This may be the perfect showcase for Brian Azzarello. If you felt lost by the plot of 100 Bullets after about, say, 30 bullets or so, don’t worry — this is a complete novel in one volume. If you feel like his take on Batman is “all wrong,” then don’t worry — this uses no previously existing characters.

Rich “Junk” Junkin is a used car salesman and former football star — well past his glory days. The plot of the book revolves around him becoming a bodyguard to his boss’ rich, spoiled daughter. Like a classic noir, everything goes wrong, everyone’s playing someone else, and everyone is dirty, just like the title.

Azzarello’s trademark wordplay is downplayed here (although the title plays nicely on a few aspects of character and plot in the story). Instead, he just voices the characters, real and gritty, and lets the plot evolve organically from the connections. If I had any complaint it would be that I wanted to feel the noose tighten just a bit more. I wanted to hike the dramatic tension, really feel like we had no idea how this could end for anyone. But that’s a fairly minor complaint, as I did find the plot very engaging as it picked up, continually twisting back and forth.

It’s also worth noting that I liked that Azzarello sets his noir in a truly modern world. The boss’ daughter is a spoiled Paris Hilton-like debutante. Hers is a world of rich celebrities and entertainers, followed by publicity agents and the paparazzi. It’s nice to see such a classic noir sensibility translated into a very modern setting.

Victor Santos’ art was properly moody and evocative. Lots of shadow. But his characters are a bit inconsistent and the artwork seems a little overly exaggerated (in the wrong ways) at times. At times his art evoked Eduardo Risso, other times Darwyn Cooke, and still other times artists like Joe Staton. But it never quite gelled for me. Honestly, I kept thinking, “imagine if Eduardo Risso were illustrating this page!” Still, it certainly did the job of capturing the seedy shadowy world of Azzarello’s story.

With both this title and Dark Entries, I’ve been very pleased with Vertigo’s new line, and I really look forward to seeing more of these gorgeous little novels.