Written and illustrated by Frank Miller.

Frank Miller, a man doing interesting and challenging things with comics since the 80s. He'll probably be best remembered for the seminal The Dark Knight Returns, an adult comic that alongside the equally excellent Watchmen, opened a window to the mainstream audiences. They convinced "normal people" that actually comics could be rather adult and interesting, even when still constrained by the superhero genre. However, Miller is a man who never really wanted to draw or write superheroes. He wanted to do gritty crime comics and Sin City finally fulfilled his dream. I believe this was his first (or one of his first) projects after returning from the horrors of Hollywood, and what a note to return on. For me this was my first truly mature comics experience, my world before Sin City was very much one of spandex and superhero angst. Sin City opened the door for me, so as you can imagine it holds a special place in my heart.

The city in question is a corrupt and filthy cesspit of crime and horrible people, which means it's a prime place for a gritty and disgusting tale like this. There are no nice people in this book, only varying degrees of human trash - which makes it all the more appealing. The story is all about the slightly unhinged ex-con Marv, whose brief liaison with a beautiful woman (Goldie) ends in her a death and the entire Sin City police force after him. He then delves into the darkest depths of Sin City on his quest to find out why Goldie was killed and bring those responsible to a very messy justice. It might sound like a stock plot to some Saturday afternoon action movie but it's actually a finely crafted thriller which lays waste to many a similarly themed movie.

A quick flick through this book will reveal Miller's choice of striking art style. In a major departure from his more subtle work in The Dark Knight Returns or the original Wolverine limited series, Sin City is totally black and white. There are no greys here, no gentle attempts to make up for the lack of colour - Miller has chosen a hard-hitting black and white style to give Sin City it's harsh and bleak dramatic atmosphere. Sin City draws so much of its strength and style from the art that it would never have worked in any other way (as you can probably tell from the terrible cover on the American 1st edition that I have). Like a super-stylish movie in the vein of Once Upon A Time In Mexico, The Matrix or anything by John Woo, Sin City thrives on its appearance. There's a real sense of energy in each page and the simple, "big screen" layouts demonstrate excellent storytelling without the impenetrable trappings of so many comics at the time (the start of the 90s, when panel chaos, pinups & splash page frenzy ran rampant). It's natural to see the words "black and white" in reference to a graphic novel/comic and think of it as a bad thing. Here it's quite the opposite, truly a delight.

Because of Miller's excellent visual work here, the script is almost unimportant - the story "readable" through pictures alone. That's an injustice to Miller's equally accomplished literary talents though. The work does not lend itself to truly remarkable dialogue or intricate descriptive writing and they would look out of place if they were included. Instead the dialogue is fleeting but feels real and appropriate to the atmosphere. Most of the script is in fact commentary from Marv, which is where Miller's writing truly hits its mark. Throughout the book Marv is written consistently and in such a way as to engage the reader in the thoughts and actions of a confused, homicidal criminal. It never falls into parody or goes over the top.

There really aren't any faults worth mentioning in Sin City. Miller tells, equally through his writing and his art, a simple yet excellently paced and constructed story. The book visually, textually and thematically engages and enthrals the reader. I certainly found it the perfect entry point into adult graphic novels and comics and even after all this time and subsequent reading it still grabs me in all the same ways. With Sin City Miller created a package (art, writing and overall style) that radically differed from what was the norm at the time and still stands apart from the crowd today. It's not what most people think of when they hear the word "comics" and if only more of them would discover work like this can be found behind the spandex-clad front-end of the medium. I'd recommend this to anyone that likes guns, women, men in trenchcoats, violence and most important of all - a good solid story. Even if you've never got on with comics or if you like to look down on western material from a pile of Japanese manga then give this a try.

Written to Offspring - Killboy Powerhead