Written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer
Illustrated by Shawn MartinbroughConrad Paulson lives a secret double life as master thief Redmond. There is nothing he can’t steal, nothing he can’t have… except for the life he left behind. Now, with a grown son he hardly knows, and an ex-wife he never stopped loving, Conrad must try to piece together what’s left of his life, before the FBI finally catch up to him… but it appears they are the least of his worries.
How about that creative team, eh? Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer are two of the most popular writers in comics today, and they teamed up to create this unique title. But with all the new books coming out, is this one worth your hard-earned money?
Why don’t you pop behind the cut to find out?
If there is one thing Kirkman and Spencer both excel at; it’s making quality books that draw you in and make you want to read their books, rather than it being something you feel obligated to read, you genuinely want to read it when it first comes out, and pour over the pages and digest every piece of the page because it’s that engrossing.
Thief of Thieves is no exception. This book is a lot of fun.
Kirkman and Spencer are as good as they are because they make believable characters and can destroy expectations in the plot of a book without disappointment. The character interactions in this book are believable and entertaining while maintaining a gritty, noir-ish feel that would be the only way to tell a story like this.
Speaking of the characters, our protagonist, Redmond, is as tough as one can get without super powers, even if his skills at being a thief are almost a super power in their own right. He knows the ins and outs of stealing, and he has the swagger of someone who knows he’s the best there is at what he does. He doesn’t have time for anyone’s BS, and everyone else knows it. They give him mostly a wide berth, except for his accomplice/apprentice Celia.
Celia, in many respects, is the perfect companion to Redmond. Reading the book, Redmond is very much a loner who wants nothing to do with most people. He’s rather do his job, and go home and drink a nice scotch that he likely stole. But Celia, with her brash, independent, and assertive traits forces him to work with someone who’s exactly like him and not like him at all. She looks up to him, and she’s attracted to him, and she’s not afraid to let him know that. But while she is attracted to him, she’s not strictly a love interest, she’s a protégé. I would hope she gets to be more fleshed out, even though I would argue most of the character development in this, the first issue, is devoted to her over Redmond. Where Redmond is your average Stoic Noir anti-hero, she has more motivation to do what it is that he’s teaching her, making her a more compelling character in the first issue.
This issue, while full of great character building of Redmond and Celia, was light on the plot. If I had a complaint that would probably be it. But the script going into overdrive on the last page, and I suspect from here on out, it will be a great character driven action drama which looks like it may be akin to classic mob dramas.
With regards to the art, Martinbrough’s pencils are perfect for such an enterprise. His work reminds me of Sean Philips or Butch Guice; basically any artist whose worked with Ed Brubaker on Captain America, Criminal, or Incognito. He has a dark, shadowy mood to his work, but also has some of the most dynamic shots that have ever come out of a Brubaker noir book, and it’s not even one of his books! It all perfectly adds to the mood of the book, which doesn’t even speak to his character designs. Even one-off characters who don’t appear in more than one panel have a personality all their own, and make for a fun read.
If you’re a fan of Kirkman and Spencer, you should pick this up. If you’re a fan of noir, you need to pick this up. If you’re a fan of good comics, do yourself a favor and pick this up. Pick it up before it gets adapted into a movie called Redmond. You can say you knew it before it was huge.
Final Verdict: 8.0 — Buy (Don’t steal)
