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“Renato Jones: The One %” Season One

By | January 13th, 2017
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

This week one of the most timely ongoing series releases its first collected edition. Read on for our spoiler free review of “Renato Jones: The One %” Season One.

Written and illustrated by Kaare Kyle Andrews
The One% own more than half the world’s wealth. They’ve crashed economies, bought governments, and have amassed more power than any other group in history. And they still don’t have enough. With this kind of power, how can anyone make them pay? WHO will make them pay? Enter Renato Jones, a mysterious vigilante, out to even the score. And when he enters the fray THE SUPER-RICH ARE SUPER F***ED. From acclaimed creator KAARE KYLE ANDREWS (Iron Fist The Living Weapon, Spider Man Reign) comes the first season of the critically acclaimed, supercharged capitalistic action revenge thriller for a post-Great Recession world. Collects SEASON ONE of RENATO JONES THE ONE% #1-5.

Our world is in trouble, folks. The middle class is taking hit after hit while the rich get more rich. We’ve got Donald Trump as President and who knows what chaos that will lead to. Some people say comic books shouldn’t be political but if you’ve ever actually read a comic book, you know that’s not true. Captain America punching Hitler is a political action and since that moment, we’ve had plenty of comic book creators inject commentary into their stories. Following that tradition is Kaare Andrews’ “Renato Jones”, a violent but timely tale of greed and corruption.

“Renato Jones: The One %” introduces us to a world not too unlike our own. The rich are corrupt, abusive and in control with no real fight put up against what they do. We are then introduced to the very mysterious Renato Jones, heir of a massive fortune who lives a secret life as a vigilante named The Freelancer. As The Freelancer, he is helped by his butler/adoptive father as he kills some of the most corrupt and vile members of the one percent. Dispersed throughout his journeys, we’re shown his past and learn that he and others, are not at all what they seem to be but Jones is not alone. When you take on a task like this, you will get push back and it is a lesson he learns the hard way.

It is tough to read “Renato Jones” in a vacuum. You cannot read this without relating back to the current state of things and I love that this book has that power. Andrews doesn’t approach this as a satire (despite some brilliant satirical moments) but is instead full of anger and a cautious call for action and awareness. It lines up with the sentiments of Occupy Wall Street but infuses brutal violence in an outlandish fashion but still make its point very clear. Things cannot change unless we do something and we cannot continue to normalize the things the people in this book believe. It is a comic book with a message and I wish more creators would dare to be this bold even if I disagree with the methods being used.

It would be easy to call “Renato Jones” a Batman book on steroids but this is far from that. Within the five issues this book contains, there is a story with real world stakes being told. Andrews has a vision for the bigger picture and the pacing of this book makes it too hard to put down. With all that said, this isn’t flawless. Renato is meant to be mysterious and while his motivations are clear, who he is isn’t. Through useful narration, we get enough of that but he almost feels like a drone himself, dedicated to only the mission. We don’t learn much about the man and even his feelings for Bliss come off a bit unclear. Bliss also comes off a tad bit one dimensional and with her placement in this story, she had a lot of potential.

I’m definitely not the first to say this about Andrews work but it is very hard to shake off the obvious Frank Miller parallels. Not 2016 Miller but “Sin City” Miller. If anything, Andrews work in “Renato Jones” is the next evolution of that kind of gritty and powerful style. “Renato Jones” doesn’t try to be pretty. The antagonistic one percenters are drawn as ugly as possible with the world they live in drawn like a cesspool of decadence. This isn’t the opulence you normally see when dealing with the fictional versions of the upper class and it helps to drive the point home. The Freelancer has a simple but really effective design and the action in this book is incredibly dynamic. It is again, very Miller-esque in how brutal it is.

Andrews’ coloring of “Renato Jones” is what really makes this a standout visually. There is a lot of experimenting here with pages featuring conventional coloring and others featuring heavy inking and shading. At the beginning of the third issue, as we’re getting a breakdown of the Freelancer’s latest victim, we see this black and white almost fever dream that is at both times romantic and horrifying. The changes in coloring from flashbacks to the present day help transitions a ton and some of the more explosive elements of the action are given a great amount of depth through the kind of light Andrews conveys.

Final Verdict: 7.8 – Aside from a few nitpicks in characterization, this is a bold, explosive comic book that holds a mirror up to the current times.


Jess Camacho

Jess is from New Jersey. She loves comic books, pizza, wrestling and the Mets. She can be seen talking comics here and at Geeked Out Nation. Follow her on Twitter @JessCamNJ for the hottest pro wrestling takes.

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