Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

One of the most overwhelming features of the Sin City series is that of family. In a neo-noir world in which you would expect a dystopian vision to be lurking on every black and white panel drawn and scripted by Frank Miller, the surprising comfort afforded to the reader is that of the tight unit in which many of the characters are drawn into.

It might not be the traditional family unit in to which many find themselves in but it nevertheless is a family and the fifth of the Sin City series of graphic novel collections looks more into the thought that the family we choose for ourselves can be at times more loving, considerate and compassionate that the one we are born into.

Sin City: Family Values is also the most unique of all the series for it was released as a stand-alone Graphic Novel in its own right. It is the equivalent of having watched a great series of television drama to then find a two hour film being released or a series of singles by a band then coming across the greatest concept album of all time. Family Values might be shorter in terms of pages and artwork for the reader in which to re-immerse themselves into the world of Dwight McCarthy and the prostitutes of the Old Town part of Basin City but it doesn’t suffer any loss of structure or narrative for it.

One family pitted against another, it is a story that is older than that of the art of story-telling and in many ways has found itself fortunate not to have become too much of a cliché. What makes Family Values seem fresh and invigorating on every page is that one of the families concerned is those of the women who are able to stand up against the might of Sin City’s police force, the authorities and who aren’t going to let a Mob hit gone wrong get in the way of retribution and a brand of justice. Family values of a different type but one in which the reader, through the actions and thoughts of the trusted Dwight McCarthy will readily identify with. The sense of honour that as a society seems to have been turned upside down since the Second World War is marked throughout the story. The patriarchal hierarchy in which the Mob conceive of being one that is right and true but which is ultimately flawed through their actions and prejudice compared to the matriarchal to one that might be considered immoral but who reserve the right to cleanse the situation in a way that borders on chivalrous, certainly loyal and well ordered.

Family Values could be seen as Frank Miller’s way of showing that when it comes to the battle of the sexes, behind the suits and the untold wealth that some men sit upon as if they are guarding a favoured child, cannot compete with the revenge that a woman will seek when a loved one is hurt, maimed or even killed; even if it is caused by accidental timing.

Whilst not the absolute highlight of the Sin City set of graphic novels, Family Values is perhaps the most necessary of all. It is a story that cuts a clear distinction between a corrupt almost toxic family unit and that of one will at least take care of you should you allow them too. A cracking addition to the set.

Sin City: Family Values is available from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall