The Big Fat Kill
Encyclopedia
The Big Fat Kill is a five-issue comic book
limited series
published by Dark Horse Comics
in November 1994–March 1995.
). Dwight tells the barmaid to let the man and his ensuing entourage in, expressing confidence in his ability to 'handle them'. When the man outside threatens to break down her door, Shellie reluctantly opens it while Dwight hides in the bathroom.
The drunken man, named Jack, talks about his plans to barhop
and insists Shellie call in some of her co-workers to come along. Shellie refuses and Jack hits her. He goes to the bathroom where Dwight is hiding in the shower stall. Getting the jump on him, Dwight holds a straight razor to his eye and tells him to stop bothering Shellie. When Jack scoffs at the threat Dwight dunks his head into the toilet (where Jack had been urinating the minute before) until his body goes limp.
Jack awakens a few seconds later and storms out, demanding that his group not mention these events. Shellie investigates the apartment and finds Dwight on the ledge outside the building. After ensuring her safety, Dwight becomes worried that Jack will cause more trouble and must be stopped somehow. He jumps off the building, ignoring Shellie's muffled yell that sounds like "Stop!".
As Dwight races after Jack's car, his speeding catches the attention of the police. A police car follows them both, but stops and turns around once the cars enter Old Town, the area of Sin City full of and run by the prostitutes of the area. Jack spots a young girl named Becky walking alone in a dark alley, he follows beside her, asking coyly for her services and constantly being rejected. Dwight follows close behind and is then caught off guard by Gail, one of Old Town's most experienced hookers and guardians. She advises Dwight to stay put and let the girls handle Jack themselves. As Dwight spots Miho on the roof, he uncomfortably agrees and watches as the alley is closed off.
Meanwhile, Jack continues to pester Becky, escalating to outright anger at the egging on of his friends. He finally pulls out a handgun and aims it at her. Instead of being scared or surprised, Becky is instead filled with pity, proclaiming that he has just done the dumbest thing in his life. Miho throws a Manji
-shaped projectile that cuts off Jack's hand, then descends on the car and quickly kills every man but Jack.
During the attack, Dwight has an impending sense that something is wrong but can't place his finger on it. Miho and Jack get in a standoff. As Dwight tries to make Jack quit his foolish game, Miho sabotages his gun by throwing a plug into the barrel. When Jack tries to shoot the intervening Dwight his gun backfires, sending the slide into his forehead. Miho finishes him off by slicing his neck, making "a Pez dispenser out of him".
As the girls loot the corpses, Dwight searches Jack's body and finds a police badge revealing him to be Detective Lieutenant "Iron" Jack Rafferty. Then he realizes that Shellie was screaming "COP!". Jack's death is bad for all of Old Town, as the shaky truce between the police and the girls will be all but shattered. Gail starts proclaiming they'll fight anyone who tries to take them out while Dwight tries to recommend disposing the bodies before anyone suspects anything. Finally, after a tense argument between Gail and Dwight, the girls agree to hide the bodies in the Pits
as Dwight recommended.
After acquiring a car, slicing up all the bodies to stuff in the back trunk and leaving Jack in the front seat due to lack of space, Dwight begins the rainy drive to the Pits. On the way there, Dwight begins to hallucinate that Jack is egging him on. Although Dwight knows he is hallucinating, he cannot quiet the gibbering corpse. With his mind not completely focused, his driving suffers, attracting police attention again. As he contemplates whether or not to kill the cop, he brakes hard. Jack's body slumps forward, hiding the neck wound and the gun slide lodged in his head. The cop looks through Dwight's window and notices the corpse, believing it to be an unconscious, drunken friend. Dwight tells the cop he's the designated driver
. The cop then notifies Dwight that he's driving with a broken taillight, and lets him off with a warning.
At the Tar Pits, Dwight is attacked by Irish mercenaries. One fires a bullet at his heart, and Dwight falls, appearing to be dead. While the mercenaries are arguing about how good America is, one finds Jackie Boy's badge, which has the sniper's bullet lodged in it. Dwight pounces and quickly disposes of four of them, but is knocked out by a grenade that ignites the T-Bird's gas-tank, is sent flying, and falls into one of the pits along with the car. One of the mercenaries decapitates Jackie Boy's corpse, taking the head and leaving Dwight for dead, slowly sinking into the pits. Miho rescues him and Dwight begins to figure out that there is a snitch
in Old Town who informed the mob that a cop was murdered by the Old Town prostitutes. Along with Miho and her driver, Dallas, he takes off in pursuit of the remaining mercenaries.
Back at Old Town, Gail has been ambushed and kidnapped by Manute, who has survived the previous assaults of Dwight and Miho. Gail is tortured but refuses to "facilitate" the process of surrendering Old Town. It becomes clear that Becky had sold out Old Town for money and her mother's safety. Gail bites and rips a chunk off of Becky's neck in anger, vowing that she deserves worse.
Dwight, Dallas and Miho realize they must recover Jackie Boy's head. They cut through backroads to reach the Projects, where they catch up with their targets. Dallas rams the car into the mercenaries' and she ends up being gunned down by one of them. After dodging some grenades, Dwight corners Brian, the last mercenary, in the sewers. Dwight is caught off guard by more grenades and is about to be cut up until Miho arrives to finish Brian off. With the head in tow they go off to rescue Gail and Old Town.
As the gangsters prepare to further torture Gail, and kill Becky, an arrow shoots through one of the henchmen with a note prompting a trade: Jack's head for Gail's life.
As Dwight stands alone in an alley outside the gangsters' building with the head, outnumbered and outgunned. Dwight then triggers the grenades stolen from the last mercenary, exploding the head.
The gangsters now realize they are in a trap as the girls of Old Town reveal themselves heavily armed on the roof. Before any defensive measures can be taken, the men and Becky are gunned down.
(ISBN 1593072953).
. In the film, Clive Owen
plays Dwight, Brittany Murphy
plays Shellie, Benicio del Toro
plays Jack, Rosario Dawson
plays Gail, Devon Aoki
plays Miho, Alexis Bledel
plays Becky, and Michael Clarke Duncan
plays Manute.
A notable difference from the comic version is that Becky survives the final gunfight by hiding in a nook in the alley, leaving her alive for the final "epilogue" scene of the movie which ends when she meets The Salesman from The Customer is Always Right, who had been introduced in the movie's prologue. He then offers her a cigarette just like he did in The Customer is Always Right. There is also a deleted/extended scene from the movie, where Manute and two thugs actually escape the gunfight, bloodied and battered, only to be cornered by Miho in the alley. Miho then tosses the sword right through the two thugs, and finally and definitely kills Manute by bisecting him with a scythe.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in November 1994–March 1995.
Plot
The story opens in Shellie's apartment, where a drunken former fling is furiously rapping on her door, demanding to be let in. Shellie is obviously scared, but is comforted by Dwight who has since gotten a new face (see A Dame To Kill ForA Dame to Kill For
A Dame to Kill For is a comic book limited series first published by Dark Horse Comics in 1993. It is the second story in Frank Miller's Sin City series, and the first to be published in miniseries format. It was written and drawn entirely by Frank Miller...
). Dwight tells the barmaid to let the man and his ensuing entourage in, expressing confidence in his ability to 'handle them'. When the man outside threatens to break down her door, Shellie reluctantly opens it while Dwight hides in the bathroom.
The drunken man, named Jack, talks about his plans to barhop
Pub crawl
A pub crawl is the act of one or more people drinking in multiple pubs or bars in a single night, normally walking or busing to each one between drinking.-Origin of the term:...
and insists Shellie call in some of her co-workers to come along. Shellie refuses and Jack hits her. He goes to the bathroom where Dwight is hiding in the shower stall. Getting the jump on him, Dwight holds a straight razor to his eye and tells him to stop bothering Shellie. When Jack scoffs at the threat Dwight dunks his head into the toilet (where Jack had been urinating the minute before) until his body goes limp.
Jack awakens a few seconds later and storms out, demanding that his group not mention these events. Shellie investigates the apartment and finds Dwight on the ledge outside the building. After ensuring her safety, Dwight becomes worried that Jack will cause more trouble and must be stopped somehow. He jumps off the building, ignoring Shellie's muffled yell that sounds like "Stop!".
As Dwight races after Jack's car, his speeding catches the attention of the police. A police car follows them both, but stops and turns around once the cars enter Old Town, the area of Sin City full of and run by the prostitutes of the area. Jack spots a young girl named Becky walking alone in a dark alley, he follows beside her, asking coyly for her services and constantly being rejected. Dwight follows close behind and is then caught off guard by Gail, one of Old Town's most experienced hookers and guardians. She advises Dwight to stay put and let the girls handle Jack themselves. As Dwight spots Miho on the roof, he uncomfortably agrees and watches as the alley is closed off.
Meanwhile, Jack continues to pester Becky, escalating to outright anger at the egging on of his friends. He finally pulls out a handgun and aims it at her. Instead of being scared or surprised, Becky is instead filled with pity, proclaiming that he has just done the dumbest thing in his life. Miho throws a Manji
Manji
Manji or mangi may refer to:*The Japanese name of the 卍 character , see swastika/sauwastika* Manji , a Japanese era name* A type of sai, a traditional Okinawan weapon* A kind of chiefship found among the Chaga tribe of Tanzania...
-shaped projectile that cuts off Jack's hand, then descends on the car and quickly kills every man but Jack.
During the attack, Dwight has an impending sense that something is wrong but can't place his finger on it. Miho and Jack get in a standoff. As Dwight tries to make Jack quit his foolish game, Miho sabotages his gun by throwing a plug into the barrel. When Jack tries to shoot the intervening Dwight his gun backfires, sending the slide into his forehead. Miho finishes him off by slicing his neck, making "a Pez dispenser out of him".
Tar pit
A tar pit, or more accurately known as an asphalt pit or asphalt lake, is a geological occurrence where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large area of natural asphalt.-Known tar pits:...
as Dwight recommended.
After acquiring a car, slicing up all the bodies to stuff in the back trunk and leaving Jack in the front seat due to lack of space, Dwight begins the rainy drive to the Pits. On the way there, Dwight begins to hallucinate that Jack is egging him on. Although Dwight knows he is hallucinating, he cannot quiet the gibbering corpse. With his mind not completely focused, his driving suffers, attracting police attention again. As he contemplates whether or not to kill the cop, he brakes hard. Jack's body slumps forward, hiding the neck wound and the gun slide lodged in his head. The cop looks through Dwight's window and notices the corpse, believing it to be an unconscious, drunken friend. Dwight tells the cop he's the designated driver
Designated driver
The terms "designated driver" and "designated driving" refer to selecting a person to remain sober, as the driver of a vehicle, while others are allowed to drink to excess . A designated driver is a person who abstains from alcohol on a social occasion in order to drive his/her companions home safely...
. The cop then notifies Dwight that he's driving with a broken taillight, and lets him off with a warning.
At the Tar Pits, Dwight is attacked by Irish mercenaries. One fires a bullet at his heart, and Dwight falls, appearing to be dead. While the mercenaries are arguing about how good America is, one finds Jackie Boy's badge, which has the sniper's bullet lodged in it. Dwight pounces and quickly disposes of four of them, but is knocked out by a grenade that ignites the T-Bird's gas-tank, is sent flying, and falls into one of the pits along with the car. One of the mercenaries decapitates Jackie Boy's corpse, taking the head and leaving Dwight for dead, slowly sinking into the pits. Miho rescues him and Dwight begins to figure out that there is a snitch
Snitch
Snitch may refer to:* Informant* Whistleblower* "Snitch" , a song by Obie Trice* Monument Ave. or Snitch, a 1998 thriller film-See also:* Golden Snitch, a ball in Quidditch in the Harry Potter series...
in Old Town who informed the mob that a cop was murdered by the Old Town prostitutes. Along with Miho and her driver, Dallas, he takes off in pursuit of the remaining mercenaries.
Back at Old Town, Gail has been ambushed and kidnapped by Manute, who has survived the previous assaults of Dwight and Miho. Gail is tortured but refuses to "facilitate" the process of surrendering Old Town. It becomes clear that Becky had sold out Old Town for money and her mother's safety. Gail bites and rips a chunk off of Becky's neck in anger, vowing that she deserves worse.
Dwight, Dallas and Miho realize they must recover Jackie Boy's head. They cut through backroads to reach the Projects, where they catch up with their targets. Dallas rams the car into the mercenaries' and she ends up being gunned down by one of them. After dodging some grenades, Dwight corners Brian, the last mercenary, in the sewers. Dwight is caught off guard by more grenades and is about to be cut up until Miho arrives to finish Brian off. With the head in tow they go off to rescue Gail and Old Town.
As the gangsters prepare to further torture Gail, and kill Becky, an arrow shoots through one of the henchmen with a note prompting a trade: Jack's head for Gail's life.
As Dwight stands alone in an alley outside the gangsters' building with the head, outnumbered and outgunned. Dwight then triggers the grenades stolen from the last mercenary, exploding the head.
The gangsters now realize they are in a trap as the girls of Old Town reveal themselves heavily armed on the roof. Before any defensive measures can be taken, the men and Becky are gunned down.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
(ISBN 1593072953).
Awards
- 1996:
- Won "Best Limited Series" Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
- Frank Miller nominated for "Best Cover Artist" Eisner Award, for The Big Fat Kill
- Won "Best Limited Series" Eisner Award
Film adaptation
The story is one of three from Sin City related in the film Sin CitySin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
. In the film, Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
plays Dwight, Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
plays Shellie, Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
plays Jack, Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Unstoppable.-Early...
plays Gail, Devon Aoki
Devon Aoki
Devon Edwenna Aoki is an American model and actress.-Early life:Aoki was born in New York City, New York, and grew up in California and London, attending high school at The American School in London...
plays Miho, Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rory Gilmore in the television series Gilmore Girls and Lena Kaligaris in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.-Early life:Bledel was born Kimberly Alexis Bledel in Houston, Texas...
plays Becky, and Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
plays Manute.
A notable difference from the comic version is that Becky survives the final gunfight by hiding in a nook in the alley, leaving her alive for the final "epilogue" scene of the movie which ends when she meets The Salesman from The Customer is Always Right, who had been introduced in the movie's prologue. He then offers her a cigarette just like he did in The Customer is Always Right. There is also a deleted/extended scene from the movie, where Manute and two thugs actually escape the gunfight, bloodied and battered, only to be cornered by Miho in the alley. Miho then tosses the sword right through the two thugs, and finally and definitely kills Manute by bisecting him with a scythe.