Rick Remender and André Lima Araújo deliver a silent but visually deadly tale in A Righteous Thirst For Vengeance #1. The story takes us to Vancouver, British Columbia, where readers are introduced to Sonny, who strongly resembles British actor Benedict Wong. You may remember Benedict Wong from a little film called Doctor Strange and incidentally Deadly Class based on Remender’s series, where Benedict Wong played Master Lin. In the first issue, we, the reader, follow Sonny from his Chinatown apartment to various places across the city where he engages in some damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t encounters with strangers.
A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance #1 has a likable main protagonist in Sonny, a guy just trying to navigate his way through the day…or is he? Sonny makes some questionable choices during the book that begs the question: coincidence or nah? There’s a scene during one of his bus rides where he briefly takes his cell phone out and reads an article about an accuser gone missing in a sex trafficking case. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out for Sonny in future issues.
Where Remender’s script lacks words, André Lima Araújo’s illustrations more than make up for it in astronomical proportions. Araújo’s deep dive detail in his artwork helps to pull readers into Sonny’s world and provide a stronger emotional connection with Sonny’s troubles, like trying to find his favorite pack of cigarettes. The art has a realistic environmental feel, and several characters wearing masks would suggest that the story could occur in our current reality during the pandemic. You can really tell that Remender and Araújo put their heads together to develop a creative, ingenuous, straightforward issue with a compelling cliffhanger ending.
A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance #1 is a fantastic first issue that oozes with nothing but potential as a new series. Sonny is a believable character that leaves a lot left to the imagination to learn about. The pacing works, the art is rich and detailed, and the transitions are great. So do yourself a favor and pick up issue number #1 before it flies off shelves.
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