Written by Swann Meralli
Art by Pierre-Francois Radice
Published by Black Panel Press
I’ve always wanted to learn more about Al Capone than the movies have shown me.
We all know the different movies television shows that feature Capone. Yet, we never really see anything about where he came from and what transpired for him to get where he ended up in life. This hardcover graphic novel takes care of all of that and more.
From the beginning, we get to see Alphonso as a young man in America in 1899. It seems that he was an immigrant(a fact which I did not know). We get to see him in Brooklyn growing up. The artwork and story is really great here and you can tell just by these opening scenes that a lot of work went into this.
Young Al Capone gets into a lot of trouble growing up.
We get to see the decisions that he makes to end up where he ends up. He works his way up from nothing. We get to see him try a few things like cards. Then he starts enforcing. Once that happens, he makes a full decision to have a life based in crime.
Capone makes all of his decisions with the idea that he has to provide for his family. As his life just keeps getting bigger, so does his appetites. It starts to get a bit out of hand for him. We get to see how each decision leads towards his inevitable fate, one that he couldn’t escape if he tried.
The story is quite good here. It is heavily researched right on down to the dialogue which is on point. The artwork is equally impressive, both cinematic and sharp. The whole thing works out to be an impressive book, one that is worth rereading and revisiting.
RATING: A
