Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Twenty years since the events that unfolded in the second book by the esteemed Frank Miller, one of the finest set of graphic novels is being tuned into an arguably must-see film for its fans.

Despite the prestige of the novel being tuned into a film, Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For is much more than the chance to relish into the grimy neo-noir world of Basin City and the chance to see Robert Rodriguez add extra class to an already seminal story, the focus should be on just how good, how superior the idea was to almost anything since the mind bursting days of Film Noir and the rise of the Detective novel.

The second instalment of Frank Miller’s journey into the underworld that exists in many cities and town that hug the bowels and sewers in the world sees the arresting and prominent artistry, both verbally and eye-catching, stride alongside the narrative which continues at such a pace to be both enthralling and riveting, a kaleidoscope of imaginative colour in a monochrome world. The shadows run long in Sin City, the depth of depravity and evil perhaps never truly understood and for all of the good and all of the malevolence, the big patch of grey that stands between them all is perhaps Frank Miller’s greatest observation on humanity. The nightmare situation that Dwight McCarthy finds himself in as he allows an old flame back into his life, the psychopathic Ava brings nothing but trouble but also allows the reader to see the fine line between what is acceptable and what isn’t and the big mess in between as actions and what they represent become blurred, obscured and dangerously close to ripping apart the fabric of society.

This representation maybe what makes Neo Noir so utterly compelling. Like the Film Noir era which pre-emptied World War Two, the times we live in give rise to the baser, perhaps more indiscreet actions of our nature. We become slaves to the emotions and are easily taken in than when times are apparently good. Neo Noir, especially in the world of Frank Miller more than touches upon this, it gives credence to the Femme Fatal as being even deadlier than any male.

For all the insanity and hunger that characters such as Marv and Manute bring to the story, they are driven by one action, wanting to please. In Ava and to an extent the women who run the Prostitute part of Old Town and indeed perhaps Roark Junior who can be seen as having the same desires of killing people for pleasure, especially as he is left impotent and disfigured after being shot by Hartigan and ridiculed by Nancy, the men are nothing but pawns in the world of those inhabiting Old Town and the criminal genius that resides in Ava.

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For is a book of clarity, of impending moral shifting boundaries in which the reader is constantly finding their connections to the characters changing as easy as turning a page in a book. Complex in its morality and a cracking read, it is no wonder it is finally being turned into a film.

 Sin City: A Dame To Kill For is available from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall