Road to Perdition (comics)

Road to Perdition
Publication information
Publisher Paradox Press
Genre
    Publication date 1998
    Creative team
    Writer(s) Max Allan Collins
    Artist(s) Richard Piers Rayner
    Reprints
    Collected editions
    Road to Perdition ISBN 1-56389-449-1
    Road to Perdition: On the Road ISBN 1401203574

    Road to Perdition is a series of fictional works written by Max Allan Collins.

    The comic book of the original series, with art by Richard Piers Rayner, was published by DC Comics' imprint, Paradox Press. It was adapted into the 2002 film of the same name, starring Tom Hanks, for which Collins also wrote the novelization.

    Stories

    Michael O'Sullivan, the ruthless but honorable enforcer for a crime syndicate, is personally betrayed by his masters and is forced to flee with his young son Michael, Jr. on a quest for revenge. The story is set in the American Midwest during the Great Depression and draws upon several historical figures, especially the gangster John Patrick Looney, of Rock Island, Illinois; in real life, Looney came into conflict with Dan Drost, a formerly loyal lieutenant in their crime organization, and their feud eventually led to the death of Looney's son Connor.[1]

    This story is loosely based on the Japanese manga series Lone Wolf and Cub.[2] This story was the basis for the 2002 film of the same name.

    This three-part miniseries of graphic novels was written after the original story, but deals with events within the same timeframe. All three parts were published as individual installments, but have also been reprinted as a single combined volume.

    These two prose sequels deal with the adult life of Michael O'Sullivan, Jr., under his adoptive identity of Michael Satariano. After military service in Bataan during World War II, he returns to the world of organized crime to seek revenge on other gangsters who had been complicit in his father's death.

    This graphic novel follows the story of Michael Satariano, Jr., a Vietnam vet who returns home from the war and gets caught up in the criminal underworld of his father and grandfather.

    Influences

    Series author Collins acknowledged the influence of the Japanese manga Lone Wolf and Cub over his work on Road to Perdition, saying in an interview to the BBC, "Road To Perdition is 'an unabashed homage' to Lone Wolf And Cub".[3]

    Publication

    Graphic novels

    Prose

    References

    1. "Looney loses his son and the newspaper war". The Dispatch/Argus. July 11, 2002. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
    2. "The Original 'Road to Perdition'". Time. July 16, 2002. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
    3. Max Allan Collins, interviewed by Daniel Etherington, "Graphic Novel: Road To Perdition". Retrieved 2008-06-22., BBC Collective, 19 September 2002.
    4. "'Road to Perdition' details". DCComics.com.
    5. "'Road to Perdition: On the Road' details". DCComics.com.
    6. "Books to look for summer 2011". Vertigo Comics. Retrieved March 1, 2012.

    External links

    Interviews

    Reviews