It is time, once again, to look at yet another yarn from the Sin City Universe, presented to us by Frank Miller. In this post, we will look at the fifth volume, ‘Family Values’, in the Sin City graphic novel series. As mentioned earlier, the entire series is a tribute to Film Noir, set in a magical Universe where characters from the 1930s film noir era inhabit a world of muscle cars and tall skyscrapers. ‘Family Values’ is certainly one of the best yarns in the series. It baffles me as to why Rodriguez did not adapt it into any of his movies. I will review the two Sin City movies in a later post.
Here is a link to all the volumes I have reviewed in the series. If you are new to the series, I would recommend that you read them in the sequence Miller wrote them. While the series can be read and enjoyed in any order, by doing so, the reader may miss out on some references to places and characters, or Easter eggs from earlier novels in the series. If one were to sequence the yarns, the fourth volume, “That Yellow Bastard”, would precede the rest. It would be followed by the first volume in the series, “The Hard Goodbye”, which is set eight years later. The second volume, “A Dame to Kill For”, would be next, but its events unfold somewhere in the middle of the events in the first book and then proceed almost concurrently with the events in the first. Yarns in volumes three, four, and five happen in sequence, immediately after the second volume, and all three of them feature Dwight as their protagonist. One of the greatest strengths of Sin City is that each of its characters is well-defined, with his or her own traits. ‘Family Values’ is among the smaller novels in the series but packs as much fun and intrigue as the rest.
Family Values
‘Family Values’ features Sin City’s most prominent ladies’ man and patsy, the courageous Dwight. Dwight, in this yarn, is on yet another quest for vengeance. He is the survivor, with more than his share of good fortune and regularly gets into seemingly deadly, hopeless situations. However, he always manages to break free, either with his good looks and his charms, his strong body constitution, or quick reflexes. Further, he is often saved from peril by his few loyal friends.
Among his loyal friends are the beautiful Amazonian prostitutes of Old Town, some of whom are armed and trained for combat. In the second volume in the series, these women save Dwight from the clutches of death and give him a new set of good looks, different from the ones he was born with. They also help him get retribution on the person who caused him his unfortunate predicament.
In the third novel, Dwight unwittingly puts these women in danger but helps them protect their own turf from a ruthless villain who seeks to take entire control of Old Town. However, still grateful to the heroic women, Dwight does not consider his debt completely paid off.
In this installment, Dwight finds himself in one of the several unsavory parts of Sin City, accompanied by Miho, a tiny but deadly Asian assassin from Old Town. This time, he is playing detective, unraveling the mystery behind a gangland-type hit that occurred the previous night.
Miho is one of the most dangerous women in Sin City, whose weapon of choice is a Samurai Katana. Quick-tempered and impulsive, she has a penchant for killing anyone who has harmed her or any of her peers in Old Town. Dwight must do all he can to stop Miho before she inflicts death on the wrong person, presenting another significant challenge for him.
‘Family Values’ has its fair share of violence, along with Miller’s eloquent prose, like most of Sin City’s other tales. However, Miller injects much more humor and twists into this one.
Dwight, who is usually seen in a muscle car, has no choice but to complete his endeavor in a Volkswagen Beetle that has clearly seen better days. His interaction with a Sin City cop upon arrival in that part of town is unexpected and delightfully humorous.
A long-time resident of Sin City, Dwight knows where to begin his investigation. After surveying the scene of the crime, he goes to a nearby bar where almost all of its patrons hold their tongues in fear of consequences. However, Dwight uses his instincts to find the one person in the bar who can give him all the information he needs. Reminiscent of most film noir, “Family Values” begins as an investigation of a gangland hit and has several unfolding dimensions, finally ending with a superb, violent climax.
The yarn packs all the cynicism, violence, and characters that characterize film noir. The investigation of the crime is Miller’s tribute to the gumshoe detectives seen in several noir movies. The drive-by hit is a nod to the classic gangster movies from the pre-code era. However, the climax of the book has a message for our contemporary times.
Besides Dwight and Miho, Shlubb and Kump, two of Sin City’s most intriguing lowlives, also make a reappearance in this tale. “Family Values” is much more than a good read. It is a riveting visual experience with stunning artwork and superb, sharp-witted, humorous writing from a master storyteller.
Bay Area Bloke 