Spotlight#148: John Wick (Dyanmite Entertainment)

Have you ever wanted to lock and load over a canine? If so, then fear not all my movie fans because today we are covering Greg Pak and Giovanni Valletta's miniseries of John Wick by Dynamite Entertainment.

Summary

Before he retired from the assassin life before he even met his wife and earned the name of "Baba Yaga," John Wick was a coldblooded young man on a mission. After serving time in prison, John Wick immediately leaps into the El Paso criminal underworld, intent on getting revenge on The Three Bills: a trio of assassins who nearly killed John as a boy. Unfortunately, what starts as a personal vendetta quickly spirals into a gang war the city has never seen before. One which will leave our fledgling assassin to dig his boots even deeper.

Characters

John Wick: Our titular character, to those uninitiated, John, is a vengeful man who often lets his actions speak for him. To allies and associates, though, Wick can be a polite professional who'll honorably hold to his deals. No matter how many men, bullets, and other obstacles get in his way.

Summary

Since I will probably never get the chance to repeat this, I fucking love John Wick. Ever since 2019, I've been obsessed with all four movies. Keanu Reeves' hyperrealistic yet stylized shootout-filled frenzy across a criminal underworld has captured my heart. I got immediately invested when I heard this franchise was finally getting captured in the rows of comic books.

The franchise's signature flair was always about its inherent mystery. We never knew exactly what Wick was capable of in his prime nor his established history with other characters, just that he seems to be feared by anyone. So to see John Wick have to work his way up through his early years is genuinely a nice change of pace and can bring out endless possibilities.

Much of the series' staples and unique terminology are all present here, like the Faustian markers or iconic Continental for new readers getting into the series. Though let's be real here, the action is significant. Giovanni Valletta's excellent art gives Wick a larger-than-life feel you'll probably never see reflected in the movies proper.

As for our other characters, we've got the Three Bills and, later on, their's signature assassin Calamity. Their typical mobsters who don't carry a particular amount of depth, but through their vast resources and interactions with other forces, we get some pretty creative exchanges which shows in the world of wick, there's not exactly a thing known as an open and shut case. Or casket.

Epilogue

For being only a 5 issue escapade, John Wick is the perfect treat for those looking to be introduced to the franchise or those who've been here since day one. Given how these comics came out in 2017-2018, during the peak of Wick mania, plus the open ending of Chapter 4 allowing for spinoffs, I'm so surprised this hasn't continued in some form. The sky's practically limitless here, and both Greg Pak/Giovanni Valletina were a devious combo for how little we got of them.

Guess only time will tell if we get more of them. Until then, let's see where the spotlight takes us next.