Bullseye: Greatest Hits

The Comicologist — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:18:36 +0000

Apparently I'm a sucker for an "untold origin story", because when I saw Bullseye: Greatest Hits for $2.99 from the Things From Another World scratch and dent sale, I couldn't pass it up.

The trade paper back, Bullseye: Greatest Hits, collects the five issue mini-series, with the story itself attempting to reveal the origins of the man that became the ultimate thorn in Daredevil's side. The mini-series ran from November 2004 through until March 2005 and was written by Daniel Way and illustrated by Steve Dillon, the same team behind Wolverine Origins.

Bullseye: Greatest Hits opens with Bullseye being held in a top secret underground government facility, where he is being interrogated by two special agents, who are attempting to learn the whereabout of some nuclear weapons that Bullseye was responsible for stealing. This interrogation is used as the plot device through which to reveal snap shots of Bullseye's origins.

BULLSEYE GREATEST HITS #1-5 Marvel Knights (2004) NM

US $12.99

4h 10m

Bullseye reveals that when he was a child he displayed the uncanny knack of being able to hit any target with any sort of projectile, as seen when he kills a bird with a yo-yo. When his family is killed, following a bungled attempt by Bullseye's older brother to murder their abusive father, young Bullseye is put into foster care. He takes up Baseball, but his boredom for the game leads him to kill his opponent, as is depicted on the Mike Deodato drawn cover of issue 2.

This is when Bullseye first gains the attention of the US government, and is subsequently recruited then sent out into the field. It doesn't take Bullseye long before he goes rouge. Following his first battle with the Punisher, Bullseye heads back to the US, where we are treated to various glimpses of his first encounter with Daredevil and the King Pin as well as his murder of Elektra.

All the while, the two agents are attempting to located the nuclear weapons, it becomes clearer that Bullseye is just toying with them. Separating fact from fiction becomes more and more challenging. As the clock ticks down, the only one in control is Bullseye.

One gripe I have with this series is the artwork. Apparently all men have the same face in Steve Dillon's world. The eyes and nose of Dillon dudes really bug me. I can get past it. Looking at the Mike Deodato covers that were included in the trade paper back, I kept wondering if I would have enjoyed this more had Deodato had done the interiors rather than Dillon.

Another issue I have is the conclusion. Daniel Way seems to have left things intentionally ambiguous, which can be ok, except when your talking about an origin story. The whole 'was Bullseye telling the truth' thing is borderline '... and it was all only a dream'. If you've read this one, I'm sure you know what I mean.

What did I learn?

Apparently it's possible to kill a man with his own tooth. That's good to know, in case it ever comes up at a trivia night.

Daniel Way does enough with the story to keep the intrigue levels up, and if like me, you're always interested in seeing where a character has come from, then you'll more than likely get a buzz out of this.

I'd give this series 6.5 out of 10. Not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination, but good enough to keep you interested.