Review: ‘Write It In Blood’ – Noir Comedy Crime Caper Of Brotherly Love And Revenge

Two hitmen brothers caught between two rival gangs on the eve of their retirement… Write It In Blood from Rory McConville and Joe Palmer is one of those deliciously cinematic modern crime noir things, full of twists, turns, and razor-sharp dialogue.

Initially published by McConville on Gumroad (and previewed by us back here), this is now a full graphic novel of wonderfully noir crime capers from Image Comics – and it’s definitely one you should be asking for.

Everything here revolves around two hitmen brothers, Cosmo and Arthur Pryce, on the eve of a much longed-for retirement. But first, there’s the small matter of one last job to finish.

And that one last job is the reason why, on the eve of their retirement, they’re driving through Texas with a body in the trunk of their car.

The moment you start this one, you’re instantly into the wonderfully snappy and fast-paced conversational tone that McConville uses all the way through the story, giving the whole thing that cool filmic quality – Fargo-esque is how Rob Williams describes it there on the back cover and I can really see just what he means.

There’s a dark comedic thing that runs all through, all kicking off with the bickering brothers having a ridiculous conversation about whether their boss will get them anything for a retirement present…

‘Do you think he’s going to get us a retirement present?’
‘What?’
‘Like a gold watch. Or something.’
‘A watch?’
‘It’s just an example. What -‘
‘Cosmo, he’s not getting us a watch.’
‘Well he might.’
‘He’s not. He’s not getting us anything.’
‘We’ll see. I would, if I were him. I think it’d be a nice gesture.’

And that’s the sort of dark comedic vibe we have going all the way through it all, with McConville getting the beats of the to and fro between the brothers just right, knowing just when it’s right to lay it all on thick and when to punctuate it with action.

Just like this…

‘Arthur, what the fuck did you do that for?’
‘Mercy killing. Better than bleeding out listening to you ramble.’

Yep, and that’s all just in the first few pages, setting everything up for a fast-paced, fast-talking graphic novel that’s just full of that sort of brotherly love.

We’re dropped right into the middle of a gang fight, The Baron on one side, Cosmo and Arthur’s employer, and the Harkness’ on the other. To complicate it all, ‘Little’ Harkness is the guy in Arthur and Cosmo’s trunk. And to complicate it even further, Arthur and the Baron’s wife have been having a thing.

Retirement is looking a long, long way off right now.

Although that hasn’t stopped Cosmo planning, planning, planning, going on and on about the house he’s looking at…

This was one of those books where the pages turn themselves, with a pacey plot, packed with action, Palmer’s artwork getting the flow of the action and the conversational moments just right, stark and angular lines that serve the story really well. And as good as the action is, this is one where it’s all about the characters and the relationships, with the quiet moments between things being the highlights, full of near laugh out loud funny, the bickering between the brothers driving the enjoyment of the story.

That Write It In Blood plays things for laughs a lot of the time doesn’t lessen the hit of the action one little bit, it’s just that McConville’s ear for dialogue is so good here that the natural flow of conversation between the brothers, along with the ridiculous and dangerous situation they’ve found themselves in, just lends itself to the sort of snappy, funny dialogue you’re going to be loving all the way through Write It In Blood.

There’s just too many great moments to mention here, all building into a totally satisfying crime caper. But trust me, don’t let this one pass you by. It’s exactly the sort of cleverly written, wonderfully drawn book that Image should always be praised for putting out. In some ways, this one sits alongside Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips‘ work or Rob Williams and Laurence Campbell‘s Old Haunts, in showing us just how damn good a crime book can be. It’s just that this one might fly slightly under the radar – and it’s way, way too good to let that happen.

Write It In Blood – written by Rory McConville, illustrated by Joe Palmer, colors by Chris O’Halloran, letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Published by Image Comics.