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Sin City #4
Sin City, Vol. 4: That Yellow Bastard
In a Sin City short story, "The Babe Wore Red," Frank Miller deviated from his stark black-and-white artwork by adding tiny bits of color throughout the story. The girl's dress was red, her lips were red--you get the picture. In That Yellow Bastard, the fourth Sin City graphic novel, Miller's experiment with yellow ink is also a tremendous success. The setup is simple. On the last day before he retires, Hartigan, an old cop, gets a call about an 11-year-old girl who has been kidnapped by a lunatic. Hartigan has got just one more thing to do before he retires: save the girl. Saving her is the easy part, because Hartigan has uncovered something really bad that is not going to stop until it catches up with him. That Yellow Bastard is nerve-racking to the very end.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Frank Miller
1,329 books4,804 followersFrank Miller is an American writer, artist and film director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. He is one of the most widely-recognized and popular creators in comics, and is one of the most influential comics creators of his generation. His most notable works include Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Year One and 300.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 409 reviews
November 28, 2022
He has Angina, is nearly 60, and about to retire; he's a super honourable and honest cop; John Hartigan refuses to let serial paedophile and rapist Roark Jnr, get away with kidnapping his latest potential victim, 11 year old Nancy Callahan. One slight problem, Jr's dad, Senator Roark has, like his family before him, bought and paid for, Sin City itself! What's a detective to do?
A tremendous and powerfully driven drama, debatably the best of Sin City.. and wtf is The Yellow Bastard? A Five Star read - 10 out of 12.
2019 read
A tremendous and powerfully driven drama, debatably the best of Sin City.. and wtf is The Yellow Bastard? A Five Star read - 10 out of 12.
2019 read
March 2, 2016
Number four - I still really hate the artwork, but the story is first rate. There's nothing like a good vengeance tale, and Miller's story of a wronged cop finally righting the score is particularly sweet.
My most bone-chilling moment? This little speech delivered by one of the villains:
Power doesn't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes outta lying and lying big and getting the whole damned world to play along with you. Once you got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain't true, you got 'em trapped. You're the boss. You can turn reality on its head and they'll cheer you on.
This could be the stump speech of a certain short-fingered, orange vulgarian currently running for President.
My most bone-chilling moment? This little speech delivered by one of the villains:
Power doesn't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes outta lying and lying big and getting the whole damned world to play along with you. Once you got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain't true, you got 'em trapped. You're the boss. You can turn reality on its head and they'll cheer you on.
This could be the stump speech of a certain short-fingered, orange vulgarian currently running for President.
July 22, 2018
You just cannot go wrong with Sin City! So much is in these pages: action, intrigue, really bad baddies, really good (but tragic) goodies. My only caution is it may be a bit much for some. If you prefer you violence, language and sex tame, this may not be the series fro you.
But if you are ready for some serious corruption and bloody revenge, this is the book for you. I have enjoyed every volume equally so far. It is just so darn creative and enthralling. You have likely seen me say in my reviews before that if I am cheering for or talking back at what I am reading it is the sign of a good book. That is definitely how I was with this volume.
For those who have seen the first Sin City movie, you will recognize this story. In fact, while the whole movie was great, I think this is the part I remember the most from the movie. Usually the book is said to be better than the movie. Rarely does the movie surpass the book. In this case, I would say that they are both equally fantastic!
"An old man dies, a little girl lives. Fair trade."
But if you are ready for some serious corruption and bloody revenge, this is the book for you. I have enjoyed every volume equally so far. It is just so darn creative and enthralling. You have likely seen me say in my reviews before that if I am cheering for or talking back at what I am reading it is the sign of a good book. That is definitely how I was with this volume.
For those who have seen the first Sin City movie, you will recognize this story. In fact, while the whole movie was great, I think this is the part I remember the most from the movie. Usually the book is said to be better than the movie. Rarely does the movie surpass the book. In this case, I would say that they are both equally fantastic!
"An old man dies, a little girl lives. Fair trade."
September 10, 2014
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
John Hartigan has served the police force well and his retirement is deserved, but when he gets word that little Nancy Callahan has been kidnapped he can’t just hand over his badge and gun without attempting to save her. Little does he know that his final moment of heroism will haunt him for years to come . . .
For all of you who know me in real life, follow my blog, or are friends with me here, you are probably well aware that I’m quite proud of my supernerdery. I know a lot about nothing important and love to share my pop culture Rainman abilities with anyone who is willing to look/listen. That being said, I now come to you all and admit that until this point I’ve been a total poseur. Although I take my tiny Sheldon Cooper (seriously, he’s the “got it, got it, need it, got it” kid when looking through the various boxes) to Planet ComicCon annually
my personal geekery was missing one huge piece – I had never before read a graphic novel.
Since I have more than a bit of an obsession with all things Sin City (when Starz was added to our cable package a couple of months ago I used the “on demand” option and watched the first movie EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. for a month straight until my husband threatened to stage an intervention on my behalf), I figured it was high time to go big or go home.
I was sooooooo not disappointed. Frank Miller reached such a level of perfection with the graphic novel version of Sin City that hardly a word was needed to be changed before its transformation to the big screen. Sidenote: The one thing that was changed was the “grandfatherly” Hartigan being cast with the totally un-grandfatherly Bruce Willis. For that, I am eternally grateful : )
(and dare I forget to mention a certainpair of boobs someone else who might add to the enjoyment factor for others while watching the movie version)
From the characters, to the dialogue, to the artwork
That Yellow Bastard was everything I hoped it would be.
ALL THE STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Hartigan has served the police force well and his retirement is deserved, but when he gets word that little Nancy Callahan has been kidnapped he can’t just hand over his badge and gun without attempting to save her. Little does he know that his final moment of heroism will haunt him for years to come . . .
For all of you who know me in real life, follow my blog, or are friends with me here, you are probably well aware that I’m quite proud of my supernerdery. I know a lot about nothing important and love to share my pop culture Rainman abilities with anyone who is willing to look/listen. That being said, I now come to you all and admit that until this point I’ve been a total poseur. Although I take my tiny Sheldon Cooper (seriously, he’s the “got it, got it, need it, got it” kid when looking through the various boxes) to Planet ComicCon annually
my personal geekery was missing one huge piece – I had never before read a graphic novel.
Since I have more than a bit of an obsession with all things Sin City (when Starz was added to our cable package a couple of months ago I used the “on demand” option and watched the first movie EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. for a month straight until my husband threatened to stage an intervention on my behalf), I figured it was high time to go big or go home.
I was sooooooo not disappointed. Frank Miller reached such a level of perfection with the graphic novel version of Sin City that hardly a word was needed to be changed before its transformation to the big screen. Sidenote: The one thing that was changed was the “grandfatherly” Hartigan being cast with the totally un-grandfatherly Bruce Willis. For that, I am eternally grateful : )
(and dare I forget to mention a certain
From the characters, to the dialogue, to the artwork
That Yellow Bastard was everything I hoped it would be.
ALL THE STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 21, 2015
[9/10]
The best Sin City episode for me since "The Hard Goodbye". I'm not making a case that the previous two albums were inferior. I was just waiting for a strong lead character to rival the unique voice of Marv, and for some of that sharp internal monologues that cut to the the bone, letting out all the pent up rage and despair of a man pushed beyond his limits of endurance.
The present album also benefits from some of the best opening lines in my noir library:
Just one hour to go.
My last day on the job.
Early retirement.
Not my idea.
Doctor's orders.
Heart condition.
Angina, he calls it.
Just one hour to go.
I'm polishing my badge and getting myself used to the idea of saying goodbye to it. It and the thirty-odd years of protecting and serving and tears and blood and terror and tryumph it represents. I'm pushing papers, filling out forms, going through the motions like some old forgotten machine nobody ever bothered to turn off.
I'm thinking about Eileen's slow smile, about the thick, fat steaks she picked up at the butcher's today, about the bottle of champagne she's got packed in ice, about sleeping in till ten in the morning if I ever feel like it and sunny afternoons flat on my back and one loose end I haven't tied up, a young girl who's out there somewhere, helpless in the hands of a drooling lunatic.
Just one hour to go and I get the word from a stoolie by the name of Morales. I guess it's all over my face because Bob's on me like a fly on used food, yelling at me all the way to the projects.
John Hartigan, a policeman on his last day on the job, appears at first glance to be cut from the same cloth as Marv, at least in the way his character is drawn. I had to pay attention to the "X" scar on his temple to make sure he is a new character. It didn't help that I was expecting to recognize Bruce Willis in his face, forgetting that the comic precedes the movie version. I did get used to Hartigan pretty fast, mainly for one character trait that he shares with Marv, even as the two operate on opposing sides of the law: some things are simply not acceptable, even in the crime and corruption riddled Basin City. A man has to do what a man has to do, and preventing a pervert from abusing an eleven year old girl is worth a man's career, even his life.
Hartigan storms in and stops the crime like a black, hulking, battle scarred avenging angel. Since this is Sin City, after all, he also has to pay the price. The pervert is none other than the son of the most powerful man in town, Senator Roark (not a spoiler: revealed in the opening scene!), and the father swears a personal vendetta against the man who mutilated his only son.
I will not reveal the rest of the story - it's a bit more straight forward that the other Sin City albums, but this is exactly what makes it more powerful for me. We spend a lot of time inside Hartigan's mind, torn between the devotion to the girl he saved and the awareness of the dangers of coming close to her while he is chased by Roark's goons.
This girl is familiar from the first three albums, and it was about time we get a glimpse of her back story, after spending so many pages mesmerized by her gyrations in a topless cowboy outfit at Kadie's Bar. Nancy Callahan is already alluring as a little girl (which doesn't in any way excuse the pervert's actions). As a strip dancer we already found out that she is smoking hot. We know now that there is a real person behind the doll mask, sensitive and loyal and intelligent. For once, I cannot really complain about Frank Miller's portrayal of women. Seeing Hartigan and Nancy together prompts comparisons with the fairytale Beauty and the Beast, which is not as far fetched at you might think at first glance. Hartigan looks like a monster, but throughout the presentation he is a tower of strength and integrity.
As secondary character go, the portrait of Senator Roark is another effective combination of powerful monologue and stark monochrome graphics. I judge the succes by how repulsive I found his image and his plea for the rule of the weak by the strong:
Power doesn't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes outta lying and lying big and getting the whole damn world to play along with you. Once you got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain't true, you got 'em trapped. You're the boss. You can turn reality on its head and they'll cheer you on. You can make a saint out of a gibbering nutcase like my high-and-mighty brother. You can beat your wife to death with a baseball bat like I did and leave your fingerprints all the hell over it and a dozen witnesses will swear on a stack of bibles you were a thousand miles away.
I saw some of the other reviewers comment on the artwork in the later Sin City albums as more conventional and less cutting edge that the debut. I can't argue with the theory: I have either gotten used to the camera angles and to the stark shadows, or Miller has indeed got a little lazy in the panel layouts. (the exception here is a whole chapter drawn from a fixed camera position, Hartigan lying on his back in a hospital bed, reminding me of the movie Rope by Hitchcock). The artist still has some arrows left in his graphic quiver, such as the recent addition of colour to augment what was until now uncompromisingly two-tone. The symbolism is evident: red in an earlier story for blood, yellow now for corruption, cowardice, moral poison.
Another experiment, only partly successful, is the attempt to write humorous characters into what was until now unrelentlessly grim. "Mr. Klump and Mr. Shlub, two any-dirty-job-there-is thugs with delusions of eloquence." exchange pretentious words while they go about their illegal business, small fry to face the full fury of Hartigan. Although their onscreen time was too brief to make a strong impression, they appear to me modelled on the duo of hired killers from Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere", who were truly scary, but this might be just the result of the fact that I read the Neverwhere comic just before Sin City.
A last word about the timeline: album four is set a few years before, and later in parallel with the events from the other episodes. It can be easily read out of order, as a stand-alone, but it will probably be tied up later with the stories of the girls of Old Town and with the adventures of photographer/ vigilante Dwight. I look forward to seeing Nancy again, with or without her clothes, which I hope is not a confession of pervert thoughts from this reader.
Recommended, with the usual advisory: explicit violence, language and nudity.
The best Sin City episode for me since "The Hard Goodbye". I'm not making a case that the previous two albums were inferior. I was just waiting for a strong lead character to rival the unique voice of Marv, and for some of that sharp internal monologues that cut to the the bone, letting out all the pent up rage and despair of a man pushed beyond his limits of endurance.
The present album also benefits from some of the best opening lines in my noir library:
Just one hour to go.
My last day on the job.
Early retirement.
Not my idea.
Doctor's orders.
Heart condition.
Angina, he calls it.
Just one hour to go.
I'm polishing my badge and getting myself used to the idea of saying goodbye to it. It and the thirty-odd years of protecting and serving and tears and blood and terror and tryumph it represents. I'm pushing papers, filling out forms, going through the motions like some old forgotten machine nobody ever bothered to turn off.
I'm thinking about Eileen's slow smile, about the thick, fat steaks she picked up at the butcher's today, about the bottle of champagne she's got packed in ice, about sleeping in till ten in the morning if I ever feel like it and sunny afternoons flat on my back and one loose end I haven't tied up, a young girl who's out there somewhere, helpless in the hands of a drooling lunatic.
Just one hour to go and I get the word from a stoolie by the name of Morales. I guess it's all over my face because Bob's on me like a fly on used food, yelling at me all the way to the projects.
John Hartigan, a policeman on his last day on the job, appears at first glance to be cut from the same cloth as Marv, at least in the way his character is drawn. I had to pay attention to the "X" scar on his temple to make sure he is a new character. It didn't help that I was expecting to recognize Bruce Willis in his face, forgetting that the comic precedes the movie version. I did get used to Hartigan pretty fast, mainly for one character trait that he shares with Marv, even as the two operate on opposing sides of the law: some things are simply not acceptable, even in the crime and corruption riddled Basin City. A man has to do what a man has to do, and preventing a pervert from abusing an eleven year old girl is worth a man's career, even his life.
Hartigan storms in and stops the crime like a black, hulking, battle scarred avenging angel. Since this is Sin City, after all, he also has to pay the price. The pervert is none other than the son of the most powerful man in town, Senator Roark (not a spoiler: revealed in the opening scene!), and the father swears a personal vendetta against the man who mutilated his only son.
I will not reveal the rest of the story - it's a bit more straight forward that the other Sin City albums, but this is exactly what makes it more powerful for me. We spend a lot of time inside Hartigan's mind, torn between the devotion to the girl he saved and the awareness of the dangers of coming close to her while he is chased by Roark's goons.
This girl is familiar from the first three albums, and it was about time we get a glimpse of her back story, after spending so many pages mesmerized by her gyrations in a topless cowboy outfit at Kadie's Bar. Nancy Callahan is already alluring as a little girl (which doesn't in any way excuse the pervert's actions). As a strip dancer we already found out that she is smoking hot. We know now that there is a real person behind the doll mask, sensitive and loyal and intelligent. For once, I cannot really complain about Frank Miller's portrayal of women. Seeing Hartigan and Nancy together prompts comparisons with the fairytale Beauty and the Beast, which is not as far fetched at you might think at first glance. Hartigan looks like a monster, but throughout the presentation he is a tower of strength and integrity.
As secondary character go, the portrait of Senator Roark is another effective combination of powerful monologue and stark monochrome graphics. I judge the succes by how repulsive I found his image and his plea for the rule of the weak by the strong:
Power doesn't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes outta lying and lying big and getting the whole damn world to play along with you. Once you got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain't true, you got 'em trapped. You're the boss. You can turn reality on its head and they'll cheer you on. You can make a saint out of a gibbering nutcase like my high-and-mighty brother. You can beat your wife to death with a baseball bat like I did and leave your fingerprints all the hell over it and a dozen witnesses will swear on a stack of bibles you were a thousand miles away.
I saw some of the other reviewers comment on the artwork in the later Sin City albums as more conventional and less cutting edge that the debut. I can't argue with the theory: I have either gotten used to the camera angles and to the stark shadows, or Miller has indeed got a little lazy in the panel layouts. (the exception here is a whole chapter drawn from a fixed camera position, Hartigan lying on his back in a hospital bed, reminding me of the movie Rope by Hitchcock). The artist still has some arrows left in his graphic quiver, such as the recent addition of colour to augment what was until now uncompromisingly two-tone. The symbolism is evident: red in an earlier story for blood, yellow now for corruption, cowardice, moral poison.
Another experiment, only partly successful, is the attempt to write humorous characters into what was until now unrelentlessly grim. "Mr. Klump and Mr. Shlub, two any-dirty-job-there-is thugs with delusions of eloquence." exchange pretentious words while they go about their illegal business, small fry to face the full fury of Hartigan. Although their onscreen time was too brief to make a strong impression, they appear to me modelled on the duo of hired killers from Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere", who were truly scary, but this might be just the result of the fact that I read the Neverwhere comic just before Sin City.
A last word about the timeline: album four is set a few years before, and later in parallel with the events from the other episodes. It can be easily read out of order, as a stand-alone, but it will probably be tied up later with the stories of the girls of Old Town and with the adventures of photographer/ vigilante Dwight. I look forward to seeing Nancy again, with or without her clothes, which I hope is not a confession of pervert thoughts from this reader.
Recommended, with the usual advisory: explicit violence, language and nudity.
August 21, 2015
This is the best so far of the Sin City volumes, which I am reading as part of the BIG DAMN Sin City complete collection, which is 1357 pages long and in a really BIG format, which is sort of appropriate for Miller's sort of approach to noir, mostly black and white (though this one adds yellow for the yellow bastard guy), with BIG cops and BIG women and BIG criminals and BIG splashy art). But the art and story seem to work better here than in the previous volumes, seem a bit more inspired. He's in the swing, or hitting his stride, maybe?
This one focuses on sixty year old Hartigan (someone said the inspiration was Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry), a good cop who had been framed and jailed for eight years, who gets revenge and twice saves young heroine Nancy, first when she was eleven, and now again when she is nineteen. This really is a great noir story that almost makes me forgive Miller for the faults in some of his other work. When he is good. . .
The Yellow Bastard is big and bold and brash and and over the top, though still (for him) almost understated in a way because Hartigan is at the end of his career and so (surprisingly) good for one of Miller's characters.
This one focuses on sixty year old Hartigan (someone said the inspiration was Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry), a good cop who had been framed and jailed for eight years, who gets revenge and twice saves young heroine Nancy, first when she was eleven, and now again when she is nineteen. This really is a great noir story that almost makes me forgive Miller for the faults in some of his other work. When he is good. . .
The Yellow Bastard is big and bold and brash and and over the top, though still (for him) almost understated in a way because Hartigan is at the end of his career and so (surprisingly) good for one of Miller's characters.
February 20, 2024
A new arc in this volume, with officer Hartigan having his last day on the force ending with a bang (literally), it's a trademark of the series apparently that Chapter 1 of each volume seems to be the end of the story not the start of it!
The score starts on a hopeful note that the story this time will be different, but it turns out the same, a dame in distress for the fourth time, but what's new this time is that Hartigan goes after the bad guys driven by his fatherly affection for Nancy, he is not consumed by a lustful love like his predecessors in the previous volumes...
The story felt shorter and a bit shallower this time, still good though, will take out a star this time, and hope we're back to 4 stars in vol 5...
MiM
The score starts on a hopeful note that the story this time will be different, but it turns out the same, a dame in distress for the fourth time, but what's new this time is that Hartigan goes after the bad guys driven by his fatherly affection for Nancy, he is not consumed by a lustful love like his predecessors in the previous volumes...
The story felt shorter and a bit shallower this time, still good though, will take out a star this time, and hope we're back to 4 stars in vol 5...
MiM
April 29, 2015
Hartigan is a cop. Last day before retirement. He spends it hunting down a pedophile and saving the little girl, 11-year-old Nancy Callahan. Because the pedophile was the senator's son, Hartigan - who was shot 6 times AND has a bad heart - is fingered as the pedophile. He spends 8 years in solitary. Nancy loves him and writes him a letter a week. For eight whole years. Then the letters stop coming. Just an envelope with the finger of a 19-year-old girl. Hartigan knows what he has to do...
...
LIKES:
Excellent writing. Miller does a great job at distinguishing voices. All his strong male leads have a different, distinct voice. That's a skill. Hartigan leans towards fragmented sentences and he tends to repeat himself a lot.
The "hero" of this novel doesn't hit any women. You might think it's weird that I'm mentioning this, but this volume, #4, is the FIRST Sin City graphic novel where the "hero" doesn't strike a woman in the face. I'm not even counting when "bad guys" do it. But in 1, 2 and 3 the "hero" main character always sees fit to smack a woman around. It wasn't winning any points with me and I'm glad Hartigan never strikes Nancy.
Beautiful, stunning illustrations. Excellent use of color and black & white.
The plot. It's exciting, it's gripping, it's moving. Hartigan is hunting down a pedophile/rapist and Nancy is 50 years younger than Hartigan and in love with him. Hartigan is trying his hardest not to have sex with her, no matter how much she begs, and he's just such a mensch. And not only a mensch, but someone who's really strong mentally and physically and can get the job done. Also, they use the word "mensch" in the novel. That alone wins points with me, since I use that word in my life when a man deserves it. :)
Burt Schlubb and Douglas Klump crack me up. A bit of humor in this dark novel. They are two thugs who use huge words in order to sound polished.
The guard, the prison guard, when Hartigan's in prison - Miller gives him these little thought bubbles all the time like, "My life is worthless." "My wife hates me, "I don't get paid half what I'm worth." and it's a background taking place while Hartigan and Lucille are arguing. It's hilarious and very well done.
DISLIKES:
I don't like reading about pedophiles and rapists even if they get what's coming to them.
It has a sad ending.
...
LIKES:
Excellent writing. Miller does a great job at distinguishing voices. All his strong male leads have a different, distinct voice. That's a skill. Hartigan leans towards fragmented sentences and he tends to repeat himself a lot.
The "hero" of this novel doesn't hit any women. You might think it's weird that I'm mentioning this, but this volume, #4, is the FIRST Sin City graphic novel where the "hero" doesn't strike a woman in the face. I'm not even counting when "bad guys" do it. But in 1, 2 and 3 the "hero" main character always sees fit to smack a woman around. It wasn't winning any points with me and I'm glad Hartigan never strikes Nancy.
Beautiful, stunning illustrations. Excellent use of color and black & white.
The plot. It's exciting, it's gripping, it's moving. Hartigan is hunting down a pedophile/rapist and Nancy is 50 years younger than Hartigan and in love with him. Hartigan is trying his hardest not to have sex with her, no matter how much she begs, and he's just such a mensch. And not only a mensch, but someone who's really strong mentally and physically and can get the job done. Also, they use the word "mensch" in the novel. That alone wins points with me, since I use that word in my life when a man deserves it. :)
Burt Schlubb and Douglas Klump crack me up. A bit of humor in this dark novel. They are two thugs who use huge words in order to sound polished.
The guard, the prison guard, when Hartigan's in prison - Miller gives him these little thought bubbles all the time like, "My life is worthless." "My wife hates me, "I don't get paid half what I'm worth." and it's a background taking place while Hartigan and Lucille are arguing. It's hilarious and very well done.
DISLIKES:
I don't like reading about pedophiles and rapists even if they get what's coming to them.
It has a sad ending.
November 13, 2021
In a tale that seems to take place earlier in the Sin City chronology, we follow a grizzled, aging cop named John Hartigan on the verge of retirement, and his one last mission to try to save little 11-year-old Nancy Callahan. That’s right, we finally get a bit of backstory for the most famous and mysterious exotic dancer in Sin City, who’s graced all the books so far.
This is definitely one of the meaner, darker installments, as it features some of the more evil, deplorable villains in Sin City, and that’s saying a lot. The book also stands out because in the midst of the usual stark, black and white art, Miller explores splashes of yellow to very effective degree, as it really stands out on the page, and gave me anxiety knowing that that yellow bastard was around.
This is definitely one of the meaner, darker installments, as it features some of the more evil, deplorable villains in Sin City, and that’s saying a lot. The book also stands out because in the midst of the usual stark, black and white art, Miller explores splashes of yellow to very effective degree, as it really stands out on the page, and gave me anxiety knowing that that yellow bastard was around.
July 11, 2022
The series continues in great form, and this just might be my favourite yet.
November 14, 2022
Stupid, crazy, pathetic old man!
It starts slow, but gets better at the end of the third chapter! Totally reminiscent of the end of the first movie.
January 31, 2021
Okay, undoubtedly my favorite out of all the Sin City books so far, comparable with The Hard Goodbye. The addition of yellow ink was such a success too — I felt like I could smell the stench of the yellow man as I read. And the stakes just felt so high.
August 24, 2021
Frank miller delivered another classic and after reading it. I have to say it's kinda scary how closely they followed the books for the first movie. But I guess as a fan that's something you want to happen right.
July 28, 2023
Sin City's darkest chapter is packed with some of the series' most intense confrontations and slickest artwork.
The story is quite simple: Man saves girl from pedophile, gets framed, gets locked up for eight years, then sets out to find the girl, seemingly kidnapped again by the same guy.
Works well as a revenge thriller and quite possibly has a bit more heart to it, regardless of how I felt about the strange, yet realistic love story twist thrown into the mix.
The story is quite simple: Man saves girl from pedophile, gets framed, gets locked up for eight years, then sets out to find the girl, seemingly kidnapped again by the same guy.
Works well as a revenge thriller and quite possibly has a bit more heart to it, regardless of how I felt about the strange, yet realistic love story twist thrown into the mix.
May 16, 2022
Wow! If you can only read a couple of Frank Miller's SIN CITY volumes, make sure this is one of them. I love them all so it's hard for me to narrow it down. This series is a landmark among crime comics, and played a major influential role in all those that followed. From story-telling to illustration, THAT YELLOW BASTARD is a masterwork.
Miller was at the top of his form in terms of exploring and expanding the ways to illustrate and enhance his scripts with this one: so many gorgeous large panels that are 80-90% black where the white areas pop through like light creeping underneath a dark window shade. Miller introduces a limited use of yellow to these black and white images that stand out the same way the use of red (blood, etc) did in some other stories.
I had forgotten how damn good these SIN CITY books are. So glad I decided to re-visit them. They still hold up and reward again on multiple readings. Highly recommended.
Miller was at the top of his form in terms of exploring and expanding the ways to illustrate and enhance his scripts with this one: so many gorgeous large panels that are 80-90% black where the white areas pop through like light creeping underneath a dark window shade. Miller introduces a limited use of yellow to these black and white images that stand out the same way the use of red (blood, etc) did in some other stories.
I had forgotten how damn good these SIN CITY books are. So glad I decided to re-visit them. They still hold up and reward again on multiple readings. Highly recommended.
May 6, 2020
Reread from high school. I loved Hartigan and Nancy even more this time around than I did then. He's now tied with Marv as my favorite character. Great read.
July 12, 2014
The name Frank Miller is a certificate for quality in the comics world, his noir series Sin City are an excellent example of a quality comic that is based purely on the writer/artist and owned by him as well.
That Yellow bastard is a brilliant telling in the oldish noir style with its b/w drawings it sets the mood. But the great thing is that the baddie, the title of the novel. is despicted in yellow. And it works very well.
John Hartigan the protagonist (and our hero) is only a few hours from retirement, due to a heartproblem, when he gets a tip off on one of his cases he finds impossible to ignore even with him in his last hours of duty. He wants to catch the perp in the act that is responsible for some sadistic killings. Has to do it in the act as it is the son of an influential senator who has all the means to get his son freed. Hartigan catches him in the act and maims the perp almost fatally when he gets betrayed and shot down himself.
Hartigan underestimated the wrath of the senator and he gets framed for the rape and assault on the senators son, and gets told that if he denies or opens his mouth the 11 year old victim or his wife will suffer the consequenses. And so Hartigan goes to jail and suffers in silence with as only communication the letters of the victim he saved untill one day the letters stop coming and Hartgan gets a visitor who comes baring gifts of the sadistic kind.
A great story of revenge, some gratious violence, some nudity with a bleak ending. The art is just beautifull and shows that Miller is indeed one of the masters in the genre.
That Yellow bastard is a brilliant telling in the oldish noir style with its b/w drawings it sets the mood. But the great thing is that the baddie, the title of the novel. is despicted in yellow. And it works very well.
John Hartigan the protagonist (and our hero) is only a few hours from retirement, due to a heartproblem, when he gets a tip off on one of his cases he finds impossible to ignore even with him in his last hours of duty. He wants to catch the perp in the act that is responsible for some sadistic killings. Has to do it in the act as it is the son of an influential senator who has all the means to get his son freed. Hartigan catches him in the act and maims the perp almost fatally when he gets betrayed and shot down himself.
Hartigan underestimated the wrath of the senator and he gets framed for the rape and assault on the senators son, and gets told that if he denies or opens his mouth the 11 year old victim or his wife will suffer the consequenses. And so Hartigan goes to jail and suffers in silence with as only communication the letters of the victim he saved untill one day the letters stop coming and Hartgan gets a visitor who comes baring gifts of the sadistic kind.
A great story of revenge, some gratious violence, some nudity with a bleak ending. The art is just beautifull and shows that Miller is indeed one of the masters in the genre.
February 14, 2015
Frank Miller continues to weave his magic.I like that each book is basically a prequel to the book before it.Mr.Miller penchant for penning kick ass characters continues.Hartigan stole the show.Real tough cop with a big heart.Also liked how Nancy Callahan origin came about.Lastly the artwork and writing of the character the yellow bastard was truly demented and disgusting.Just the way it should be.
September 15, 2013
Until now, this is my favorite installment. Even though it's hard to pick, because "The Big Fat Kill" was also really good, I'm sticking with this one. The Yellow guy is really creepy and the fact that he is drawn in yellow in an all-black drawing work makes him stand out even more.
I've already started the 5th Sin City volume.
I've already started the 5th Sin City volume.
August 12, 2016
Another story that was featured in the Sin City movie. Almost forgot all of the details to this one.
https://youtu.be/LdggXkVl8gA
https://youtu.be/LdggXkVl8gA
October 20, 2018
«La vita del vecchio per quella della ragazza, uno scambio equo; ti amo Nancy»
Frank Miller: un nome, una garanzia.
"Quel bastardo giallo" è il quarto volume della serie a fumetti Sin City ad essere pubblicato ma, cronologicamente, rappresenta l'antefatto di tutta la serie (ciò vi permetterà dunque di capire molte cose lasciate in sospeso nei volumi precedenti). L'episodio è così intitolato a causa del colore che il figlio del senatore Roark ha assunto come effetto collaterale degli interventi a cui è stato sottoposto dopo il primo scontro con l'agente Hartigan.
John Hartigan, un agente della polizia di Sin City ormai vicino al prepensionamento per via di una malattia cardiaca, salva una ragazzina di 11 anni di nome Nancy Callahan dalle grinfie di un pedofilo, il figlio del senatore Roark. Nel salvare la bambina Hartigan ferisce gravemente Junior sparandogli in un orecchio, una mano e nei genitali, mandandolo in coma; il suo collega ed amico Bob lo tradisce e viene così incastrato e condannato al posto del maniaco. Dopo 8 anni di prigionia e di torture l'agente viene rilasciato e da lì seguiranno tutta una serie di avventure, tra morte, intrighi, vendette, inseguimenti e il tanto atteso trionfo del bene.
Il dottor Miller è un abile maestro nel creare fantastiche illustrazioni, in un alternarsi di pennellate bianche e nere in perfetto contesto noir. Per non parlare dei suoi eroi di prim'ordine, di straordinario spessore morale e forza fisica.
In quest'opera si intrecciano temi della nostra più triste attualità con quel pizzico d'amore illecito alla Miller in piena regola con la famosa "città del peccato". Al centro della storia vi è il tema della pedofilia, combattuto più volte dall'agente Hartigan, ritorna il tema della corruzione dello Stato e della polizia, il tema della tortura e dell'amore.
Frank Miller: un nome, una garanzia.
"Quel bastardo giallo" è il quarto volume della serie a fumetti Sin City ad essere pubblicato ma, cronologicamente, rappresenta l'antefatto di tutta la serie (ciò vi permetterà dunque di capire molte cose lasciate in sospeso nei volumi precedenti). L'episodio è così intitolato a causa del colore che il figlio del senatore Roark ha assunto come effetto collaterale degli interventi a cui è stato sottoposto dopo il primo scontro con l'agente Hartigan.
John Hartigan, un agente della polizia di Sin City ormai vicino al prepensionamento per via di una malattia cardiaca, salva una ragazzina di 11 anni di nome Nancy Callahan dalle grinfie di un pedofilo, il figlio del senatore Roark. Nel salvare la bambina Hartigan ferisce gravemente Junior sparandogli in un orecchio, una mano e nei genitali, mandandolo in coma; il suo collega ed amico Bob lo tradisce e viene così incastrato e condannato al posto del maniaco. Dopo 8 anni di prigionia e di torture l'agente viene rilasciato e da lì seguiranno tutta una serie di avventure, tra morte, intrighi, vendette, inseguimenti e il tanto atteso trionfo del bene.
Il dottor Miller è un abile maestro nel creare fantastiche illustrazioni, in un alternarsi di pennellate bianche e nere in perfetto contesto noir. Per non parlare dei suoi eroi di prim'ordine, di straordinario spessore morale e forza fisica.
In quest'opera si intrecciano temi della nostra più triste attualità con quel pizzico d'amore illecito alla Miller in piena regola con la famosa "città del peccato". Al centro della storia vi è il tema della pedofilia, combattuto più volte dall'agente Hartigan, ritorna il tema della corruzione dello Stato e della polizia, il tema della tortura e dell'amore.
May 9, 2018
This is , for me, the weakest book of the series - so far.
I knew most of the story from the first Sin City movie, but that was not the problem. What I like most about the books is the atmosphere they create. THe impressive dark pictures in combination with some meaningful texts (mostly monologs), that's what makes this series special. But I didn't quite get that in this one. It was somehow too little happening, to little talking, to little feeling.
I knew most of the story from the first Sin City movie, but that was not the problem. What I like most about the books is the atmosphere they create. THe impressive dark pictures in combination with some meaningful texts (mostly monologs), that's what makes this series special. But I didn't quite get that in this one. It was somehow too little happening, to little talking, to little feeling.
February 10, 2023
Continuing on with my Sin City adventure and I believe this volume has been one of my favourites so far. We follow the story of police officer John Hartigan and his personal war on crime through his final working years. This volume has everything you need, unbelievable story, powerful (and disgusting) villain, and a strong revenge plot.
May 26, 2019
Oh...my...God...the ending!
Every volume is better than the previous one!
I'm in love with these babies!!!
And the artwork in this one...wow...just WOW!
Every volume is better than the previous one!
I'm in love with these babies!!!
And the artwork in this one...wow...just WOW!
April 16, 2012
Summary: The weakest of the Sin City books, this one features mostly powerful writing and glorious black & white illustrations with unsettling splashes of yellow but suffers from an unbelievable plot point and a nonsensical ending.
_____
In Sin City, heroism is relative but corruption is absolute. Anyone trying to be a hero would have reason to despair. Sin City's hardened residents live in a dystopia controlled by degenerate politicians. Life is cheap and the people in power have lots of money.
No one knows this better than John Hartigan, the hero in author/illustrator Frank Miller's grim Sin City: That Yellow Bastard. Hartigan is determined to defy overwhelming odds to try to secure some little bit of justice, and so he defies despair as well.
Hartigan is a cop, not the only good person on the force but one of very few. More typical is his partner, the guy who shoots Hartigan three times in the back and leaves him at the mercy of a maniacal U.S. Senator who is going to have Hartigan tortured and falsely imprisoned for raping a child. This is what Hartigan gets for saving an 11-year-old girl from being abused to death by the Senator's son. Between his bad heart, the bullet wounds and what the Senator has planned for him, Hartigan thinks he is going to die.
"An old man dies, a little girl lives," Hartigan thinks to himself. "Fair trade."
Except that nothing is fair in Basin City, a shadowy metropolis in which Miller sets his gripping and acclaimed comic books and graphic novels. In Sin City: That Yellow Bastard, Hartigan endures eight nightmarish years and still must put himself through hell to save once again the child he thought he had saved for good the first time. When he fails, it is an atypical failure of Miller's storytelling.
The failures start when Hartigan is released from prison and sets out to find the young woman he rescued eight years earlier. Both he and she know that the accomplices of her original tormentor want to kill her and so she has hidden from them. One expects that finding her will challenge Hartigan and test his talents for investigating.
Instead: He looks her up in the phone book.
And: She's listed under her real name.
The eyes see this and the brain rebels. Miller is a visionary storyteller adept at wielding words and images with dazzling skill. He is not sloppy. But it is sloppy to have a woman in hiding list herself in the phone book.
Miller's mastery in all other respects earns him trust and so one reads on, hoping the bit about the phone book is some kind of clever trick. The nagging concern that it might not be takes the reader out of a narrative that had grabbed us and not let go, until now. One is never again caught up in it so completely.
And then the phone book bit turns out to be not clever but careless. It is disappointing.
That word applies to little of Miller's work but it applies also to the ending of That Yellow Bastard, which borrows badly from the conclusion of the first Sin City book, which has been re-titled as Sin City: The Hard Goodbye. We hear gunfire. Hartigan's words from eight years ago echo in his head. He does something irreversible to ensure the girl's safety from the maniacs who want her dead. Except that now she is in as much danger as ever and Hartigan has placed himself beyond being able to help her.
Miller led us to expect better of Hartigan, and better of his Sin City stories.
_____
In Sin City, heroism is relative but corruption is absolute. Anyone trying to be a hero would have reason to despair. Sin City's hardened residents live in a dystopia controlled by degenerate politicians. Life is cheap and the people in power have lots of money.
No one knows this better than John Hartigan, the hero in author/illustrator Frank Miller's grim Sin City: That Yellow Bastard. Hartigan is determined to defy overwhelming odds to try to secure some little bit of justice, and so he defies despair as well.
Hartigan is a cop, not the only good person on the force but one of very few. More typical is his partner, the guy who shoots Hartigan three times in the back and leaves him at the mercy of a maniacal U.S. Senator who is going to have Hartigan tortured and falsely imprisoned for raping a child. This is what Hartigan gets for saving an 11-year-old girl from being abused to death by the Senator's son. Between his bad heart, the bullet wounds and what the Senator has planned for him, Hartigan thinks he is going to die.
"An old man dies, a little girl lives," Hartigan thinks to himself. "Fair trade."
Except that nothing is fair in Basin City, a shadowy metropolis in which Miller sets his gripping and acclaimed comic books and graphic novels. In Sin City: That Yellow Bastard, Hartigan endures eight nightmarish years and still must put himself through hell to save once again the child he thought he had saved for good the first time. When he fails, it is an atypical failure of Miller's storytelling.
The failures start when Hartigan is released from prison and sets out to find the young woman he rescued eight years earlier. Both he and she know that the accomplices of her original tormentor want to kill her and so she has hidden from them. One expects that finding her will challenge Hartigan and test his talents for investigating.
Instead: He looks her up in the phone book.
And: She's listed under her real name.
The eyes see this and the brain rebels. Miller is a visionary storyteller adept at wielding words and images with dazzling skill. He is not sloppy. But it is sloppy to have a woman in hiding list herself in the phone book.
Miller's mastery in all other respects earns him trust and so one reads on, hoping the bit about the phone book is some kind of clever trick. The nagging concern that it might not be takes the reader out of a narrative that had grabbed us and not let go, until now. One is never again caught up in it so completely.
And then the phone book bit turns out to be not clever but careless. It is disappointing.
That word applies to little of Miller's work but it applies also to the ending of That Yellow Bastard, which borrows badly from the conclusion of the first Sin City book, which has been re-titled as Sin City: The Hard Goodbye. We hear gunfire. Hartigan's words from eight years ago echo in his head. He does something irreversible to ensure the girl's safety from the maniacs who want her dead. Except that now she is in as much danger as ever and Hartigan has placed himself beyond being able to help her.
Miller led us to expect better of Hartigan, and better of his Sin City stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2018
Story Synopsis:
Book Info: This collection contains Sin City: That Yellow Bastard issues #1-6.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {2.5+/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
Book Info: This collection contains Sin City: That Yellow Bastard issues #1-6.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {2.5+/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
March 22, 2009
By this point in reading the series I was damn sick of seeing Nancy twirl herself around on stage in that damn cowgirl outfit. I always figured she was a big shit character and was hoping she'd have a hell of a back story. Well, here it is. This is my second favorite so far (first being "The Hard Goodbye". The story it's self is sad if a little unbelievable- the idea of an older guy with Angina going through all he did just to save a little girl is a little ridiculous in my opinion. But, it's more of the intense drama that makes this series what it is, watching the character struggle with his heart conditioning just to save Nancy is, well INTENSE. It was amazing how Miller dragged this character through it. It was also nice to finally get to know Nancy (like I said, I was pretty sick of seeing her twirling around) and she turned out blandly sweet, not a character I wouldn't mind seeing again but nothing to write home about either.
The romantic aspect of this story, at first it's a little creepy (he IS much older than her after all) but as I kept reading it I found myself rooting for them to get together if only for the night haha. That's also just me being a sucker for that "male protector" role commonly used in stories.
The use of color in this was amazing, the "yellow bastard" indeed. The character was already disgusting and pervy but the splash of color on an otherwise black and white page made him stand out more especially when combined with the fact that he smelled like garbage. Really drove home the point you know?
The romantic aspect of this story, at first it's a little creepy (he IS much older than her after all) but as I kept reading it I found myself rooting for them to get together if only for the night haha. That's also just me being a sucker for that "male protector" role commonly used in stories.
The use of color in this was amazing, the "yellow bastard" indeed. The character was already disgusting and pervy but the splash of color on an otherwise black and white page made him stand out more especially when combined with the fact that he smelled like garbage. Really drove home the point you know?
February 11, 2013
Out of all of Frank Miller's Sin City books this has to be the best or tied with The Hard Good Bye (vol.1). In some cop movies or works there are always an older cop like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon who are getting too old for their work, or are two days from retirement or something. [Spoiler alert] John Hartigan the protagonist (and our hero) is literally only a few hours from retirement, he is in his 60's (or near enough) and saves a little girl from a fate worse then death from a psychotic son of a senator. The senator is not corrupt per se, as he is root from which so much corruption stems from, and as revenge for his son he places all the blame on Hartigan and brands him among other things a pederast. Hartigan takes it all to save those he cares about, sitting quietly in jail for 8 years until he finds out that the girl he saved all those years ago is in trouble and he is the only one who knows and is willing to save her from the man after her, the titular yellow bastard. This leads to an interesting part of the artwork where in the normally all black and white comic we finally get a splash of color used to great effect when the bastard shows up in a crowd a bright yellow. Sin City has always been a great series, but Miller outdid himself with this one.
March 3, 2012
This is the first of the Sin City series I ever read. I actually have the original four issue comic. This is also one of the stories shown in the Sin City movie. For those who are familiar with Frank Miller's work, nothing in here will be surprise. Sin City is dark, twisted and bad people thrive as good people have to do bad things to survive. It is ironic that in a comic drawn in black and white (and in this case, some red and yellow) that everything that happens inside is every shade of grey imaginable, although the ones seen to be evil truly are.
Frank Miller is one of my favorite artists. His worlds are dark, sinister, colorful (how many people can get away with making blood white?) and his characters never quite what they seem.
That Yellow Bastard takes you into a world of politics and cops, privilege and duty and where these worlds collide. It is unsettling, ugly and vengeful, but that is Sin City in a nut shell.
I hope anyone who reads any of the Sin City series will understand, this is Frank Miller's world the way he imagined it. It's not pretty, but it is beautifully drawn, strikingly populated and never dull.
Frank Miller is one of my favorite artists. His worlds are dark, sinister, colorful (how many people can get away with making blood white?) and his characters never quite what they seem.
That Yellow Bastard takes you into a world of politics and cops, privilege and duty and where these worlds collide. It is unsettling, ugly and vengeful, but that is Sin City in a nut shell.
I hope anyone who reads any of the Sin City series will understand, this is Frank Miller's world the way he imagined it. It's not pretty, but it is beautifully drawn, strikingly populated and never dull.
December 24, 2013
4º Volume de Sin City, 4ª narrativa poderosa, 4º espaço de acção e aventura - Sin City.
Neste volume, mais uma vez não se dá tréguas e paz aos cidadãos de Sin City. Mais uma dose muito bem conseguida de desespero, vingança, violência e, claro, uma boa dose de amor que serve de mote para a narrativa. Só que agora com um ingrediente especial, sendo que a ideia de amor é multifacetada; ora amor-paixão; ora amor-fraterno.
Mas, não obstante, para que este amor tenha êxito só há uma solução, a habitual em Sin City: "Só há uma maneira de o vencer. Um velho morre para que uma rapariga viva. Uma troca justa." (in Sin City, pp. 209-211)
Continuo a dizer que é assim a vida em Sin City, que não se escolhe: ou se morre assassinado ou vive-se assassinando. Desta vez, deu-se a assassinar para se fazer viver. Esta é a cidade em que o amor à própria vida arrasta consigo o sabor do crime e da morte. Uma cidade em que as regras continuam a ser legitimadas no dia-a-dia, numa atitude de “no limits” quando não “fuck limits”. Tudo se resume a um jogo de sorte e rapidez. Tudo se resume ao amor que se sente: ou se morre por ele, ou se vive por ele.
Sin City é assim: tudo é contraditório.
Neste volume, mais uma vez não se dá tréguas e paz aos cidadãos de Sin City. Mais uma dose muito bem conseguida de desespero, vingança, violência e, claro, uma boa dose de amor que serve de mote para a narrativa. Só que agora com um ingrediente especial, sendo que a ideia de amor é multifacetada; ora amor-paixão; ora amor-fraterno.
Mas, não obstante, para que este amor tenha êxito só há uma solução, a habitual em Sin City: "Só há uma maneira de o vencer. Um velho morre para que uma rapariga viva. Uma troca justa." (in Sin City, pp. 209-211)
Continuo a dizer que é assim a vida em Sin City, que não se escolhe: ou se morre assassinado ou vive-se assassinando. Desta vez, deu-se a assassinar para se fazer viver. Esta é a cidade em que o amor à própria vida arrasta consigo o sabor do crime e da morte. Uma cidade em que as regras continuam a ser legitimadas no dia-a-dia, numa atitude de “no limits” quando não “fuck limits”. Tudo se resume a um jogo de sorte e rapidez. Tudo se resume ao amor que se sente: ou se morre por ele, ou se vive por ele.
Sin City é assim: tudo é contraditório.
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