History ComicBook / StrayBullets

* AmbiguousDisorder: Joey ain't quite right in the head, even at the latest time we've seen him chronologically. One can't blame him much considering his upbringing with a prostitute mother who is constantly having johns over to her apartment and drug dealers coming and going all the time.

** Despite her perpetually optimistic demeanor, it's clear that the endless stream of horrors Virginia has had to endure since childhood have left her with a host of mental and emotional issues. The most obvious sign of this is her habit of responding to problems with extreme violence, something that began shortly after she saw Spanish Scott murder someone back when she was a little girl. At one point, she almost pulls a knife on Adam after he insults her, and has to be stopped by Eli.
** While Beth loves Virginia a lot and even saves her life a few times, she's too much of a mess to be any kind of an effective ParentalSubstitute. [[spoiler: It's this lax parenting style that kicks off the child abduction plot in ''Dark Days'', as Virginia panics and flees their apartment after the police show up to ask why she hasn't been enrolled in school.]]
** During ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Virginia fights tooth and nail to save Bobby from Ron, but is eventually overpowered and knocked unconscious. She may be a LittleMissBadass, but she's also still just a kid trying to beat up a grown man]].
** Also during ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Beth shoots a cop while trying to find Virginia. Even though the cop expresses sympathy for her plight, ''Killers'' later reveals that Beth still went to prison.]]
** A group of kids steal a gun and decide to fire it, only to immediately injure themselves when they don't properly prepare for the recoil.
** When Eli finally finds out more about Virginia's past and meets Marisol, he's absolutely horrified to discover that Virginia has been hanging out with drug traffickers and murderers. [[spoiler: This puts a serious strain on their relationship, and is a major factor in Eli's later decision to cheat on Virginia.]]
** Orson tries to sell his dad's car to pay off Beth's debt, only to be told that won't work because he has no paperwork proving it's his. When he then suggests they sell it to a chop shop, Beth points out that illegal car rings generally steal the cars themselves rather than buy them.

* BigDamnVillains:
** [[spoiler: While back in his hometown, Kretchmeyer is discovered and surrounded by a gun-toting posse who are after him for killing his parents. Just when it looks like Kretchmeyer is done for, Annie (literally) crashes onto the scene in a stolen bus and saves him.]]
** [[spoiler: Later, Kretchmeyer saves Beth and the others from the hitman Scott sent after them.]]

Featuring a nonlinear narrative and a rotating cast of LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, the series jumps between FilmNoir, ensemble drama, and a loose drawn out ComingOfAge story. Each chapter feels self contained, with a beginning, middle, and end, yet it also fits into a larger tapestry. A chapter would either advance a major StoryArc, or focus solely on a minor character. While nearly all characters appear in only a few of the issues, there are a few mainstays, including:

* AdultFear:
** Virginia runs away from home multiple times and regularly ends up in highly dangerous situations (including attempted sexual assault) despite her young age. [[spoiler: Case in point, Beth has a complete meltdown after Virginia is abducted in ''Dark Days'', and goes to increasingly desperate lengths to find her. Bobby's parents also go to pieces after he disappears.]]
** The world being a dangerous place for kids is something of a running theme, also showing up in the chapters focused on Joey.

* '''Harry''': A very powerful Baltimore-based crime boss. [[TheGhost Harry has never had an in-person appearance in the series]], yet he lies at the center of [[BiggerBad all criminal activity in the story]].

* AdultsAreUseless

* BiggerBad: Harry, who never appears in person but is the indirect cause of many of the horrors that unfold.

* RealityEnsues:
** Despite her perpetually optimistic demeanor, it's clear that the endless stream of horrors Virginia has had to endure since childhood have left her with a host of mental and emotional issues. The most obvious sign of this is her habit of responding to problems with extreme violence, something that began shortly after she saw Spanish Scott murder someone back when she was a little girl. At one point, she almost pulls a knife on Adam after he insults her, and has to be stopped by Eli.
** While Beth loves Virginia a lot and even saves her life a few times, she's too much of a mess to be any kind of an effective ParentalSubstitute. [[spoiler: It's this lax parenting style that kicks off the child abduction plot in ''Dark Days'', as Virginia panics and flees their apartment after the police show up to ask why she hasn't been enrolled in school.]]
** During ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Virginia fights tooth and nail to save Bobby from Ron, but is eventually overpowered and knocked unconscious. She may be a LittleMissBadass, but she's also still just a kid trying to beat up a grown man]].
** Also during ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Beth shoots a cop while trying to find Virginia. Even though the cop expresses sympathy for her plight, ''Killers'' later reveals that Beth still went to prison.]]
** A group of kids steal a gun and decide to fire it, only to immediately injure themselves when they don't properly prepare for the recoil.
** When Eli finally finds out more about Virginia's past and meets Marisol, he's absolutely horrified to discover that Virginia has been hanging out with drug traffickers and murderers. [[spoiler: This puts a serious strain on their relationship, and is a major factor in Eli's later decision to cheat on Virginia.]]
** Orson tries to sell his dad's car to pay off Beth's debt, only to be told that won't work because he has no paperwork proving it's his. When he then suggests they sell it to a chop shop, Beth points out that illegal car rings generally steal the cars themselves rather than buy them.
** [[spoiler: When [[TapOnTheHead Annie is hit over the head with a pot]], the injury is severe enough that she loses consciousness and shows signs of a serious concussion. A combination of the brain injury and the mounting stress from her criminal dealings being discovered eventually causes her to have a stroke.]]
** PlayedForLaughs (the dark kind) when Orson accidentally kills the abusive ex-boyfriend of a burlesque dancer he'd befriended:
-->'''Orson''': Wow. Who freakin' dies falling ''one'' story?

* TookALevelInBadass

* '''Annie''': Beth's spiteful and youth-obsessed mother who secretly runs a drug ring in her small Florida community.

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Amy Racecar delivers one after nearly being brainwashed:
-->'''Amy:''' Most people are pretty wishy-washy about themselves. Ready to believe almost anything you tell 'em. Look at the Home Shopping Network. Not me. They can put me in a straightjacket. They can zap me with a zillion volts. I know who I am. I know what's real. I cling to it like a life raft. You have to in this crazy world.

* '''Eli''': A sometimes boyfriend of Virginia who is [[HormoneAddledTeenager a bit preoccupied with sex]]. He got his father killed by Scott as a boy by SayingTooMuch while

* PutOnABus: Virginia doesn't appear during Sunshine and Roses, with Beth taking over as the protagonist.