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Stray Bullets Killers #6
Released by: Image Comics
Released on: August 20th, 2014.
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Now a half dozen issues in, David Lapham's Stray Bullets: Killers gets back on track after issue five's Amy Racecar diversionary tale. For those paying attention, this issue basically picks up where issue four left off and transports us to the Maryland coast in 1987. It's April and the Atlantic Ocean is cold but that's not stopping Virginia and Eli from playing in the surf. Virginia's relationship with her Aunt Jane is still understandably strained since her insane uncle killed himself, an act she feels responsible for. Given that the last time she came to visit her aunt, when she was eleven, her cousin Michael died Virginia has difficulty reconciling things. And who can blame her, that's a lot to think on, especially for a confused teenager.
They head back to the house to find the mail has arrived and that Eli has been accepted to art school in Baltimore. As Eli cleans up so they can go out and celebrate, Virginia tells Jane a story about Michael relating to Eli's art teacher, Paul, a 'mean' man with an interest in building model ships. They cry over some things, hug it out, and then the young lovebirds head out for dinner only to get harassed once again by Adam, who covertly slips something into Virginia's drink. Adam and his cronies take off but when Virginia and Eli walk back to the car, she starts feeling funny and acting it too. They head to Paul's house, a small home packed with 'stuff' - not too far off from something you'd see on a reality show about hoarders. Paul starts offering up the kind of advice that teachers tend to offer up but Virginia really wants to see the model ship Paul built that her late cousin Michael liked. He obliges her but whatever it is that was in her drink kicks in, she hallucinates and then uncovers something that triggers a repressed memory… after which the two of them decide to find out what exactly is in that room in Paul's house that he won't ever open for anyone.
This is an interesting 'slice of life' issue that delves further into the pasts of both Eli and Virginia, albeit in different ways through the same singular character. It's an interesting approach in that Lapham lets it unfold slowly and deliberately yet still with plenty of tension. Again, as with pretty much every issue in this run so far, it is the characters that matter more than the action but by creating said characters in such a way as to ensure we invest in their story, the pay off when the tension and action is delivered proves to be completely worth it. The artwork and panel layout is once again up to Lapham's typically high standards and the black and white line art offers plenty of detail and remarkably effective facial expressions.
Obviously we'll see where it goes from here (an advertisement for issue seven promises that the shit is going to hit the fan!) but this quieter issue is still an interesting chapter in the evolving storyline. More background details, more interactions and more drama might not sound like a recipe for an essential comic read, but Lapham's so obviously heading into twisted places and likely quite soon at that. Consider this issue a stepping stone, because a whole lot of what was introduced in the first four issues is definitely going to come back to haunt Virginia and Eli, and probably in very bad ways.
