Dynamite Entertainment 2018
Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Giovanni Valletta
Coloured by David Curiel & Inlight Studios
Lettered by Tom Napolitano
John Wick's origin story continues! In the underworld of El Paso, Texas, a familiar face introduces an ex-con named John Wick to the local branch of the mysterious Continental Hotel, a neutral zone where professional killers spend their down time. But can John adhere to the rules of the Continental? Or will his search for vengeance destroy his chances for a peaceful life? Also... does John Wick actually have...a cat?
I haven’t seen the cinematic release, I am not a big Keanu fan, so this is my introduction to the franchise and so far what I have seen has been extremely fun to see. The other side of life is always one that fascinates people I mean assassin’s, thieves and confidence men (and women) are the subject of basically guess work. Unless you’ve been a part of that world then we’ll honestly never know so we guess and eat up stories like this, instead of nameless message boards on the Dark Web there are places hiding in plain sight that act as a kind of refuge where they can all socialise freely without having to worry about being killed. This is the kind of stuff people want to see after all.
Greg has a great ear for storytelling, he knows how to craft the book and structure it in a way that has the reader on the edge of their seat. It is done in such a way as we can actually see what’s happening, know what’s to come only we don’t know how it’s going to go down. So there’s a good deal of tension and expectation in the story and while sometimes your right sometimes your wrong and that’s the fun in keeping with a book. I like that the action is action and that the story is also and if you have a clue as what I just said kudos you understand the power of writing. Greg has a grasp of that is usually reserved for novelists but here it works doubly as well.
I like the way characters are introduced and how the mix of folks that we see have roles in the story during and outside of his need for vengeance. By no stretch of the imagination would I call them a supporting cast of characters more like those you should pay attention to because who they are and where they work, or who they work for, are going to be needed throughout the run of the arc, and possibly beyond. I appreciate the ebb & flow that the story takes us on as it is full of why he’s he here, how the past led to this and incorporates the kind of characterisation that involves the man and the story to bring it to life.
Giovanni and company do some dynamite work on the interiors here. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a strong, talented eye for storytelling. The fact that the likeness is so close is extremely well done and yet it’s just different enough to make the comic work in ways or faces and facial expressions to work on the page. Charon for instance is someone to recognise instantly from numerous roles but as always you can’t quite put your finger on the name. The judicious use of backgrounds in varying stages of focus do have some really nice moments to them and that we see so many of them is splendid.
This is a spy thriller story at it’s core and regardless of what the film was about or any preconceived notions you may have. It is written from a certain type of man’s perspective and brings us closer to the action than you might thin. With a great creative team to bring this to life and some stellar subject matter this will thrill.