Written by Rory McConville
Art by Joe Palmer
Published by Image Comics
I was a latecomer to Breaking Bad, thinking, “How could a show about a good guy who gets corrupted to become a major bad guy be any good?”
It was a couple seasons in by the time I finally found out. I suddenly found myself streaming the earliest episodes as well as picking up on the newest ones as they dropped. I’d have to say it’s in my all-time Top 10 for dramatic television series.
I might argue that the Breaking Bad prequel/spinoff Better Call Saul is an even better series in some ways!
Both of these great television series are relentlessly adult in concepts and language, unflinchingly violent throughout, unpredictable, with great dialogue, amazing performances, and often bizarre instances of black humor.
Those shows both aired in England and Ireland, right?
Because that’s where most of the folks behind the new Image one-shot graphic novel, Write It in Blood are from and I’d find it hard to believe they weren’t strongly influenced by those series and/or other recent ones like them.
Write It in Blood is a fast paced 100+ pages that tells the NSFW story of the last day on the job for two small time crooks and hitmen who happen to be brothers. They’re finishing up their final assignment, delivering a member of a rival crime family to their boss, the Baron.
The two of them bicker back and forth like an old married couple throughout the story as we learn that not only did one brother sleep with the boss’s wife but that the boss knows about it so suddenly their last day takes a turn for the worse. It doesn’t help when said wife decides to take matters into her own hands, too.
There are unexpected twists and turns every step of the way, a non-stop barrage of cinematic panels and crisp dialogue, and a growing body count, all leading to an unexpected and relatively satisfying ending
Rory McConville is the author, Joe Palmer the artist. Chris O’Halloran added the book’s muted colors which, as I’ve often pointed out, can add or detract immeasurably from a book’s mood. Here, his chosen color scheme enhances all the way.
The Tarentino-esque main characters are strangely endearing, making you care about what happens to them, and believe me, a lot happens to them on the day of their retirement. Speaking as someone who technically is retired as of this month, I’m glad I didn’t have to put up with their level of excitement.
Booksteve recommends.
