Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worth reading if you liked the movie
Review: ROAD TO PERDITION is a graphic novel by Iowa-based writer Max Allen Collins with illustrations by British comics artist Richard Piers Rayner. As a fan of Collins, I made sure I read his original before heading to the cinemas to see the recent movie adaptation. Collins has written some great crime thrillers. I wish that his "Quarry" series, about an amoral hit-man, were back in print. Currently, those books are fetching some very high prices, but that's as it should be, because they contain some wonderfully tough and gritty writing. His comics work is of a high caliber as well: his character Ms Tree comes to mind, but there have been many others. However, the movie and book of ROAD TO PERDITION are two very different animals. The graphic novel is much more of a true-crime actioner, with plenty of shootouts and long silences, where the pictures are allowed to carry the story without many word-balloons or captions. In his intro, Collins describes how the book was inpired by the extremely popular Japanese comics series, LONE WOLF AND CUB (which also was adapted to a movie, "Shogun Assassin"). It's apparent: anyone who has read LONE WOLF will recognize many similarities in the telling of the tale. Ultimately, the movie (directed by Sam Mendes) does a better job with the framework of the story, deepening the relationship between the two main characters: a young boy and his enforcer father, who have to go on the lam to save themselves, when the father's crime-lord boss murders their family. While Rayner's pictures are wonderfully evocative of the 1930s Al Capone era, the graphic novel may disappoint those who may have been fans of the movie, and who seek to further their knowledge of the characters. Still, it's a very fast read, and an enjoyable one.
Rating: 
Summary: This book got me hooked on reading!!!!
Review: Road To Perdition is one of the best books I have read. I bought this book while on vacation because I was very bored and needed something to do. I started reading it and I just couldnt put it down. The characters were beautifully described and the plot was excellent. I have read the book quite a few times now and keep picking up on details that make this book even better. If you have doubt about this book.......READ IT!!!!!!!! It is short and is absolutely wonderful. Cant wait to read more of Collins work! Bottom Line--YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best comics of all time
Review: Some people say that the graphic novels is trying to reach the stage of novels by their name. This book really don't need that to be better than a lot of novels i have read. The violence is sometimes a little bloody, but that just helps the realism, the details in the artwork are wonderful and the chosement of black and white instead of color made this better than ever. Also a good historical document (i don't know clearly. My grandparents were children at that time so... well) of the 1920's/1920's. This and The Simpsons must be the best comics made not just for children ever. Great.
Rating:
Summary: So good you can read it twice.
Review: The graphic novel "Road to Perdition," the basis for the movie of the same name, is a grim, bloody work about the grim, bloody world of an assassin for the Chicago mob whose family gets pulled into the violent fray of his business. Michael O'Sullivan is a man conscious of morality, though he is not a good man. His "business," which he does because he's expert with a rifle and because his boss raised him like a son, is kept separate from his normal life, in which he's a loving, churchgoing husband and father of two boys. The boys are curious about his life outside of home, so one day the oldest son tags along on a mob hit - and endangers the family. The book, based upon the Japanese "Lone Wolf and Cub" series, is gorgeous to look at - the art really looks like old newspaper photos of actual crime scenes. This gives the work an authentic feel that evokes the period and is incredibly haunting. The book's plot goes differently in some ways from the film's, and the book is actually better than the film. Michael is never portrayed as a soft man - even as he saves his son. The son is soon drawn into the world of killing people, unlike the son in the film, and has to save his father many times. The ending of the book, which is different from the movie's ending and which I won't give away here, is a nice, ironic touch. This is one thought-provoking, consistently interesting piece of art.
Rating: 
Summary: Hey, I know that guy! And this story!
Review: The story in "The Road to Perdition" is nothing too unique. Max Allan Collins knows the period and the setting very, very well, but he didn't fill it with a whole lot of interest. Fortunately, the setting to the story is interesting: the Quad Cities area of the Iowa-Illinois border in 1930. The real-life gangsters in the story provide strange characters. One of his largest inspirations for the story was the Japanese comic "Lone Wolf and Cub." This influence shows, since the story has a predictable, almost ritual aspect to it, like kabuki. Very little that happens in the book will surprise readers. Hong Kong action movies also influenced the story, so a number of the gunfights resemble John Woo movies. The art in the book is both great and aggravating. The artist, Richard Rayner, used photographs extensively, creating a remarkable look to the backgrounds. Also, characters based on public figures, like Capone, look very accurate. However, he did something which drove me to distraction: he changed character models mid-story. The main character, Michael O'Sullivan, was based on a single face at first. He was easily recognizable. But he has Kirk Douglas's face on page 127. On page 135, his face was taken from Daniel Day-Lewis. On page 205, he's Humphrey Bogart. Worse, these resemblances are very strong. Considering that those three men don't look alike, one can imagine the confusion. The realism of the art makes this morphing of features very distracting. O'Sullivan's face changes pull the reader out of the story. This happens to other characters as well. Sometimes I had to guess who a character was by context. Strange as it sounds, I think Rayner would have been much better off making his character faces a bit more abstract, making it easier to keep them consistent. Still and all, it's not a terrible book. The art is very good, though unstable, and the story is serviceable, though it's a rote revenge story. The best part of the book is its approach to comic storytelling. It's a true "graphic novel," not a collection of comic books thrown together. I enjoyed the attempt, even if the material didn't break much new ground. If you like revenge stories or want to read a decent graphic novel, go to it.
Rating:
Summary: Hey, I know that guy! And this story!
Review: The story in "The Road to Perdition" is nothing too unique. Max Allan Collins knows the period and the setting very, very well, but he didn't fill it with a whole lot of interest. Fortunately, the setting to the story is interesting: the Quad Cities area of the Iowa-Illinois border in 1930. The real-life gangsters in the story provide strange characters. One of his largest inspirations for the story was the Japanese comic "Lone Wolf and Cub." This influence shows, since the story has a predictable, almost ritual aspect to it, like kabuki. Very little that happens in the book will surprise readers. Hong Kong action movies also influenced the story, so a number of the gunfights resemble John Woo movies. The art in the book is both great and aggravating. The artist, Richard Rayner, used photographs extensively, creating a remarkable look to the backgrounds. Also, characters based on public figures, like Capone, look very accurate. However, he did something which drove me to distraction: he changed character models mid-story. The main character, Michael O'Sullivan, was based on a single face at first. He was easily recognizable. But he has Kirk Douglas's face on page 127. On page 135, his face was taken from Daniel Day-Lewis. On page 205, he's Humphrey Bogart. Worse, these resemblances are very strong. Considering that those three men don't look alike, one can imagine the confusion. The realism of the art makes this morphing of features very distracting. O'Sullivan's face changes pull the reader out of the story. This happens to other characters as well. Sometimes I had to guess who a character was by context. Strange as it sounds, I think Rayner would have been much better off making his character faces a bit more abstract, making it easier to keep them consistent. Still and all, it's not a terrible book. The art is very good, though unstable, and the story is serviceable, though it's a rote revenge story. The best part of the book is its approach to comic storytelling. It's a true "graphic novel," not a collection of comic books thrown together. I enjoyed the attempt, even if the material didn't break much new ground. If you like revenge stories or want to read a decent graphic novel, go to it.
Rating:
Summary: Really Cool Boox
Review: This book really held my interest. I also thought it was weird that i picked up this book and started to read it and learned it is based where i just moved from. So i could relate about where stuff was and what not. This is a really good book and i suggest you read it!
Rating:
Summary: Good gritty remake of "Lone Wolf and Cub"
Review: This grim graphic novel might better have been titled, "The Road to Revenge" and the story is clearly influenced by the legendary Japanese graphic series, Lone Wolf and Cub. Set during the Great Depression, its about a mobster hitman and his son (instead of a samurai and his son iin feudal Japan). Michael O'Sullivan is known as "The Angel of Death" in mob circles for his unflinching gaze and unblemished record as a loyal soldier for the Looney Gang, allies of Al Capone. O'Sullivan lives with his wife and two young sons in the "Tri-Cities" area on the Illinois/Iowa border (Rock Island, Moline, and Davenport). One day, one of his sons-who narrates the story as a flashback-sneaks into his father's car and witnesses a hit he performs. The boys knows killing is a sin and wrong, but his father rationalizes it by explaining that a father's duty is to provide for his family, and being a loyal soldier/killer is all he knows how to do. It's the kind of lip-service to honor and duty that suffices as rationalization in the world of comics and Hong Kong action films, but can't really be held up to the light. In any event, the boy's loss of innocence coincides with his father's betrayal by his employers. Set up to be killed, he escapes, only to discover his wife and other son dead. The father and son duo hit the road for revenge. There's plenty of action and gun-in-both-hand shoot-outs worthy of John Woo, as "The Angel of Death" tries to force the Capone Gang to give up the Looneys. Collins' story and Richard Rayner's meticulous art takes the reader deep into the rackets and slimy lawyers behind the Midwestern mob. Good gritty stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of my money
Review: This was hands-down the worst graphic novel that I've ever read. I got it at Barnes & Noble thinking that the original novel would *have* to be better than the movie (which I loved by the way). I was dead wrong. Aside from the lovely illustrations, reading this three-hundred page brick after the movie was boring and excruciating. The writer gives a ten page autobiography before the graphic novel, about one page of which has anything to do with Road to Perdition. Unfortunately, it was probably the most interesting part of the book. The actual comic has flat characters and the boy is horribly irritating (A little trivia: this guy wrote for Batman comics for a while and his version of Robin was so aggravating that readers voted to kill him off!). This feels just like a kid's comic book and lacks the seriousness and tragedy of the movie. Rooney--who is named Looney in the comic--has no sympathy for Sullivan and seems to pretty much be a stereotypical villain in the original. Some of the best scenes in the movie aren't here--they changed a lot for the movie and I honestly can't blame them. The movie is one of my favorites ever. I was terribly disappointed by this trash. Maybe you'll like it more if you are a history buff, because some of our hero's antics tie into historical events and famous faces. If you haven't seen the movie yet, maybe you'll like the graphic novel. But if you have seen the movie, save your money.
Rating:
Summary: A waste of my money
Review: This was hands-down the worst graphic novel that I've ever read. I got it at Barnes & Noble thinking that the original novel would *have* to be better than the movie (which I loved by the way). I was dead wrong. Aside from the lovely illustrations, reading this three-hundred page brick after the movie was boring and excruciating. The writer gives a ten page autobiography before the graphic novel, about one page of which has anything to do with Road to Perdition. Unfortunately, it was probably the most interesting part of the book. The actual comic has flat characters and the boy is horribly irritating (A little trivia: this guy wrote for Batman comics for a while and his version of Robin was so aggravating that readers voted to kill him off!). This feels just like a kid's comic book and lacks the seriousness and tragedy of the movie. Rooney--who is named Looney in the comic--has no sympathy for Sullivan and seems to pretty much be a stereotypical villain in the original. Some of the best scenes in the movie aren't here--they changed a lot for the movie and I honestly can't blame them. The movie is one of my favorites ever. I was terribly disappointed by this trash. Maybe you'll like it more if you are a history buff, because some of our hero's antics tie into historical events and famous faces. If you haven't seen the movie yet, maybe you'll like the graphic novel. But if you have seen the movie, save your money.
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