Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing 100 Bullets: Brother Lono 6, originally released November 20th, 2013.

If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off.

-Anton Chekhov

Drew: Chekhov’s gun is one of my favorite writing principles — it insists that writing be as efficient and purposeful as possible — but as a reader, I often find myself wishing I had never heard of it. When writing, Chekhov’s gun is helpfully prescriptive; when reading, it is frustratingly descriptive. Suddenly every gun introduced is a time bomb — there’s no question of if it will go off, but when. That dovetails beautifully with Hitchcock’s famous explanation of surprise vs. suspense (effectively, that surprise is when a bomb goes off at the end of a scene, while suspense is watching that same scene knowing the whole time that the bomb is there), suggesting that each new element must hold our suspense until it comes to bear on the narrative. Of course, we know that this is rarely the case in practice — few writers can sustain that level of dread for such a sustained period — which is why Brother Lono has been such a fascinating study in suspense. Writer Brian Azzarello took great care in introducing his gun, reminding us that it is cleaned and ready to fire, and waiting until issue 6 to finally use it.

I’m talking about Lono, but those statements are equally true of Sister June’s literal gun here. The issue opens with Paulo firing that gun at Craeno, effectively declaring war with Las Torres. Craeno retreats, giving June an opportunity to come clean about being a DEA agent, but Craeno returns with goons aplenty. He threatens to lay waste to the church if Paulo doesn’t turn himself in, but Lono uses the opportunity to knock out a few goons and take off with one of Craeno’s trucks. In the melee, Father Manny reveals that the DEA is present, and Lono takes the heat once he’s apprehended. Paulo assures Manny and June that Lono will be tortured until he reveals everything, and Manny immediately jumps to the rescue. Only, having taken Lono’s confessions, Manny’s actually heading out to rescue Craeno.

It’s a great “I’m not locked up in here with you. You’re locked up in here with me” moment, and speaks directly to how little these characters know about Lono. It’s a fools errand to chase a man who has spent years chasing himself; to torture a man who has spent years torturing himself. Manny has apparently known all along what Lono is capable of, but Craeno has no idea what he’s getting himself into. Indeed, even I — who has the benefit of knowing exactly what Lono can do — sold him short. For a moment, I thought Lono was kissing the virgin Mary to make peace with his fate.

Actually, he’s asking for forgiveness for the truly unholy shit he’s about to rain down upon Craeno. Of course, the lynchpin of this series may just be that, for Lono anyway, asking for forgiveness and making peace with his fate might just be one in the same.

Indeed, as Lono bates Craeno away from the church, the ever-present devil on his shoulder does its best Emperor Palpatine, mixing his already effective taunting with a creeping sense of inevitability. In spite of all of Lono’s efforts to escape his violent past, it has finally caught up with him. Fortunately, that past has prepared him quite well for a fight, and even torture.

Though, to be fair, Craeno is very good at torture. We’ve seen him in action (twice in the first issue alone), but Paulo lays it out quite poetically:

I often remark on the cleverness of Azzarello’s dialogue, but he’s also capable of some incredible eloquence. Sure, Paulo is describing some truly horrifying concepts, but the thought of torture as a race between blood and words has a kind of perverse beauty to it.

As usual, that depth is carried beyond the dialogue, giving us the kind of rigorous meditation on faith we’ve come to expect of this series. As Craeno and his men stand outside the church, threatening to hurt the children if Paulo doesn’t come out, Manny turns to Paulo and asks him to “protect our children.” I immediately thought Manny was asking Paulo to turn himself in, but Manny actually meant “while I’m gone,” and immediately heads out to confront Craeno. We expect this kind of selfless self-sacrifice of our moral leaders, but Manny’s efforts prove futile — Craeno doesn’t want to talk, he just wants the man who betrayed him. As noble as Manny’s intentions are, offering himself instead of another (that is, dying for another’s sins) doesn’t actually solve anything, and is a kind of nonsensically circuitous route.

That kind of damning indictment of Catholic precepts has been the bread-and-butter of this series from the start, and I continue to love it. I’m generally wary of art that is so one-sided, but Azzarello’s arguments are too thoughtfully crafted to be considered pot-shots. Patrick, I know you have your own cross to bear with the Catholicism (see what I did there?), so I’m wondering if these criticisms resonate with you on a more personal level.

Patrick: I do have my own relationship with Catholicism, but I’m not sure that it had much bearing on my read of this issue. I see everything you’re saying about the criticism about the impotence of Manny’s self sacrifice, but I’m sure there’s a whole lot of suffering waiting in store for him. In fact, I think the sacrifice Manny’s about to make — putting himself between Lono and Craeno — will ultimately prove to be the most heroic act in the series. If the church — and by extension, those that serve the church — value reform and forgiveness, then putting a stop to Lono’s murderous rampage might just be the best thing he can do. What’s more is that he may actually have the power to quell Lono’s inner demons. He might be the only one.

It’s really pretty amazing how patiently Azzarello and Risso have been winding up the tension throughout this series. There was a period there where we were almost at a loss as to how to talk about these things, because not all that much would happen. We just spent time with the characters, getting to know what they value, what motivates them, their strengths, their secrets, their fears. I’ve read enough comics to know that sometimes those issues are fluff – they might inform our views on the characters and their world, but if they do, it’s not for any specific purpose. My mind keeps coming back to that one issue of All New X-Men that was like half Kitty Pryde and Young Jean Grey having a chat about how scary growing up is. It’s a fine issue and all – well drawn, well written — and it filled in some of the emotional details between the two characters, but it did so for its own purpose. Looking back now on quiet character moments in Brother Lono, it’s clear that they’re efficient cranks, each one ratcheting up in the tension for a very specific release moment.

Risso closes the issue on a close-up image of Lono’s eyes that shouldn’t really be any more terrifying than any other set of sinister eyes in any other comic book. But the mythology surrounding Lono is so well-realized that looking at the page is like meeting the devil’s gaze. It’s haunting.

Actually, Risso’s rocking a lot of impressive acting in this issue. It’s actually sort of rare that Azzarello gives him that opportunity to depict these characters expressing emotions beyond rage and pleading-for-their-lives. This issue gives him plenty of opportunities to draw these characters in moments of existential dread – like that moment that June realizes she doesn’t have Lono for back-up. Or there’s also the surprisingly self-less single tear rolling down Paulo’s face.

All of the core cast is so well developed at this point that I’m almost nervous at the thought of bringing in the big bosses for the conclusion of the issue. I mean, it’s sort of inevitable that Lono will get a chance to really hit Las Torres where it hurts, but I don’t have nearly as much invested in those shadowy Big Bads. The bads in our good guys in quite enough, thank you very much.

For a complete list of what we’re reading, head on over to our Pull List page.  Whenever possible, buy your comics from your local mom and pop comic bookstore.  If you want to rock digital copies, head on over to DC’s website and download issues there.  There’s no need to pirate, right?