CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC NOIR SERIES STRAY BULLETS CELEBRATES 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR

The long running, multiple Eisner Award winning crime noir series Stray Bullets by David Lapham celebrates its milestone 30 year anniversary this year. This iconic, generation-defining classic first launched independently in 1995, before finding a new publishing home at Image Comics in 2014, and remains one of the most beloved series on the shelves.

With a storytelling style perhaps best described as Quentin-Tarantino-meets-David-Lynch, Stray Bullets is a precursor to such beloved crime comics as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal. Similarly, it’s an epic crime drama featuring a large ensemble cast of characters and perfect for fans of Breaking Bad, The Wire, and Pulp Fiction.

Beginning in the 1970s and carrying on into the 1990s, Stray Bullets is a period crime drama with moments of humor and absurdity. Lapham’s crime noir masterpiece follows the lost lives of people who are savagely torn apart by events beyond their control: The innocent world of an imaginative little girl is shattered when she witnesses a brutal double murder. An introverted young boy on the verge of manhood gets a lesson on just how far is too far when he falls for a needy woman who lives life in the fast lane. Or party with a pair of low-rent hoods who learn what is really important in life just when they shouldn’t.

What makes Stray Bullets so brilliant is that it’s a crime comic, but it’s also about growing up, about being frustrated with your lot in life, about the disappointment of settling down, and the mundanity of suburban life. Lapham shrewdly presents almost every type of criminal behavior imaginable in stories that can be both unflinchingly honest and heartbreakingly sympathetic.

The almost Altman-esque mix of characters provides seemingly endless pathos and drama, and there is a level of realism to the violence that makes it truly startling. If movies like Oceans 11 are about the sexy allure of the criminal worlds, then Stray Bullets is about the desperation and rage of characters whose lives are ultimately defined by a series of bad choices.

Stray Bullets is available at local comic book shops, independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones in the following collected editions:

The Stray Bullets: Uber Alles Edition paperback (ISBN: 9781607069478, Lunar Code 0314IM132) collects the original five story arcs (Stray Bullets issues #1-41) of this series together for the first time in one massive, 1,200 page volume. Stray Bullets Volume 1: The Innocence of Nihilism, Stray Bullets Volume 2: Somewhere Out West, Stray Bullets Volume 3: Other People, Stray Bullets Volume 4: Dark Days, and Stray Bullets Volume 5: HiJinks and Derring-Do appear in their entirety.
Stray Bullets, Vol. 2: Somewhere Out West trade paperback (ISBN: 9781632153777, Lunar Code 0315IM163) collects issues #8-14 of the original Stray Bullets series.
Stray Bullets, Vol. 3: Other People trade paperback (ISBN: 9781632154828, Lunar Code 0615IM144) collects issues #15-22 of the original Stray Bullets series.
Stray Bullets, Vol. 4: Dark Days trade paperback (ISBN: 9781632155535, Lunar Code 1015IM146) collects issues #23-30 of the original Stray Bullets series.
Stray Bullets, Vol. 5: HiJinks and Derring-Do trade paperback (ISBN: 9781632157331, Lunar Code 0316IM174) collects issues #31-41 of the original Stray Bullets series.
Stray Bullets, Vol. 6: Killers trade paperback (ISBN: 9781632152152, Lunar Code 1014IM207) collects issues #1-8 of the Stray Bullets: Killers sequel series.
Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses, Part 1 trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534307995, Lunar Code 0518IM149) collects issues #1-8 of the Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses sequel series.
Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses, Part 2 trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534309784, Lunar Code 0818IM238) collects issues #9-16 of the Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses sequel series.
Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses, Part 3: The Queen of Palm Court trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534309869, Lunar Code 1118IM213) collects issues #17-24 of the Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses sequel series.
Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses, Part 4: The Salad Days trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534310469, Lunar Code 0419IM163) collects issues #25-32 of the Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses sequel series.

Stray Bullets is available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, and Omnibus.

Author Profile

Al Mega: I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!