Review | 100 Bullets Volume 2: Split Second Chance By Brian Azzarello and Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

Split Second Chance, the second collection of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's acclaimed crime series 100 Bullets, will bring you deeper than ever into their raw and unforgiving world of gutter crime and sanctioned retribution. With a seemingly simple gift--an untraceable gun and a hundred rounds of ammunition--the mysterious Agent Graves offers the powerless and wronged a chance at vengeance. But beyond the decision of whether or not to pull the trigger, a deeper question is beginning to emerge: just who is making this possible--and why?

In this second volume of the series 100 Bullets, I think the plot is starting to take off. There's a glimpse into what's going on with Agent Graves, the Trust, and Mr. Shepherd, all important characters. There is also a few new characters introduced, which I personally liked better. You start to get the feeling that there is something deeper, and how everyone might somehow be connected. I enjoyed this volume more than the first one, and I actually want to read what happens next. There is about thirteen volumes in the series, and I hope there is no big reveal soon, or else the series will most likely lose its appeal. It is a "noir" type of novel, and there are some dark and a few disturbing parts, so I would recommend it if you enjoy that sort of thing. I am no expert on graphic novels, but I have read a few review on this series, and the art seems particularly popular.


While parked at the gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it is a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before.
This book alternates between the past and the present, and although I was a bit skeptical about that at first, it really helps to develop the story. I was captivated in just a few chapters and finished it rather quickly. I really enjoyed McMahon's style of writing, and the character development was well done.
The story is split into two, the past in which Rhonda's best friend disappears, and the few years that lead up to her disappearance and the present, in which Rhonda witnesses a kidnapping and after doing nothing, is consumed in the investigation. As she gets deeper into the case she starts to uncover secrets of her past and how maybe her best friends disappearance could be closely connected with the kidnapping that took place right before her eyes. The ending, I have to say, was quite surprising. I for one, thought I had it all figured out and it wasn't until the last few chapters that I realized I was completely wrong. It was a compelling read, and I definitely want to read more by this author.