Sin City

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For the 2005 movie, see Sin City (film). For other uses, see Sin City (disambiguation)
Cover of Sin City shows Marv walking through the rain.
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Cover of Sin City shows Marv walking through the rain.

Sin City is the title for a series of stories by Frank Miller, told in comic book form in a film noir-like style. The first story originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents comic book from April of 1991 to June of 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several other stories of variable lengths have followed. All stories take place in Basin City, with frequent recurring characters and intertwining stories.

A movie adaptation of Sin City, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller with "special guest director" Quentin Tarantino, was released on April 1, 2005. The Sin City graphic novels were reprinted with new covers and in a reduced size to coincide with the motion picture's theatrical release. Rodriguez has expressed a desire to begin filming two sequels back-to-back starting late 2006/early 2007 for release sometime in 2007 and 2008 [citation needed].

Contents

[edit] Setting

Basin City, almost universally referred to by the nickname Sin City, is a fictional town in the American Northwest, located somewhere 40 minutes outside of Seattle, Washington. It hardly ever rains, and if it rains it is usually warm droplets of moisture "that dissolve before it hits the ground". Usually twice a year, a major downpour comes. The Basin City Police are more or less along the lines of paramilitary or SWAT, as they have to deal with incredibly high crime rates and high gun ownership among criminals and civilians alike, which is why they have access to what most would consider "heavy weaponry" and full body armour. Those who make up the force have been described as commonly being lazy, cowardly and/or corrupt. Only a handful of the cops are honest, though frequently the wealthy of the city bribe the corrupt members of the police into performing their duty (usually as a result of some crime being committed against a member of their family).

During the California Gold Rush, the Roark family "imported" a large number of attractive women to keep the miners happy, making a fortune and turning a struggling mining camp into a thriving, bustling city. Over the years, as the Roark family migrated into other areas of business and power, these women ended up forming the district of Old Town, the prostitute quarter of the city where they rule with absolute authority. In addition, the people charged with governing the city, most of them from the Roark line, remained in power for generations, running it as they saw fit.

As the various yarns progress, the audience gradually becomes familiar with key locations in and around Basin City.

  • The Projects, the run-down and poor side of Sin City, is a tangle of high-rise apartments where crime runs rampant. Its inhabitants have apparently evolved their own independent society with almost no legal contact with the outside world. Marv was born in the Projects and they make Dwight sick.
  • The Docks, a collection of wharfs and warehouses that are local to the Projects. Hartigan and Roark Junior have their first confrontation here in That Yellow Bastard, and Marv drives a stolen police car off one of the piers at the beginning of The Hard Goodbye.
  • Kadie's Club Pecos, a strip club/bar where Nancy Callahan and Shellie work, and Dwight McCarthy and Marv hang out. Though filled almost solely with drunk and violent men, Kadie's bar is one of the safest areas in Sin City. Marv, who possesses an extraordinarily high sense of chivalry, protects the female employees of Kadie's from any violence that makes its way inside.
  • Roark Family Farm (a.k.a. "The Farm") is located at North Cross and Lennox and shows up in several stories, including The Hard Goodbye, That Yellow Bastard, The Babe Wore Red and Hell and Back. It was also home to Kevin, a serial killer with ties to the Roark family. Marv burns down one of the buildings, and the Farm is abandoned sometime after the initial Sin City storyline.
  • Old Town is the red-light district and is off limits to the police, unless they're 'shopping'. This is where the city's population of prostitutes reside; it recently came under the control of the twins Goldie and Wendy. Though perfectly willing to engage in almost any sexual act for the right price, the women of Old Town show no mercy to those who "break the rules" and back up their independence with lethal force.
  • Sacred Oaks, home to the rich and powerful of Basin City. This suburb lies outside the city proper, a half an hour drive uphill. A university of some sort is also located there, and the entire area is patrolled by armed employees of its wealthy inhabitants.
  • Basin City Central Train Station, which has a direct connection to Phoenix.
  • The Santa Yolanda Tar Pits, an abandoned amusement park of sorts outside the city, where several tar pits are located and dinosaur bones were excavated at some time. After a 'big-budget dinosaur movie' (probably a reference to Jurassic Park) caused a sensation, the county put up concrete statues of dinosaurs there to draw crowds. However, after an old lady fell through a railing into one of the pits and had a heart attack, the place was shut down indefinitely. They are frequently used as a place to dump things that people don't want found; high-schoolers also tend to sneak in there a lot. This is where Delia tells Phil to drive in Wrong Turn and where Dwight takes the corpses of Jackie Boy and his friends in The Big Fat Kill. Frank Miller has admitted the main reason the Tar Pits exist are as an excuse to draw the dinosaur statues.

[edit] Characters

See main article: List of characters from Sin City.

[edit] Organizations

Because a large majority of the residents of Basin City are criminals, there are several organisations and cartels central to the stories who are vying for monopoly over the various criminal enterprises in the city. Listed below are crime syndicates, gangs and other low-lifes who figure heavily in the Sin City mythos.

  • The Basin City Police Department - So deep do corruption and criminality run in Basin City that even their police officers qualify as a gang of paid thugs, turning a blind eye to the affairs of those too poor to pay them off. Few among them are considered incorruptible, though even the honest officers are unable (or unwilling) to curtail the criminal actions of the dishonest ones. Notable characters in the series who are police include Detective John Hartigan, his partner Bob, Lieutenants Jack Rafferty and Mort, Commissioner Liebowitz, and Officers Manson and Bundy from Hell and Back.
  • The Roark Family - A dynasty of corrupt landowners and politicians whose influence over Basin City has stretched as far back as the days of the Old West. Famous Roarks of this generation include a Senator, a Cardinal, a state District Attorney, and Junior, 'That Yellow Bastard'.
  • The Girls of Old Town - Populating the region of Basin City known as Old Town are a group of women in the world's oldest profession, having made a truce with the cops to allow them to govern and police themselves. As of A Dame To Kill For, they were led by the twins, Goldie and Wendy.
  • The Wallenquist Organization - A powerful crime syndicate led by Herr Wallenquist, a mysterious crimelord with a broad range of criminal enterprises to his name. Interestingly, though one of the city's two "normal" criminal organizations, the Wallenquist management seems to be the most peaceful and forgiving of the various leaders.
  • The Magliozzi Crime Family - The undisputed heads of the local Cosa Nostra, the Magliozzi family seems to be the purest example of "true" Mafia lifestyle. Whilst they appear in only one story, it is hinted that the Mafia influence in Basin City's underworld is a lot larger than just their family.

Other groups that have been seen or mentioned in the comics include:-

  • Tong gangsters - Mentioned but not seen as of Hell and Back. Miho's life was saved by Dwight when he secretly protected her during a fight with several Tong gangsters in a dark alleyway.
  • White slavers - Mentioned but not seen as of Hell and Back. Led by a man named Manuel, whose brothers were also involved. Were taken care of by Dwight prior to the events of A Dame To Kill For.
  • Irish mercenaries - Seen during The Big Fat Kill, most of them are evidently former IRA terrorists, as evidenced by one of the mercenaries referencing his glee at blowing up a pub (British pubs were often targeted by the IRA). All are killed by Dwight and Miho.

[edit] Sin City yarns

These are the individual stories, usually referred to as "yarns", set in Frank Miller's Sin City universe. For more info see List of Sin City yarns.

[edit] Compilations

Name Contents
The Hard Goodbye Episodes #1-13 of 13 from Dark Horse Presents issues #51-62 and 5th Anniversary Special
A Dame to Kill For Issues #1-6 of 6
The Big Fat Kill Issues #1-5 of 5
That Yellow Bastard Issues #1-6 of 6
Family Values The 128-Page Graphic Novel
Booze, Broads, & Bullets All the various oneshots collected as a single trade paperback
Hell and Back (a Sin City Love Story) Issues #1-9 of 9

[edit] Chronology

While it was the first story written, The Hard Goodbye was not the first story chronologically, with the first section of That Yellow Bastard as the first. The Dwight-related stories fall in between these, with the short stories fleshing out the time between the main stories. Here is a rough chronology of the "Yarns":

  • The first section of That Yellow Bastard, wherein Detective John Hartigan rescues Nancy Callahan from Roark Jr., resulting in Hartigan and Junior winding up in the hospital, occurs about 8 years before the events of The Hard Goodbye. Hartigan is framed as a pedophile and charged with raping Nancy Callahan. He is placed into solitary confinement for eight years.
  • Ava leaves Dwight and marries Damien Lord. Weeks later, Hartigan finds the 19-year-old Nancy Callahan when he is out on parole. It is on this night that Dwight goes home with Shellie, and sleeps with her (he is seen whining to Shellie when Hartigan enters ‘Kadie’s’). Marv witnesses the reunion of Nancy and Hartigan, as shown in the beginning of Just Another Saturday Night. The remaining events of That Yellow Bastard play out within the next few hours or so.
  • Three years before A Dame to Kill For, Dwight secretly saves Miho from Tong gangsters; the revelation of this years later is a key factor in getting Old Town on his side after Ava nearly kills him.
  • Almost four years after the events of That Yellow Bastard, the twins, Goldie and Wendy, take over Old Town. A few weeks later, Ava Lord contacts Dwight and asks to meet him. Ava mentions that it has been about four years since they last saw each other and Dwight agrees. Manute interrupts their meeting. Fearing for her safety, Dwight goes to ‘Kadie’s’ and recruits the help of Marv. Shellie lectures Dwight at having not seen nor heard from him in six months.
  • Marv and Dwight attack the home of Damien and Ava Lord. Marv fights Manute, and Manute loses his eye in the process. After Damien is killed, Dwight is taken to Old Town by Marv, badly wounded. Dwight begins to be rehabilitated at this point. Gail, Dwight, Miho and Shellie develop a plan to get revenge on Ava Lord. Gail and the others tell Shellie that Dwight is still alive, and brief her on what she should tell the cops. On this same night, Delia (aka Blue Eyes)is inducted into the services of Wallenquist, placing her in league with the Colonel. Marv is at the bar when Delia sweeps off with her prey, happily resuming his nocturnal drinking habits.
  • One night, possibly the same one as Blue Eyes, Marv meets Goldie at Kadie's. The Hard Goodbye begins with Marv waking up and finding Goldie’s lifeless body.
  • In the beginning of Marv’s rampage, he goes to “Kadie’s” to try and draw attention to himself. On the same night, Mort and Bob arrive at 'Kadie’s' (mere seconds after Marv’s arrival) and interview Shellie about Dwight's whereabouts following the murder of Damien Lord. She tells them everything Gail briefed her on in Blue Eyes and sends them on their way. Manute is also briefly seen interacting with the Colonel, sporting a neck brace.
  • A few days into Marv’s rampage, Bob (Hartigan's former partner in That Yellow Bastard) is shot dead by his partner Mort, who takes his own life (A Dame to Kill For).
  • Less than three months later, Ava and Wallenquist unite their criminal empires. Dwight McCarthy (with a new face), Miho, and Gail raid Ava Lord’s estate, with Manute being gravely injured by both Miho and Dwight. Dwight kills Ava.
  • The Babe Wore Red occurs, and in the story Dwight states that Marv is on death row.
  • Eighteen months after the beginning of The Hard Goodbye, Wendy visits Marv on death row. A day later, he is executed by electric chair, dying on the second attempt.
  • Wrong Turn occurs and Delia kills the wrong target. Delia, the Colonel and Gordo dispose of the bodies. Wrong Turn features the first mention of Mariah, who makes her first appearance in Hell and Back.
  • Wrong Track occurs shortly after Wrong Turn, as Delia tries to kill the real target (on his way back from a delivery).
  • Following this, Hell and Back occurs. Wallace saves Esther’s life, but she is captured by the Colonel’s men. During Wallace’s search, he comes in contact with Manute and Delia. Manute, now an enforcer for Wallenquist, helps Delia to manipulate Wallace. Wallace kills Delia and Gordo in this story. Commissioner Liebowitz kills the Colonel. Mariah (leopard skin chick) is inducted into the services of Wallenquist. Wallace and Esther leave Sin City.
  • The Big Fat Kill occurs. Miho slaughters Jackie Boy and his friends. Dwight, in an attempt to prevent a mob war, tries to dispose of Jackie Boy’s body. The young Old Town girl known as Becky betrays them -- sells them out to the mob (Wallenquist) in an attempt to make money and get out of the prostitution game. Manute, embittered by the death of Ava Lord, captures Gail and encourages a trade: Jackie Boy’s head for Gail’s life. Dwight and Miho arrange the trade, but the Old Town girls kill Becky and all of the other mob men. Manute is finally killed during a shootout. Wendy is also notably absent from this story, implying she was either still in hiding or otherwise preoccupied at the time, forcing Gail to take command of the girls.
  • Family Values takes place not long after, indicated by Dwight making reference to Miho’s previous killing of a cop (“The Big Fat Kill”), as well as his acknowledgement of Fat Man and Little Boy, who he says he shot in the legs last time he saw them (The Babe Wore Red).
  • Behind Door Number Three... occurs at some point after Marv's capture by the authorities, most likely after he was visited in prison by Wendy on the night of his execution; this is suggested by the fact she is seen wearing either Marv's crucifix necklace or one very similar, perhaps as a gift from him or as a way of honouring his sacrifice.

It was previously assumed that Wrong Turn and Hell and Back could not be placed within the continuity. Wrong Turn and Wrong Track occur immediately after one another, because Delia is still after the same target. Hell and Back occurs after A Dame to Kill For but before The Big Fat Kill, because Manute is sporting a fake eye (gold in the film) and is still very much alive.

The short stories Rats, The Customer is Always Right, Daddy's Little Girl,and Silent Night are the hardest to place in the chronology, as some of them do not contain any of the series' regular characters, are not connected to the other stories, or do not give an idea of when the stories occur. We can assume that Silent Night is before The Hard Goodbye during the winter, as Marv is still quite alive and seen lumbering through one of Basin City's rare snowstorms. We can also assume that The Customer is Always Right occurs in between "That Yellow Bastard" and "The Hard Goodbye", as Robert Rodriguez himself stated this on the Sin City: Recut and Extended DVD Edition. There is also some debate as to whether or not the old man's killer in Rats is a young Wallenquist. While never explicitly stated whether they are one and the same, both characters are balding, tall, fat, and wear identical glasses. There is also speculation that the character may be the sniper from Hell and Back.

[edit] Awards

Sin City: The Big Fat Kill won the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Limited Series for 1996. Sin City: Family Values won the 1997 Harvey and Eisner Awards.

[edit] Drawing Style

Sin City is famous for its artwork, which draws heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds.

[edit] Trivia

Harbinger #8 by Valiant Comics featuring Marv
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Harbinger #8 by Valiant Comics featuring Marv
  • Marv appears on the cover of Harbinger #8 (part of the UNITY crossover). Miller drew the cover to this issue.
  • Several of the Sin City comic books were produced by Miller under the Legend imprint, as were other creator-owned works by artists and writers such as Mike Mignola and John Byrne.
  • In the book A Dame To Kill For, a poster on Agamemnon's wall shows Elektra of Marvel's Daredevil, probably as an homage to when Frank Miller wrote and illustrated Daredevil in the '80s, as well as creating Elektra.
  • The first Sin City comic (now titled The Hard Goodbye) was supposed to be only 48 pages, but Miller says that it was "...all Marv's fault," and that he ran away with it.
  • The way Miller draws Wallace is extremely similar to the way he drew The Atom when he was being kept in a petri dish during the opening of Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Another parallel is how Miller drew Lex Luthor in DKSA similar to how he draws Liebowitz.
  • Frank Miller apparently enjoys Hellboy, as several comics include references to it. The most obvious reference is when Wallace hallucinates that his commander is Hellboy after being drugged during Hell and Back. Another two references appear in A Dame to Kill For, where a tourist wears a Hellboy shirt, and one of the Old Town prostitutes has Hellboy on her purse.
  • Frank Miller revealed in an interview that he created the Sin City story That Yellow Bastard out of his dislike of the Dirty Harry film The Dead Pool. Miller said: When I went to see the last Dirty Harry movie, The Dead Pool, I was disgusted. I went out and said, "this is not a Dirty Harry movie, this is nothing, this is a pale sequel." But I walked out and said, "that's not the last Dirty Harry story, I will show you the last Dirty Harry story." [1] Bruce Willis played Hartigan, the "Dirty Harry" of the story, when That Yellow Bastard was included in the film version of Sin City released in 2005. Another character in That Yellow Bastard is Nancy, who had no surname in the previous four books, but in That Yellow Bastard she is given the surname "Callahan", which is Dirty Harry's own last name.

[edit] See also

Characters

Other

[edit] External links

Sin City
Yarns The Hard Goodbye | A Dame to Kill For | The Babe Wore Red and Other Stories | Silent Night | The Big Fat Kill | That Yellow Bastard | Daddy's Little Girl | Lost, Lonely, & Lethal | Sex & Violence | Just Another Saturday Night | Family Values | Hell and Back (a Sin City Love Story) | Booze, Broads, & Bullets
Films Sin City | Sin City 2 (in production) | Sin City 3: Hell and Back (in production)
Characters Marv | Jack Rafferty | Nancy Callahan | John Hartigan | Dwight McCarthy | Wallace | Miho | Kevin | Cardinal Roark | Ava Lord | Junior/That Yellow Bastard | Senator Roark | List of characters from Sin City
People Frank Miller | Robert Rodriguez
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