HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, A 289
Selected Bibliography: Witek, Joseph. Comic Books as History: Th e Narrative Art of
Jack Jackson, Art Spiegelman, and Harvey Pekar. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi,
1989.
Tim Bryant
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, A. Th is graphic novel by writer John Wagner ( Judge Dredd,
2000 AD ) and artist Vince Locke ( Deadworld ) was published in 1997 by DC Comics
under fi rst the Paradox, then the Vertigo imprint. Th e graphic novel was the source
for Josh Olsen’s Oscar-nominated screenplay for David Cronenberg’s 2005 fi lm of the
same title. In general, A History of Violence tells the story of Tom McKenna, whose
violent youth catches up with him. Th e 286-page book begins in the present day: two
killers enter a small-town diner at closing time looking for cash and trouble, but Tom,
the mild-mannered proprietor, defends himself and his property with a coff ee carafe
and a pie rack, dispatching one and subduing the other. Raven’s Bend, Michigan, now
has a new hero, and Tom’s picture hits the national news, despite his attempts to avoid
the spotlight. Although it has been 20 years, Tom is recognized, and he and his wife
and two children are targeted by old criminal acquaintances from Brooklyn. When the
threats escalate to violence, Tom’s adopted identity crumbles away: his real name is Joey
Muni, and he has killed before.
Readers learn about Tom’s backstory when he comes clean with his wife and with
the police. Th e story unfolds that 20 years earlier, he helped his friend Richie avenge
the mob murder of Richie’s older brother. Th ey opened fi re in a restaurant where king-
pin Lou Manzi and his associates were taken by surprise. In the process, they stole
over $100,000 of the mob’s money. Surviving henchmen soon caught big-spending
Richie, but Tom narrowly escaped and eventually settled in Raven’s Bend, living as a
law-abiding family man. Now that the mob knows his new identity, the new legal trou-
bles regarding his past are the least of his problems. Th e threats to his family intensify,
and when he learns that Richie is still alive and held captive by Manzi’s sadistic son,
who now runs the family business, Tom returns to Brooklyn to settle his accounts.
Th is plot is shown rather than told, propelled by Locke’s lively, black-and-white
sketches and Wagner’s realistic dialogue. Action scenes are especially eff ective, full of
movement and sound. Th e book does not shy away from showing the violence that
catches up to Tom, but the violence is neither glorifi ed nor taken lightly. Violent actions
simply have violent consequences. Full-page spreads eff ectively punctuate the action
scenes. Th e fi nal scene provides an appropriately graphic climax. Tom ditches his police
escort and arranges to meet Manzi at a warehouse. He quickly disposes of several mob
henchmen and locates what’s left of Richie, who has been held captive and tortured for
two decades by the psychopathic Manzi. Richie’s arms and legs are long gone, along
with an eye, and his scarred, harnessed torso is suspended like a boxer’s heavy bag from
the warehouse rafters. Barely alive, Richie manages to greet Tom raggedly but with the
spirit of their past friendship: “... Long time... no see, kemosabe.. .” When Manzi
arrives with his collection of power tools, things get even uglier.
