2016), 100 Balas: Edição de Luxo #4 (2022)
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