Stray Bullets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stray Bullets | |
 Cover to Stray Bullets #1 (1995). Art by David Lapham. |
|
| Publisher | El Capitan Books |
|---|---|
| Schedule | irregular |
| Format | black and white ongoing |
| Publication date | August 1995 - October 2005 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | David Lapham |
| Artist(s) | David Lapham |
| Creator(s) | David Lapham |
Stray Bullets is an American independent comic book published in black and white (with color covers) by El Capitan Books. It is written and drawn by David Lapham.
It deals with the often criminal and sometimes tragic misadventures of a large cast of characters and takes place from the mid 1970s through to the mid 1990s.
The first issue was published in 1995 and the series continues to be published on an irregular schedule.
In a 2007 interview with Michael Lorah for the News-A-Rama website, Lapham revealed that the series, including the final issue of the most recent story arc, is on hold indefinitely:
"NRAMA : I’ve got to ask, what is the status of El Capitan and Stray Bullets?
DAVID LAPHAM : It kills me to put Stray Bullets on hold like it’s been. Maria and I both put a lot of years and a lot of hard work into the company and the book. And I still have one issue left in the current arc, left dangling. But the reality the last few years has been that it’s faster and pays more to work freelance right now. The reality is I have a family and I can’t just say stop everything and let’s do Stray Bullets for love. I do love Bullets and know I will complete it, and the sooner the better, but I just can’t commit to anything firm."
[edit] Collections
There have been an assortment of editions reprinting the original comic books.
The first three storyarcs in the series were originally collected in large-size hardcovers which were published in a format similar to European comic book collections. Beginning in 2005, the first two of these same storyarcs were published in traditional American comic book size softcover edition:
- Innocence of Nihilism, collecting Stray Bullets #1-7 (Hardcover: ISBN 0-9653280-2-3; Softcover: ISBN 0-9727145-6-1).
- Somewhere Out West, collecting #8-14 (Hardcover: ISBN 0-9653280-5-8; Softcover: ISBN 0-9727145-7-X).
- Other People, collecting #15-21 (Hardcover: ISBN 0-9653280-9-0; Softcover: ISBN 0-9727145-8-8).
A fourth arc:
- Dark Days, collecting #21-28; (Hardcover: ISBN 0-9727145-5-3; Softcover: ISBN 0-9727145-9-6).
was solicited in hardcover and softcover but has yet to appear in either.
The first 32 issues of the comic book have also been collected in eight softcovers, each of which reprints the contents of four individual issues:
- Stray Bullets Volume 1, reprinting #1-4 (ISBN 0-9653280-3-1).
- Stray Bullets Volume 2, reprinting #5-8 (ISBN 0-9653280-4-X).
- Stray Bullets Volume 3, reprinting #9-12 (ISBN 0-9653280-6-6).
- Stray Bullets Volume 4, reprinting #13-16 (ISBN 0-9653280-7-4).
- Stray Bullets Volume 5, reprinting #17-20 (ISBN 0-9653280-8-2).
- Stray Bullets Volume 6, reprinting #21-24 (ISBN 0-9727145-0-2).
- Stray Bullets Volume 7, reprinting #25-28 (ISBN 0-9727145-2-9).
- Stray Bullets Volume 8, reprinting #29-32 (ISBN 0-9727145-4-5).
There is also been a "Amy Racecar" softcover collection, that collects the Amy Racecar issues from the series as well as the 2 Amy Racecar color specials.
- Amy Racecar Volume 1 (ISBN 0-9727145-1-0)
[edit] Awards
The series has been nominated for numerous awards. The trade paperback collection Stray Bullets: Innocence of Nihilism won the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: Reprint for 1997 and was a top votegetter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Reprint Graphic Novel/Album for the same year.
