Review by Frank Plowright
A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance is a title that builds anticipation of a certain type of story. Certainly violent, possibly excessively so. Yet Rick Remender starts with a deliberately understated opening chapter of a man on a mission. We don’t know what that mission is, but see the man as polite and considerate as he takes a long journey via several buses. André Lima Araújo models him on Benedict Wong, the actor probably best known for his roles in the Doctor Strange films, and delivers a series of beautifully drawn sequences of him leaving home, boarding buses and visiting shops. These are accompanied by Remender’s snippets of small talk between people in such situations.
The sample art is what turns out to be a key moment, the man seeing an injured pigeon helpless and dying. In a moment of brutal compassion he puts it out of its misery, succinctly defining his character as caring, yet decisive when it comes to difficult decisions.
While the first chapter positively revels in the mundane, the second names our protagonist as Mr. Wen and reveals there’s more to him than has been revealed, and it’s rather sinister. That plays into the moods deliberately varying from chapter to chapter, gradually escalating by the third chapter into an explosion of violence preceded by an utterly sordid scene. From there matters become even more frenetic.
If an example is needed of the clever writing it’s how over four chapters Remender reveals what Mr. Wen’s up to without ever spelling it out. We learn through observation of Araújo’s finely judged art and the comments of others, yet also by the end that although he seems to be struggling to keep above water, Mr. Wen is not without resources.
A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance is a violent crime story best read without knowing any great detail. It’s excellently produced, utterly absorbing and relatively brief in concluding with Volume Two. Alternatively, with comics of this quality you may want to consider just heading directly to the hardcover Deluxe Edition.
