The Violent #1

Image Comics

Written by: Ed Brisson

Art by: Adam Gorham

Color by: Michael Garland

Among Image’s swath of new titles comes “The Violent,” which tells the story of a couple trying to assimilate to normal life after having been either in jail or addicted to drugs. Mason and Becky are stuck working dead end jobs that offer no prospects of helping their situation besides another paycheck that always seems too small. We see Mason struggling to be a father to their daughter, Kaitlyn, and Becky hoping to be the glue that holds their family together. “The Violent” tells the story of two people working to break old routines and cut ties with a lifestyle that is trying to drag them back down.

The pace of the narrative is quick and tragic. We gain insight about Mason and Becky’s relationship and the turmoil that is right around the corner. Characters from their lives they’re trying to leave behind make appearances to try and reintroduce old habits. This is the story of a family that’s trying to steer clear of their troubled pasts and do the best they can living paycheck to paycheck. However, they find that trying to be productive members of society is difficult when a past of crime and drugs is constantly right behind them.

Ed Brisson, Ada m Gorham, and Michael Garland do a phenomenal job with this new title. The audience is able to sympathize with Mason and Becky and see the problems that they’re trying to overcome. Brisson’s writing is solid and in it the audience can find the voices of many characters being well represented. While Gorham’s art and Garland’s colors work splendidly together. They easily convey the distress, temptations, and violence surrounding their situation. This team does a great job of forging a narrative that is both believable and tragic.

While many of us have not been in situations like that of Mason and Becky, the creative team behind this title makes it easier to imagine what they have to endure. These characters know tha

t there is a life of crime and drug abuse waiting for them to slip up and fall into old patterns. Mason and Becky aren’t people who are far removed from this lifestyle but rather they’re fresh out of it. They’re battling everyday with the temptation to return to what they know, and from this stems turmoil in their relationship and conflict with a world waiting for them to make a mistake.