Product Description

All five issues of the edgy, groundbreaking miniseries from writer/artist Paul Pope are collected in one stunning hardcover package. This "graphic movie" tells three separate but interconnected stories in Pope's trademark dynamic style, shifting viewpoints and characters across the urban maze of 2038 Manhattan. Filled with wit, charm, sex and menace, 100% brings a surprisingly true-feeling future to gritty life. The collection also includes a host of character sketches, designs, and other material from creator Pope.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #351126 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-21
• Released on: 2009-04-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Booklist
Set in a gritty near-future, 100% juggles three separate but interconnected stories that revolve around a downtown Manhattan nightclub catering to demimonde habitues including artists, erotic dancers (whose internal organs are projected onto viewscreens for the ultimate voyeuristic kick), prizefighters, barmaids, and busboys. The meandering story line isn't particularly plot-heavy, but Pope more than makes up for any narrative slackness by skillfully using the comics medium to convince, rather than simply tell, us about this slightly futuristic, highly recognizable world. In the end, 100% is like a William Gibson novel filmed by Wong Kar-wai to a punk-rock soundtrack. Pope's gray-toned drawings, aided by his expressive brushwork, are highly detailed but remarkably clear; visual complexity never gets in the way of impressive storytelling. Pope is one of the few American artists--if not the only one--to have drawn manga for Japanese publishers and show the strong influence of Eurocomics, too. His globalized approach and emphasis on style over substance, which mirrors trends in other media, perhaps point to the future of the comics medium. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
In a world where the public has taken the literal ,"It`s what`s inside that counts". Comic`s own Destoyer,Paul Pope, has taken us deep inside the bowels of the Catshack.A place where a skin show was just tapping the surface,the Gastro allows us to see what a girl is really made of.
A boxer,a vagabond,a hopeless romantic,are just a few of the characters that inhabit a not so far off story of the human condition.Sinous brushlines paint a beautiful Bladerunneresque tale worthy of the title,100%

Classic Pope!
For all of us who can't scour the comic shops for the originals, this hardcover collection is a boon - but with a few downsides.

'100%' is classic Paul Pope (in his more narrative style) along the lines of The 'One-Trick Rip-Off' or 'The Ballad Of Doctor Richardson'. This book is also a great example of Pope's unique and understated sci-fi (see THB) - this time the plot is totally character-driven and rather romantic (!)

This book only loses 1 star for the rather thin magazine-type paper its printed on (mine arrived creased!) - and the beautiful but unwieldy jacket. The hardcover itself is also an issue; Pope comics are (typically) printed right up to the edge of the page and the spine, which is fine in a stapled comic that can be spread open, but with a hardcover the inside frames and text bubbles disappear into the binding. If you're really into Pope, you should consider tracking down the 100% comics.

Note: The thumbnail here is not the cover that I recieved from Amazon.

100% A Must Read
Paul Pope's graphic novel "100%" takes place in a futuristic world where anything goes. Extremes have become the norm, and people are constantly pushing the envelope to get their next taste of satisfaction. But amidst all the superficiality comes longing. With so many different ways to find and give pleasure, Pope chronicles the lives of 3 couples as they struggle to find what's real, what's not real, and what's really worth fighting for.

While some of the artwork in "100%" can be considered graphic, Pope's illustrations are surprising clean--considering the subject matter. The drawing style itself is very dark, very gritty, setting the tone for the depravity of the world that Pope is trying to describe. What he cannot describe through the artwork he describes through the dialogue of his characters. While the dialogue can be a little unclear at times, Pope makes the most of his characters dialogue to narrate the world they're alternately trying to succeed in and escape from.

Even though "100%" covers only two weeks in the lives of its characters, the ending is fairly fulfilling. While it's bittersweet, the loose ends are minimal, and readers are left with a sense of hope. While it's not a graphic novel for everyone due to the subject matter and gritty art style, it is a book that most graphic novel fans will enjoy.