100% (comics)

Last updated
100%
100percent cover.jpg
Artwork for the wraparound cover of 100% #1 by Paul Pope.
Publication information
Publisher Vertigo
ScheduleMonthly
Format Limited series
Genre Cyberpunk, romance
Publication dateAugust 2002 – July 2003
No. of issues5
Main character(s)Kim
Strel
Daisy
Haitous
Eloy
John
Creative team
Created by Paul Pope
Written by Paul Pope
Artist(s) Paul Pope
Letterer(s) John Workman
Colorist(s) Paul Pope
Lee Loughridge

100% is a black-and-white comic book with gray tones written and drawn by Paul Pope. It was published by American company DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in five issues between 2002 and 2003, then collected as a trade paperback in 2005. [1]

Contents

The plot concerns six main characters in Manhattan, New York City in January 2038. Though the interweaving stories are romantic in nature, they are steeped in science fiction and cyberpunk environments.

Themes and plot elements

Manga influence

Before making 100%, Pope was employed for about five years by Kodansha, Japan's leading manga publisher. In an interview, he described the experience as "the equivalent of a grad school education in 'how to tell stories the manga way'". One concept he derived from his employment was the company's insistence on the importance of characters' internal conflict above all else. In this sense, Pope cites this book in particular as his attempt at making an "American Manga". [2]

Form

In the index of the trade paperback edition, Pope explains:

I first conceived of what eventually would become 100% as a series of loosely connected short stories, each maybe 20 to 50 pages in length. These would secretly be old-fashioned romance comics of the boy-meets-girl-boy-loses-girl type, disguised as low-voltage science fiction stories.

Pope took this idea to Vertigo, who asked him make it into one story with a beginning, middle and end. He took elements he already had and wove them together into the final treatment, to be developed into the comic book.

Back story

Much of 100%'s backstory has been left ambiguous, but certain details emerge. There has been a war or wars, as main characters make reference to bombing near Istanbul and an Indian Ocean military landing. The United Nations and United States have combined (as the UN/USA), and Che Guevara's face is on the 100 dollar bill (actually marked as United Nations currency). The streets are patrolled by USPD officers in ubiquitous lurking patrol vehicles.

Science fiction elements

Pope invents and creatively christens several technological and cultural elements for the dystopian future in which 100% takes place:

Characters

Collected editions

TitleMaterial collectedFormatPublication date ISBN Publisher
100%100% #1–5 Trade paperback March 16, 2005 [3] 978-1401203498 Vertigo
HardcoverApril 15, 2009 [4] 978-1401221331
Trade paperbackApril 21, 2010 [5] 978-1401224615
Trade paperbackMarch 4, 2020 [6] 978-1534313613 Image Comics

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References

  1. 1 2 Irvine, Alex (2008). "100%". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The Vertigo Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-7566-4122-1.
  2. "Paul Pope Gives It 100%". DC Comics . 2002. Archived from the original on July 14, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2006.
  3. "100%". DC Comics . Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  4. "100%". DC Comics . Archived from the original on 19 September 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  5. "100%". DC Comics . Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. "100% TP". Image Comics . Archived from the original on 2020-09-30. Retrieved December 7, 2020.