At one point he rides down the banister of Capone's hotel firing off rounds from both hands. He comes off as a one-man army, using a multitude of weapons to rampage through dozens of men at a time.

has many more scenes of ruthless killing. Compared to his character in the film, O'Sullivan Sr.

'Lone Wolf and Cub,' the seminal late-1960s Japanese comic series about a wandering Samurai and his child has been brilliantly transplanted by Collins to the American gangster genre.

Like the movie, the book has its own comix origins. Along the way The Angel reaps vengeance on Looney's outfit, as well as Al Capone's, who has put Conner Looney into hiding. O'Sullivan escape, hitting the road to Perdition, Kansas where the boy's aunt and uncle live. When O'Sullivan's oldest boy, Michael, witnesses a rub-out, old man Looney and his homicidal son Conner decide to kill the whole family. Michael O'Sullivan (changed to Sullivan for the movie), a lieutenant to real-life Midwestern crime boss John Looney (re-named Rooney in the film), provides for his wife and two sons as a killer nicknamed The Angel of Death. Aided by Rayner's photo-based drawings, 'Road,' the book, combines great action with believable atmosphere. Focusing on different themes than the movie version, the original 'Road to Perdition' makes an exciting and intelligent companion to the film.Ī former writer for the 'Dick Tracy' comic strip and the author of historical crime novels, Max Collins has a talent for both comix writing and verisimilitude. Except for a pair of sharp-eyed Hollywood producers, the book received virtually no attention when it first appeared. $13.95), written by Max Allan Collins and drawn by Richard Piers Rayner, has been reprinted to coincide with the release of the movie, directed by Sam Mendes and starring Tom Hanks.

Originally published in 1998 by the DC Comics imprint Paradox Press, 'Road to Perdition' (304 pp. Last year's quirky 'Ghost World,' based on the Dan Clowes book, and 'From Hell,' the Jack-the-Ripper story by Alan Moore, both became box-office hits. Follow Depression-era gangster picture 'Road to Perdition' earned over $20 million during its opening weekend, continuing the trend of successful movie adaptations of non-superhero graphic novels.

Graphic novel road to perdition