Paradox Press was DC Comic’s attempt to get into non-superhero graphic novels. There were several books that were published through the imprint that garnered interest (most notably Road to Perdition, Stuck Rubber Baby and the Big Book of…series), but the imprint failed due to low sales. Ultimately it did good in producing some great books during it’s run, including John Wagner and Vince Locke’s A History of Violence (later made into a movie starring Viggo Mortensen). It’s an interesting take on a mob book that shows things from a slightly different angle. Let’s check it out and see what the history of violence is.

 Tom McKenna is a mild mannered diner owner who’s married with kids. When a couple of losers decide to shoot their way around while trying to get some drugs, Tom find himself in the middle of a robbery. Due to some fast thinking, Tom ends up killing one of the robbers and injuring the other and is cast into a hero role semi nationally. And this is where his troubles begin.

For Tom isn’t really Tom and his past is catching up with him. See, Tom used to be Joey and Joey wasn’t a nice guy. Joey and his buddy Richie decide the way to make some money is to rob the mob. There are some other things thrown in (revenge and grandma needing money for an operation), but those feel forced and weak. Richie is unable to keep the secret and is soon caught after flashing money a little too conspicuously around town. Joey escapes with only losing part of a finger and finds his way to the small town where he gets married, has kids and opens the diner after changing his name to Tom McKenna.

The beginning of the story is good and the middle is decent. At the end is where the story lost me. Joey/Tom goes from a guy with a history of violence to a rampaging vigilante who is more Batman than diner owner. The later section with Richie seemed far fetched, but the end game with Joey/Tom is worse. The story would have worked much better with a more realistic plot. The art is decent, but not spectacular with little to make it stand out. It has a gritty, minimalistic feel that flows with the story, but doesn’t add a lot.

But overall it is still a decent book. I enjoyed it while I was reading and it also made me curious about how they did the movie. Mildly recommended.