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Two Guns

2 Guns: Second Shot Deluxe Edition

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Soon-to-be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg!

Soon-to-be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg! This pulp story about cops and thieves and the men that are something in between will have you scrambling to keep up with the twists and turns. Trench has targeted a local bank to rob, and asked Steadman in on the job. Trench figures it's a great way to score -- considering it's a cover for mob money. They'll be thieves ripping off thieves. But what Steadman doesn't know is that Trench is a DEA agent. And what Trench doesn't know is that Steadman's a Naval Intelligence officer. They're both undercover cops! And neither one knows that they're not robbing the mob -- they've been set up to steal $50 million from the CIA! Collecting the entire series that inspired the feature film, this light-hearted crime romp from comics legend, Steven Grant, is back and better than ever! In addition to being the first time this collected story has been printed at full size, the “Second Shot” edition features great behind-the-scenes bonus features, a complete cover gallery, and much more. Plus a brand new cover by American Vampire artist Rafael Albuquerque!

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

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68 people want to read

About the author

Steven Grant

785 books23 followers
Steven Grant is an American comic book writer best known for his 1985–1986 Marvel Comics mini-series The Punisher with artist Mike Zeck and for his creator-owned character Whisper.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_...

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5 stars
12 (7%)
4 stars
36 (21%)
3 stars
88 (51%)
2 stars
29 (17%)
1 star
5 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Tom LA.
685 reviews288 followers
August 5, 2018
My lucky comic books streak halts here with a bit of a crash. Certainly extremely well-designed, first-class art and panels. But the story is dull and unoriginal. Unfortunately, I found it not interesting at all. The only slightly interesting detail of the plot is completely spoiled by the author in the introduction to the deluxe edition (!?).
Profile Image for Drew Canole.
3,188 reviews44 followers
August 13, 2017
I was in the break room at work (where I used to work) and an older lady started talking about the new Quintin Tarantino film that she saw. Now this was last summer, so I was very confused. I would have heard, surely, that Tarantino had a new film out. I assumed that it was one of those crappy "presented by" Tarantino films.

She said the movie was Two Guns. I had a dim recollection of a movie with that title that was based on a comic. I wasn't certain, so I asked, "Hey, isn't that based on a comicbook?" I also stated that it wasn't a Tarantino film.

She said it couldn't possibly be based on a comicbook because it concerned drugs and the cartel, and it was Tarantino - assuredly - because of the way people got shot. This reasoning still haunts me today.

I saw the first bit of the movie, and honestly, I think it's better than this comic (not saying much, mind you). I wonder if they adapted this just because it made an alright starting place for a story and they could get the rights for cheap. It's crazy that a bunch of time, money, and effort went into adapting a weak story - although I guess I would say the same thing about most movies.
Profile Image for Ben.
373 reviews
November 13, 2008
A typical action story with two undercover agents, gunfights, double crosses and hitmen. However, the characters are too bland to carry the story, which isn't intriguing enough to stand up on it's own. Additionally, and this is probably a minor quibble, but some of the dialogue balloons point to the wrong character, which makes it harder to read.
Profile Image for Ashley.
1,368 reviews20 followers
January 19, 2018
I'm not a big fan of crime graphics, I'm stereotypical in the sense that I like superheros and super villains in my graphics or something in the horror vein.
"2 Guns" isn't either, but it was $2, so I got it. I liked the movie and so I thought I would check out the source material. Big mistake.
Grant's writing was wordy, crowding the pages. In fact, it got confusing at times because of so much dialogue and the word bubbles were EVERYWHERE, but not clearly marked as to who they belonged to or what order they should be read in.
Mateus Santolouco's art did nothing to propel the story forward or help clear up who was "speaking". Several of the characters looked alike and it was hard to tell who was who when they showed up later in the story.
"Damned" was a better story, but not by much. Thankfully, I dropped less than $5 on these two Grant stories, and I'll be hard pressed to spend another $1 on anything that his name is attached to.
The movie was a much better investment of my time and money, but Denzel Washington makes everything better.
Profile Image for Realini Ionescu.
4,171 reviews22 followers
August 20, 2025
2 Guns, based on graphic novels by Steven Grant
8 out of 10


For those who love the genre, action, gun fights, incredible stories and conspiracies, this motion picture would probably be exactly what they need to spend an evening laughing, thrilled by the adventures of the 2 guns aka Bobby aka Bobby Balls aka Denzel Washington with his well-known charm, magnetism and conquering smile and Stig aka Mark Wahlberg.

The plot is as complicated as can be, indeed too much so for this cinephile, as it involves corrupt agents from the CIA, Mexican drug lords, shady police officers and…as if something were missing, even thieves with oak leaves from The US Navy itself, bent on stealing many millions of dollars, then trying to cover their tracks and eventually, recuperate the money that keep changing hands in the manner of a respectable thriller, which these days needs to have a plot that does not look like other features and thus more layers are added and this becomes a cliché in itself.
Very early on, we have Robert Trench, whose real identity we do not know yet, aka Denzel Washington and Michael Stigman planning a robbery of a bank, opposite the best doughnut outfit in the area, although the legend has it that one must not do that – perhaps because there is the theory that policemen eat doughnuts in immense quantities and therefore they must be parked often at the best eatery that sells them.

The two also meet with Papi Greco, a Mexican cartel boss with a penchant for massive bulls and the potential those have to multiply, but also be used in torturing his victims – which the two partners might become at one point – a monstrous individual who has at the moment when he talks with Bobby the head of a man who had allegedly cheated him stored in a bag, near Stig, who acts with what looks like stupid, reckless hostility towards the thugs that play the game of killing the chickens aiming at them with their guns, reminding one, because perhaps this is in reference to Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.
This scene annoyed this viewer on two counts, first, the obvious one and this is where we can agree with Michael Stigman that this is a very disgusting endeavor, although his partner is also right when he asks what is he eating and the answer, chicken, speaks for itself, and the second would be that this looks preposterous, in that a serious character would not engage in the stark, exaggerated provocation, taking the pistols of the Mexicans to prove how good a shot he is and risking being killed on the spot with a machine gun, or eventually a bazooka.

These people are dead serious and one prove is what has happened recently, in real life, not on the big screen, when the Mexican authorities have arrested the son of the famous Guzman aka El Chapo- the one who has escaped twice from his cell, once through an infamous tunnel that went all the way between the shower and a safe area – and then had to release him (!), because with all the fire power of the state – granted, at the local level, they did not send in the Army, albeit one could wonder why, if they saw that they are outgunned – they could not face the men and the artillery sent in by the cartel!
But hey, this is fiction – one could add of doubtful quality, or at least lacking badly in credibility – and if the super hero feels he can face the troops of the cartel, why not pretend that this could happen and he can start shooting off at the ranch of a fearsome, smaller and fictional Guzman…

When the 2 guns rob the bank, one wearing a Frankenstein and the other a clown or Joker mask, they find that the expected two or three million held there by Papi Greco have in fact multiplied to the point where they see this is much more, but have no idea to what tune, until they would be counted and we see that this $ 43.120 or thereabouts, but they do not belong to the drug lord, but to some vicious agents, or perhaps to the CIA itself, for the conspiracy theory proposed in the film is that the agency takes a cut from the operations of the cartels, including of Greco, which have to pay about 7% and then they are allowed to continue and are even given plans to smuggle their cocaine.
The 2 guns come to a confrontation, Stig finds that his former partner is an agent, not knowing if he is corrupt or not, then the money lands with some officers from the US Navy, who had told the rather ignorant, if boastful Michael Stigman that they would use in decent, clean scope, only to come to another conflict, this time over the fact that the DEA agent should have been killed, and when they get into the wild, to find and execute him, the unpredictable (if we have not seen this sort of film before) happens and everybody seems to be chasing everyone else…

To complicate matters even further – perhaps to the point where this is getting too much for some viewers…this one does not entertain conspiracy theories as a rule, never mind when so many outfits are involved that you start wondering who is not in on this…just like the jokes they make on Late Night Shows about idiot Trump and his ‘perfect Ukraine call’…the news would soon be like: Uruguay and Ghana have not been asked to find dirt on Joe Biden – the CIA comes in, in the form of Earl aka the late, regretted, wonderful Bill Paxton.
The 43 million and the odd hundred thousand dollars have been deposited by the CIA – which has stashes in many places they allege in the film – even if the message must, probably should be that some corrupt humans working for it took advantage and did as they liked – in the manner in which the American president has decided to hold on to over four hundred million, approved by Congress, destined for the defense of the Ukraine, trying to keep Russia and the friend of ‘crooked’ Trump, Putin, away, just because he wanted to use extortion and get some personal favors for him…

Ï want you to do us a favor though…”

In conclusion, this motion picture is not one of the best, in spite of some merits and the fact that one could be caught in all that action and the complicated web of people, agencies, and drug lords involved.

Profile Image for Martin.
795 reviews63 followers
August 23, 2015
A lot of good things going for this book: just the right length, a clever double-cross-laden crime story that holds up to scrutiny, no cheap stunts to shock the readers.

I've not seen the movie adaptation - up until yesterday I'd never even heard of 2 Guns . So I went into this blind, not knowing what to expect, yet open-minded and conscious of its 'independent' status, and I liked it.

Recommended to people who like crime/undercover cop stories, and those looking for something different and/or creator-owned.
Profile Image for Michael Petty.
Author 9 books6 followers
March 7, 2024
"2 Guns" is a fun comic book adventure about two opposing American operatives who've gone undercover, only to find themselves in a conspiracy that involves American intelligence and the Mexican cartel. The leads, Bobby Tench and Marcus Steadman, have hilarious chemistry and are an instantly likable duo. There's some suggestive material here that "2 Guns" could do without, but otherwise, it's a fun spy-themed adventure. Also, if the title sounds familiar, it's because the graphic novel inspired an action film of the same name that starred Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.
Profile Image for Nathaniel R..
192 reviews12 followers
February 25, 2023
I've read better standalone comics. I felt the writing wanted to be an action movie, but didn't feel properly punchy. I felt that the story was a bit too predictable and felt very cliche in its ending. Go read better.
Profile Image for Brendan Mckillip.
335 reviews
August 2, 2022
Entertaining, if unremarkable, crime thriller. The plot twists and double crosses keep the story moving. As does the snappy dialogue. But nothing feels particularly original or new in this story.
Profile Image for Neil Carey.
300 reviews7 followers
January 7, 2023
Art's a bit too clean/superhero-y, but a good brisk Elmore Leonard-type crime tale all the same
Profile Image for Robert.
4,607 reviews33 followers
September 8, 2024
I accidentally read these backwards (3 Guns first) and it's hard to see how this turned into that.

This is tight and well plotted, if a bit wordy, but a good tale overall.

Avoid the sequel.
Profile Image for Albert Yates.
Author 17 books5 followers
December 12, 2014
a really good story, quite similar to the storyline of the movie do there were really no surprise. it did take a while to get used to seeing Bobby as a white man after Denzel played him in the movie.

my main problem with this book was the reading, the word bubbles didn't seem to follow any logical progression, one page you start with the bubble on the bottom. the narration also jumped around to much and wasn't that consistent. they talk in the car and the next page they're 5000 miles away in Mexico.
Profile Image for Ben.
566 reviews10 followers
July 4, 2015
Fun read. Just enough of action and twists to keep it interesting.
Profile Image for Liz Licata.
322 reviews14 followers
October 24, 2015
entertaining. So many double-crosses were a bit overkill, though
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

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