It’s bandaged up and ready for reading, this One-Shot: Dynamite brings forth the one issue Giulietta Romeo, Hitwoman.
Italian bad boy Don Antonio, the self-proclaimed “Il Duce of the Milano Mobs” is en route by air, escorted to justice by the law. Writer Fred Van Lente fills the air with faux-swearing, the dialogue blue streak of ‘fugging and effing’. It’s the unrestricted air space over this Tempest tribute.
Shakespeare?? For it’s said in the promotional copy for this book that it’s a reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. But that’s probably over the heads of the majority of the readers, including me.
So anyways, (as Shakespeare might have been fond of saying), Giulietta, all bandaged up, is ALSO on the same plane as Don Antonio. And a lightning storm erupts, making the flight even more dramatic. Oh, and they hate each other.
Van Lente writes the drama, nods to “Bloody Bill” Shakespeare, but makes this tale his own. It’s a rockingly shockingly effective one, full of effing fights and bathing suits and bombshells.
Robert Carey lends a strong drawing style to this reimagining, with angular shadows, tilting panels full of twisting, eccentric people, and well-paced action scenes. Colourist Ellie Wright plays with visual complements: purples and yellows, blues and oranges. It’s organic and effective. Letterer Jeff Eckleberry has a fontful of work at hand, ack-sen-tu-ating the foul words, emboldening the sans serifs to best effect.
While the review copy I received was incomplete, topping out mid-story at 20 pages, I was enthralled. I want to read the rest of this book, and I am betting that you will want to too! Shakespeare would be proud of what his 1611 play has become in 2022!!
Oh, and the main cover illustrated by Lesley “Leirix” Li is atmospheric and eye-catching.
Dynamite, Giulietta Romeo: Hitwoman One Shot, $4.99 for undetermined story page count in a 40-page publication. Mature rating.
Newsdesk