Sin City

This article is about the series of comics by Frank Miller. For the film, see Sin City (film). For other uses, see Sin City (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with SimCity.

Sin City
File:Sin City Hard Goodbye.jpg Cover of The Hard Goodbye showing Marv walking through the rain
First appearance	Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special (1991)
Created by	Frank Miller
Publication information
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Title(s) Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special Dark Horse Presents #51–62 The Big Fat Kill #1–5 A Dame to Kill For #1–6 Family Values Hell and Back (A Sin City Love Story) #1–9 That Yellow Bastard #1–6
Formats	Original material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) Dark Horse Presents and a set of limited series, graphic novels, and one-shot comics.
Genre	Crime
Publication date	April 1991 – 2000
Main character(s)	Marv John Hartigan Gail Dwight McCarthy Nancy Callahan The Roark Family Wallace Miho
Creative team
Writer(s)	Frank Miller
Artist(s)	Frank Miller
Reprints
Collected editions
The Hard Goodbye	ISBN 1-59307-293-7
A Dame to Kill For	ISBN 1593072945
The Big Fat Kill	ISBN 1593072953
That Yellow Bastard	ISBN 1593072961
Family Values	ISBN 159307297X
Booze, Broads & Bullets	ISBN 1593072996
Hell and Back	ISBN 1593072988

Sin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" (April, 1991), and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 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. A sequel was confirmed by Miller in 2011. Miller has stated that the film will be based primarily on Miller's original story A Dame to Kill For, and two new stories. However it will be an open storyline so that characters that appeared in the previous film could return.

Setting

Main article: Basin City

Characters

Main article: List of Sin City characters

Individuals

• Marv
• Dwight McCarthy
• Nancy Callahan
• Gail
• Miho
• John Hartigan
• Wallace

Organizations

Because a large majority of the residents of Basin City are criminals, there are several organizations 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 does 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; 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, an attorney general, and Roark Junior, 'That Yellow Bastard'.

The Girls of Old Town

Populating the region of Basin City known as Old Town is 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.

Wallenquist Organization

A powerful crime syndicate led by Herr Wallenquist, a mysterious crime lord 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. While 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 A Dame To Kill For. 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 A Dame To Kill For. 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 I.R.A. members, as implied by one of the mercenaries referring to his glee at blowing up a public house (British pubs were targeted by the I.R.A.). All are killed by Dwight and Miho.

Sin City yarns

Main article: List of 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.

Collected editions

The stories have been collected into trade paperbacks and hardcover "Library Editions". The hardcovers include two releases, which include Volume 1 (Books 1-4) and 2 (Books 5-7 and "The Art of").

TPB

Name	Contents	ISBN
The Hard Goodbye	Episodes #1–13 of 13 from Dark Horse 5th Anniversary Special and Dark Horse Presents issues #51-62	ISBN 1-59307-293-7
A Dame to Kill For	Issues #1–6 of 6	ISBN 1-59307-294-5
The Big Fat Kill	Issues #1–5 of 5	ISBN 1-59307-295-3
That Yellow Bastard	Issues #1–6 of 6	ISBN 1-59307-296-1
Family Values	128-page original graphic novel	ISBN 1-59307-297-X
Booze, Broads, & Bullets	A number of one-shots	ISBN 1-59307-298-8
Hell and Back	Issues #1–9 of 9	ISBN 1-59307-299-6

There is also a collection of art, The Art of Sin City.

Chronology

While The Hard Goodbye was the first story written, the first section of That Yellow Bastard is the first story chronologically. 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 at least twelve years before the events of The Hard Goodbye. After being gunned down by his partner, Bob, Hartigan is framed as a child molester and charged with raping Nancy Callahan. He is placed into solitary confinement for eight years. Liebowitz beats Hartigan, trying to gain a confession. Mort is seen briefly in the hospital, where he tries to convince Hartigan to defend himself.
• Ava leaves Dwight and marries Damien Lord some time during this, referred to in A Dame To Kill For.
• Hartigan is put on parole, meeting up with Mort. finds the nineteen-year-old Nancy Callahan when he is out on parole. It is also 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.
• About a year later, Dwight secretly saves Miho from Tong gangsters; revealing this saves him during A Dame to Kill For.
• Three years later, 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 (A.K.A. Blue Eyes) is inducted into the service 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. Manute is also briefly seen interacting with the Colonel, sporting a neck-brace.
• One night, possibly the same one as Blue Eyes, Marv meets Goldie at Kadie's. The Hard Goodbye begins with Marv waking and finding Goldie dead.
• In the beginning of Marv’s rampage, he goes to “Kadie’s” to try to 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 location following the murder of Damien Lord. She tells them all that briefed her on in Blue Eyes and sends them on their way.
• 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 currently on death row, framed for the deaths of Goldie and several others from The Hard Goodbye.
• Fat Man and Little Boy occurs, if we assumeTemplate:Or the witness they failed to silence is Mary, and that the two are concurrent.
• 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 as those "pansies" (as he insults them) didn't have enough juice on the first go.
• Wrong Turn occurs and Delia kills the wrong target. Delia, the Colonel and Gordo dispose of the dead men. 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).
• The Big Fat Kill occurs. On a hot summer night, shortly before a major thunderstorm, Miho slaughters Jackie Boy and his friends. Dwight, in an attempt to prevent a mob war, tries to dispose of Jackie Boy. The Old Town girl known as Becky betrays them to the mob (Wallenquist, represented through Manute) 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. 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 shoot-out. 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 in winter after The Big Fat Kill, 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, 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 honoring his sacrifice.
• Wrong Turn and Wrong Track occur immediately after each other, because Delia is still after the same target.

The short stories Rats, The Customer is Always Right and Daddy's Little Girl 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. Silent Night takes place sometime before The Hard Goodbye during the winter, as Marv is still quite alive and seen lumbering through one of Basin City's rare snow-storms. Robert Rodriguez stated that The Customer is Always Right occurs in between "That Yellow Bastard" and "The Hard Goodbye" on the Sin City: Recut and Extended DVD Edition.

Hell and Back does not fit into any particular time period. Manute is seen, alive with his false eye, suggesting that the events take place between A Dame to Kill For and The Big Fat Kill however, it is established that Hell and Back takes place over several cool nights in September; The Big Fat Kill took place on a hot summer night during a thunderstorm.

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 Eisner Awards.

• 1993:
  • The Hard Goodbye won the "Best Graphic Album: Reprint (Modern Material)" Eisner Award
  • Frank Miller won the "Best Penciller/Inker, Black & White Publication" Eisner Award, for The Hard Goodbye
  • Frank Miller won the "Best Writer/Artist" Eisner Award, for The Hard Goodbye

• 1995:
  • A Dame to Kill For won "Best Limited Series" Eisner Award
  • "The Babe Wore Red," won "Best Short Story" Eisner Award

• 1996:
  • The Big Fat Kill won the "Best Limited Series" Eisner Award
  • Sin City won the "Best Continuing or Limited Series" Harvey Award

• 1998:
  • That Yellow Bastard won the "Best Graphic Album-Reprint" Eisner Award
  • Family Values won the "Best Graphic Album of Original Work" Harvey Award

• 2008:
  • Sin City won the "Best Black & White Title" Project Fanboy Award

Style

File:Hard Goodbye.png

An example of Frank Miller's use of high contrasts in Sin City

Sin City is famous for its artwork, which draws heavily from film noir, including its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. Black and white are the sole colors most of the time with exception of red, yellow, blue, and pink in some stories. Partial color usage is designed to draw attention to a certain character in the story.

The writing style also draws heavily on detective and crime pulp fiction. Strange metaphors and similes are often used. This gives the narration a very "pulpy" feel.

Miller's Sin City work challenges some conventions of comic book form. The letters of onomatopoeic words like "blam" are often incorporated into scenes via lighting effects, or are suggested by the negative space between panels, or are created by the outline of the panels themselves. This is especially evident in early "yarns," such as The Hard Goodbye, although later instalments of the series became less experimental.

See also

• Sin City (film)

External links

• Sin City at Dark Horse Comics
• Sin City Introduction - Fan site containing detailed information about characters and locations
• Sin City Timeline
• Frank Miller: The Complete Works, The most comprehensive listing of all of Frank Miller's works. Includes very detailed information on each book as well as a discussion forum.
• Sin City Effect Tutorial Achieve the "Sin City Look" in your videos with Sony Vegas (Video Tutorial).